Democrats Discuss How to Reset Agenda

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In the shadow of Bill Clinton (news - web sites) and his gleaming new presidential library, leaders of the struggling Democratic Party held informal discussions this week of how to come back from their devastating Election Day losses.


Big decisions loom, such as who will replace outgoing Chairman Terry McAuliffe and on a basic ideological direction. According to one senior Democrat, Lottie Shackelford, the party's vice chairman, party leaders decided to "pull back" and reflect.


"Most of the people with votes at our executive committee meeting in Orlando next month haven't even had a chance to talk about it," she said. "That's why there seems to be more of a consensus now that people need to pull back a bit and start to reflect a little on where we need to go, then start to think about who should be leading us."

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"The direction is something the party has to debate," he (Kef: Paul Begala) said. "We need to find out, are we simply a bunch of interest groups or a party with heart that provides opportunity in every community? If we return to that, we'll be all right."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20041120/ap_on_el_ge/clinton_democrats

Instead of dithering around, they might try listening to those of us who are begging for a candidate who won't crumple and fold at the first whisper of opposition from Chimp Enablers. We try to appeal to the mushy middle, and turn our backs on millions of voters who are pleading for strong leadership.

We shouldn't care, at this point, about alienating any voters. If the values we hold as Democratic are to be honored, we need to stop being so meek. We need to tell THEM what we expect in a candidate, and stop giving in on our positions, lest we piss the conservatives off.

These people stay pissed off, they stay angry, they stay intolerant, and since this is the case, we need to start pushing back, and hard, to be heard. How can we expect a voter to choose the Democratic candidate if he/she is too timid to fight?

is to locate the balls they lost 4 years ago.

The Democrats rolled over for Reagan and never recovered

The congressional leadership and the DNC/DLC still valiantly hold to the formula they had when Bill Clinton was President (the 3rd way) but he's not President anymore, and there is no reason for the republicans to go along with them on anything anymore...

that, is the core of the problem.