You rang?
Posted on 11/02/2005 6:24:16 PM PST by Roscoe Karns
In a bizarre tactic that has left many Democrat strategists and centrist Democratic groups puzzled and disturbed, the Democratic leadership has jumped even further to the left since their last election defeats. The results have been staggering and numerous, and well-documented in the press, and have caused an acute case of political heartburn among many Democrat members and liberal pundits.
Shortly after the 2004 election, left-wing radical group Move-On.org proudly pronounced that “Now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it and we’re going to take it back.” And it was of course correct on all accounts.
Enter Howard Dean as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was too liberal to win the Democratic primary for president because he ran to the left of the more “conservative” senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry. Now he’s reaching out to red-state voters with his pessimism and negativity.
The congressional leadership for the Democrats has formed an alliance with the extreme left as well. MoveOn.org and the Daily Kos are featured guests on conference calls and in meetings to develop strategy with Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). By contrast, Republicans offer clear principles and solutions to the problems confronting the American people. The outlook for protecting the majority in the United States Senate looks good as a result.
Let’s look at the facts about the upcoming elections.
The Democrats must defend 18 seats, compared to 15 seats on the Republican side. The GOP also has 14 out of 15 incumbent senators running for reelection, while the Democrats have lost at least three senators to retirement in Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont and potentially a fourth in New Jersey.
One important statistic tells us that, since 1914, almost 80 percent of congressional incumbents have been reelected. And of the nine winners of Senate elections in 2004, only one member did so by defeating an incumbent. Yet the Democrats have hung their hopes for a Senate majority on defeating incumbent Republican senators across the board in such places as Arizona, Missouri and Montana — all of which broke strongly Republican last year.
As for open seats, thanks to the welcome news that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will continue serving Texas in the Senate, Republicans are defending only Tennessee. If there is any question on how a Senate race in the South will go for the party of Howard Dean and MoveOn.org, a quick look at the races in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana from the last cycle should answer that question.
In terms of open seats on the Democratic side, Republicans are on the offensive with top-tier candidates in the blue states of Maryland (Lt. Gov. Michael Steele), Minnesota (Rep. Mark Kennedy) and New Jersey (Tom Kean Jr.). Unlike the Democrats, however, these Republicans do not have primary contests and can focus on raising funds and getting their messages out.
Even in the open seat in Vermont, Republicans have an outstanding candidate, former IDX Systems CEO Richard Tarrant. But in an embarrassing situation for Howard Dean, the Democrats have been unable to find one of their own and are instead relying on third-party candidate Bernie Sanders to carry the liberal water.
The GOP is working hard in states with vulnerable Democrat incumbents. Former Ameritrade COO Pete Ricketts has joined the field of candidates in Nebraska, a state President Bush won by 33 points. In Washington, Safeco CEO Mike McGavick brings an impressive array of political and business skills to the race. Races in Florida, Michigan and West Virginia will also be very competitive.
Historically, the midterm election after the reelection of a president is not kind to the incumbent party. We fully understand this dynamic and are working hard to build good, aggressive campaigns that can win the tough races.
Republicans are being proactive in both defending our incumbent senators and ensuring that we are challenging vulnerable Democrats. We have already run ads in two states, and we are raising the money we need to impact our races next year.
My Republican colleagues are committed to maintaining a strong majority in the Senate and are taking an active role in fundraising for our candidates. Several candidates are breaking fundraising records in their home states, and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) fundraising is running 34 percent ahead of this time last cycle. More important, the Republican National Committee will lend great assistance to the NRSC by committing resources into the key states next year and their combined cash on hand leads the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by a whopping $18 million.
Unlike the Democratic Party, Republicans can point to a positive agenda and a genuine record of tackling issues of great importance to mainstream Americans. The Democratic leaders do not have an agenda, a plan or a message. All they can offer is pessimism and negativity. As we saw last year, that’s a losing argument.
Try recruiting some good candidates there liddy.
The Pubbies have a golden opportunity to put the Democrat "traitor/treason" Party in the hole for a very long time. I hope they don't blow the opportunity by being whimps!!!
An example is top Dems participating in the deification of Ms Parks.
Kill a Commie for Mommy....
I can't imagine a Democrat taking advice on winning from a Republican, even Mrs. Dole. I think Democrats should push as far to the left as they can, then push a bit farther.
Clinton had it right in 1992 .. its the economy stupid.
The odds are that in 2006 and 2008 the enconomy will be the big issue.
Democrats will win that debate. Eight out of ten preidential elections are determined by the economy. People are always thinking is is some other issue.. but in 8 out of 10 elections it is not.
The Dems are marching left in a hurry.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Sanders
Bernie Sanders "is one of very few self-described democratic socialists".
bump
"Eight out of ten preidential elections are determined by the economy"
I hope the Dems are stupid enough to run on the economy. Instead, I think they'll crank up the anti-war stuff over and over and over. A party with no solutions is not viable in today's world of global terror.
I agree. There are several states where vulnerable Dems don't get a strong Republican opponents... The good ones simply decline... That's her job as a recruiter...
but he does have a pretty good chance of winning vermont though, due to local popularity.
You rang?
why on earth is liz dole giving them any advice?
Uhhh...gas prices are going DOWN! Not that we shouldn't worry at all, but this is NOT the 70s and Bush is NOT Carter.
Because she is the chairperson of the National Republican Senatorial Committee which was instrumental in funding key races during the last election cycle and is planning for GOP gains in the Senate in 2006.
I've not been impressed so far by her efforts. All I've seen is a bunch of "gimme some money, please" mailers. :(
"..If Mommie is a commie
then ya gotta turn her in!"
:o)
Kennedy and Steele are good recruitments. But, they have lost key recruits in "red states" where we'd think they'd be strongest. West Virginia the most noticeable.
Senator Dole has not been doing a good job overall, and it looks at this point enthusiasm by the base better be high to compensate for second tier candidates in conservative leaning states.
Otherwise the risk exists that a "Salazar" narrowly wins by a misleading conservative campaign.
"All I've seen is a bunch of "gimme some money, please" mailers"
Did you get the latest survey (with donation) request? I noted that illegal immigration was not listed as an issue for the RNC.
Every time I receive a donation call, I tell them that I'm not donating anything until I see a concerted Republican effort to deal with the borders.
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