Warner voices frustration with Democrats

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Mark Warner, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, voiced growing concern Tuesday with his party's electoral strategy, arguing that Democrats' willingness to write off sections of the country could make it nearly impossible to win the White House.

''I got pretty frustrated after 2004,'' said the former Virginia governor. ''We are making a mistake if we put up candidates that are only competitive in 16 states and then we roll the dice and hope we win Ohio or Florida.''

In an interview with The Associated Press, Warner insisted he wasn't being critical of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, whom he called ''a very strong candidate.'' But Warner said Democrats must stop conceding entire regions of the country.

''We do our party and the country a disservice if we're not competitive in the South and the balance of the Midwest,'' Warner said. ''I'm disappointed in campaigns that write off the South and leave behind wide swaths of our country.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Democrats-Warner.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

tend to only focus on the swing states.
I agree with him.

Warner's platform, it seems to me, is focused on "swing states" and leveraging AGAINST loyally-Democratic states.

His entire "image" is built around "appeal to red states" -- all by repeating the theme that he's "not like OTHER Democrats."

Yes, we must appeal to red states -- but not by rejecting "New England Liberal latte-swilling Chardonnay-sipping hot-tub sitting intellectuals." No, he never comes out and says that. Like BushCo, he and his team have been VERY careful to market him in ways that SAY he's a "different Democrat" etc., and reporters alone comment on his rejection of "elitists" etc., while he keeps his hands clean.

I am telling you: This is a man interested in HIMSELF. Not the Democratic party, not our constituency, not our ideals -- he is using those only to promote himself, using criticism of OUR true fighters to "rise above" as he deems best.

"Sensible center" and "south/midwest" my ASS!!! There ARE people out there who can embody all of the "New England Liberal intellectual" supposedly-poisonous ideals while communicating it to south and midwest "red states" in a way they can embrace, too. Polls show they ARE with us.

It's Dean's strategy with the right candidate. (And Mark Warner is NOT the right candidate.)

he also doesn't have any foreign policy experience.

did he say anything about Allen's offensive Macaca comments to a Virginian ? or did he not say anything in order not to offend certain types ? i ask this because he is actually from Virginia.

and even besides that, i haven't really heard him say much at all about George Allen . is he afraid that he would be associated with those evil liberals who are attacking poor George Allen ?

Owing to the good thinking of Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee:
50 State Strategy

Alas, I scarcely heard a thing about it other than the announcement (and an announcement of some day of celebration/public outreach--just the announcement, mind you).

Still, it's true and it's a worthy goal--if we aren't presenting our message "everywhere", the people in those places won't be hearing it (thanks to the fact we don't have a mass media (M$M) that is sympathetic to our/liberal views).

or I was. I think we are making great strides to be competitive in Nebraska at least, where it's not uncommon to not even field a candidate in Congressional races. This year we have a great candidate we can all be proud of in every race. Why doesn't he instead of complaining about what some democrats are doing, attach himself to Dr. Dean's 50 state strategy? Lead by example, not by bitching. Mark, why don't you come out to Nebraska and help put our guys over the top? Maybe I'm being delusional to think we will be competitive on election day, but I know we have held our own in money and we're making a real effort grassroots style and on talk radio to get our message out. Some democrats are trying to be part of solution. Why don't you join them?

But a lot of us reject the idea that we have to commit to being as far to the right as Clinton and Carter in order to do that.
There are other things we can do

1)Push hard to get African American voter registation to a maximum level in Southern states(as well as everywhere else.
2)Target those white voters who are newcomers from Northern or other Democratic states and who aren't rigidly anti-progressive.
3)Get the Southern and midwestern state legislatures we control(especially if they are in Red states presidentially)to allocate their state's Electoral College votes proportionally, so that reactionary white bloc votes don't keep us out in the cold.
4)Support union organizing drives wherever they are going on. Unionized voters are always more likely to be Democratic voters.
5)Push an economic populist, class-based message that will actually attract working class voters who have moved away from us because our campaign strategy has been based on embracing corporate economic priorities and only disagreeing with the GOP on a few cultural and environmental side issues.

All of the above are much more likely to make us competitive throughout the country, and much more in tune with the 50 state strategy, than our masochistic post-1988 approach of ignoring everyone except white suburbanites and big corporate donors.

If he means to turn the red states blue then great but we can't water down the message to suit a conservative state. There has to be a message that the democrats are for the people and bring them away from conservatism which has done nothing for anyone.

It's your DLC friends who were writing off entire sections of the country. And it's Howard Dean, who your DLC buddies are always attacking, who has been busting his ass trying to build that 50 state party structure that he was talking about long before he became DNC chair.

Your friends ridiculed him during the 2003/2004 campaign for saying that he wanted to get the message to the "guys with the confederate flags in their trucks".

Maybe you should start talking to From, Marshall, Vilsuck and the rest of those idiots before you take it to the whore media?

with the likes of those who want to talk down the Democratic party.....and play it safe!

:boring: