Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy

Los Angeles Times ^ | 6 Nov,2004 | Peter Wallsten

[kupia_kummi]

WASHINGTON — Reeling from their party's loss in the presidential election, some key Democratic financiers and strategists say they have learned a clear lesson: Next time around, no Northeasterners need apply.

The blue-state party needs a face from a red state if it is going to expand beyond its base on the two coasts and preserve its hold on the Upper Midwest, where its long-standing appeal to voters has become tenuous, these insiders say. Their voices — if they become ascendant as the Democratic Party undertakes a round of soul-searching after Tuesday's losses by presidential nominee John F. Kerry and key Senate candidates — could dampen prospects for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who has been frequently mentioned as a prominent White House contender in 2008.

[penowa]

Yes, and all they need is a Commie-in-Disguise who lives in the south (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton clone) and with the help of the old media and a good liar, they're in business again!

[bereanway]

The problem the Dims face is if they nominate a candidate who can somehow close the culture and security gap (unlikely) they risk alienating a large portion of their hard left base.

My larger concern is who can the Pubbies find who can articulate and become the standard bearer of the Reagan/Bush legacy. If we can find a suitable replacement I don't care who the Dims find, we win.

[what's up]

"This party has got to get in a position where it does not write off an entire section of the country."

The beauty of the electoral college.

[Paperdoll]

Oh, and I forgot to add:

ROTFLOL

[dr_who_2]

Hillary Clinton will make another attempt at doing an Arkansas accent. North Carolina and Virginia will have Governors who will be obsessed with bringing in factory jobs. Michigan and all the states of the West coast will be jealous.

[Manfred Dog]

It looks like Rudy G is going to kick Ms. Clinton out of the Senate in a couple of years. That will put and end to her - If she can't win at home, she can't win on the road.

If the Dems have learned something, look for Evan Byah at the top of the ticket with Barack Obama as VP for the Dems in 08. Byah is centrist enough to pick up a lot of votes in the Midwest and the folks in New England, California, and the mid-Atlantic have no place else to go. With Obama on the ticket, Blacks will turn out in large numbers.

It is not clear to me that the Republicans can field a team to beat that lineup. The biggest question is whether the Dems have the discipline to nominate someone as centrist as Byah. My guess is that they after 8 years of Republican control, they will learn some discipline.

[RoseofTexas]

As I live and breath...by 08 Hillary Clinton will have found a deep sense of faith...MARK MY WORDS! You'll start seeing her surrounded by lots of left clergy, carrying a bible, professing Christ, even go to the extreme of being baptist in the Jordon river, etc....MARK MY WORDS! That WITCH wants the ORAL OFFICE real bad even if she has to KISS the Holier then thou loony Christan(according to the RATS we are all fanatics) crowd butts!! Scary part of it all is that MANY will fall for the anti-christ Hillary!

[gwbiny2k]

If Harold Ickes becomes the next DNC chair, Hillary is a shoe in.

[Hugin]

I doubt Hillary will run for reelection in '06, especially if Rudy runs against her. Losing in NY would be a disaster for her chances for '08. In early '06 she will issue a statement something like "When I ran for Senate in 2000 I promised the people of NY that I would finish out my term. I took that promise seriously. It as been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of NY over the last six years, however I cannot in good conscience make that pledge again. Therefore I will not be running for reelection to the Senate."

That would serve notice to all the other prospective candidates in '08 that she was running, without actually having to annouce it. She would immediately be the presumptive nominee, and begin sucking all the oxygen (and money) from the Democrat party.

[Twinkie]

OK. Someone else from Arkansas or Tennessee, then? Yeah.
Yeah. That's it. They're onto something. Yep. Yep.

[WoodstockCat]

I can't wait to see how Hillary addresses the gun issue. She has a worst history than "Elmer Fudd" Kerry.

I can hear it now, she's practicing that line "Can I get me a hunting license here?" for the next razorback hunt in Arkansas...

yeah, right.

[trentonrevolution]

1. Don't underestimate the Hillary factor, what the DNC is going to do to her will make "Extreme Makeover" look like a high school science project. It will be Hillary "Potato Head".
2. Barak Obama has an glaring Achille's heel. That vaporous "military can be an option but can't be the first option" (paraphrase). Just keep pushing him back into a corner. It's the global test, with an inverse spin.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!!

Recall Grayout Davis....

Someon will try to solicit Arnoold to run against him then.....

[Grampa Dave]

Davis is free and has a lot of time on his hands these days.

[Hugin]

IMNHO they would be wise to forget about Obama as a VP candidate. If they want a young black man a better choice would be Harold Ford Jr., the Congressman from TN. He is southern, moderate, and has more experiecne. Thank God they don't listen to me.

[FreeKnight]

Let's see....Al Gore - Tennessee - Red State, nope they're still delusional