REPOSTED:Democrats 2004 success CANNOT be built upon Bush/GOP failure. . .

I originally posted this on November 30, I think it is really relevant today! http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=797281

Bush had a good week last week (good economic news, Medicare bill and the Baghdad photo op, which even exploited my nephew) and he will probably have many more before Novemember 2004. That being said it is important that we and the candidates we are supporting (all of the Democrats running for president, Senate and the House) focus on why the Democrats are better.

We should not let Bush and the GOP B.S. get by with their simple manipulative BS, but we have to put more emphasis on a POSITIVE MESSAGE FROM the Democrats. As much as Bill Clinton talked about it being the economy stupid, he was also the man from HOPE who did not stop thinking about tomorrow (campaign song "Don't Stop"). If you think back to 1992 what gives you chills when you think about it? It was the optimism!


Remember that the voters we are trying to reach in November 2004 are not partisan Democrats or Republicans they are independents or moderate Democrats and Republicans who don't vote a straight party ticket. If our campaigns are built on Bush's failure then these voters will be turned off because it appears we are pulling for him to fail which they would interpret as us pulling for America to fail.


In the Superbowl one great team beats another great team. Isn't that how the election should be. Bush scored a touchdown this week (by picking up 10 yards with the economy, another 15 with medicare and he went deep with the Baghdad trip). Lets line up to return the kick-off, play some great offense (positive message) and awesome defense (calling out Bush and the GOP and not let them get away anything). Ask for the instant replay officials to take a closer look at some plays: the Palm affair, Iraq, a jobless recovery, etc. But understand that every now and then he will go deep and beat us a few times. The key is to play better and have a better game plan!

While I think non-voters are just as important to reach as swing voters, and while I also think it's important to meet the concerns of the the partisan left who see many reasons to leave the party, I essentially agree with you. And I think this was a really good time for this re-post.

. . .Saddam is an evil man and we should be proud that the US Military (NOT BUSH), however we should be discouraged about the election. We just have to show why the DEMOCRATS (notice I said Democrats not one particulare candidate) are better. Bush is going to be strong and in good shape in November, we just have to be stronger and in better shape. We can do that, its about vision, our campaign can not just be based on Bush's failure.

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Regardless of the success or failures of this misadministration, we can win if we mobilize the voters.

We are a majority and if we can get the people to vote enmasse, we cannot lose.

With the capture of Saddam, we are going to hear alot of chest thumping by the repubs, but that will eventually die down. Our efforts to get Democrats to the polls has got to be our top priority if we want to take back the WH.

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While dwelling on the negative is certainly not the way to win votes there has to be clear distinctions drawn.

It is one of the most timeless paradigms in existence. You offer something new. You must first point out what is wrong with product X and then demonstrate why your product is better.

In the end though it does boil down to how well you present your product. A message of hope and clarity is needed here.

Good to see a constructive post from you. :-)

Julie

. . .90% of my posts are constructive. I am telling you when you and I are on the same team you will view me differently. I am a bulldog who busts his ass to help my team today my team is the Democrats, as it will be again when the primaries are over.

These people cannot seem to think strategically. Everything's tactical with them. Angry about the war? Get an anti-war candidate. Lose some seats in Congress? Find someone to blame. Everything is looked at election by election, issue by issue, and decisions are made as often by emotion as reason and logic. If you lose an election, immediately pursue a different strategy in the next one, without really trying to understand why you lost. You lost, therefore what you did was wrong, therefore you must change. Big picture? Positive agenda? Sacrifice on some issues in exchange for fashioning a coherent and appealing message? Forget it -- no one's willing to give up their pet issue, or their stubborn pride.

Losing the 04 election isn't a catastrophe unless we make it one. As long as we go into it with a plan, a vision for what we want this country to look like, we win whatever the vote count says, because we will suddenly have something to offer besides sterile anti-Bush/Republicanism, and that will help us in Congressional elections, local elections, Gubernatorial elections -- everywhere.

But, nevermind that. I'm angry and I feel walked on, and I'd rather express that then do something about it, maximize the chances that I won't be walked on in the future. President Frist. President Jeb Bush. And all these angry liberals sputtering helplessly about it. Just imagining it makes me want to throw up.

Remember that. . .whomever we nominate this person has to have vision!!!

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