Why a Fractious, Hard Fought Democrat Primary is Good for the Party and the General

Here we go. Another post that will sink straight to the bottom. But there is something that needs to be said, so I will say it.

There is a difference between "fractious" and shooting yourself in the foot during the primary. I do not recommend anyone creating fake dirt or scandals to smear the opposition candidate, because that kind of mud does not wash off at the convention. I recommend that anytime we see someone attempt to start up or promote a phony scandal at DU, we crush that effort like an Ebola carrying radioactive scorpion.

But all the poo flinging---you know, the name calling. You are a "war hawk." You are a "socialist." You kill baby seals. You don't have breast so you could not understand women----go right ahead. Because we want the Democratic Primary to seem exciting, undecided, a horse race that anyone could win. That's the kind of tension that gets the American public to sit up and take notice. Being a betting, sports oriented kind of people, we love to watch a contest, select our favorite and then urge him or her onto victory.

The "fight up until the end" Democratic primary of 2008 served the Democrats well. It allowed the eventual nominee, Obama to escape months of RNC fueled MSM "character" attacks. Since the winner was never clear, the RNC could not start attacking the nominee's character until it was too late---Obama's character was already well defined in the mind's of the American public.

"Gore is a liar" was not something that Karl Rove dreamed up in three months. Big Lies takes a year or two to develop. Since everyone knew that Gore would be the nominee, the GOP could get to work early attacking him, creating a story about Gore's characters---a lie that stuck just enough to chip away at the Democratic base so that Florida was close enough for Jeb Bush and then the SCOTUS to steal the election. This is what Rove means by "The Math".

Things we have going for us this time around---Obama has done a great job of getting people who did not vote in the past to register. Now that they are registered and used to voting, they will vote again. I am hoping that the Obama DOJ will also get out there to squash GOP efforts to stop people from voting. That will help, too. And Republican candidates (with the exception of Brother Jeb, who may not survive the primary) are jokes.

But we will throw a serious monkey wrench in the RNC's general election strategy if we keep them guessing up until the end. So party on, my fellow Democrats. Fling poo like your life depends upon it. But do not allow yourself to be fooled. Really nasty attacks on one Democrat that appear to come from another Democrat almost certainly come from the GOP (divide and conquer is still their number one favorite tool) And do not forget to tell the world how absolutely WONDERFUL your own candidate is every day as often as possible. Because name calling will get the public's attention and allow us to define our candidates' characters before the general but positivity wins!

Here's a suggestion. For every name calling/poo flinging post you make about the opposition, go post something positive about your own candidate. Easy to remember and it will create the right balance between "The Food Fight" (which will get the public's attention) and the Campaign (which will get your candidate elected).

Now, I'll just sit back and wait to see who is the first person to object to the phrase "poo flinging." Bonus points to whoever alerts on it. Because my intention in this post is not to attack any candidate or any candidate's supporters or even to cripple the Democrats' chances next fall. It is to help us win. And therefore, the main objection that I can see to what I have written here will be that it is intended to help Dems' win---and who here wants to help Dems lose?