Maria Cantwell, Where Are You?
That's what
Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly is wondering in his latest column.
Forty years ago, preaching to the choir was enough to win elections because Democrats owned a substantial majority in both houses of Congress. Republicans caught up with Democrats awhile back and Democrats either went into denial about that or they know it but don't know how to win back those majorities.
Part of winning back majorities is actually standing for something other than what's inevitable. It means fighting for ideals. It means figuring out what's appealing to more than the moonbat fringe base. Actually, that's part of the problem. The moonbats are so far gone that anything but the wildest, most Bush-hating ideas are rejected. Look no further than Connecticut for proof.
The late great Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,(D-NY), said that the GOP under Reagan had "become the party of ideas" and that the Democratic Party no longer was.
Contrast that with how Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman have recruited engaging candidates like Mssrs. McGavick, Kennedy and Steele, who are good at talking with people rather than talking down to them like Kerry and Gore did in 2000 and 2004. These candidates are good debaters and they appeal to voters with their positions on the issues.
That'll beat a series of photo ops everytime.
Posted Saturday, July 8, 2006 1:30 AM
June 2006 Posts
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With the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Michael Dukakis as notorious examples, Democrats waste away the summer and set the stage for losing in the fall. Republicans have learned to use the dog days as a time to "define" both themselves and their opponents, a key step for later harvesting votes. And that may be happening out here on the Left Coast.Joel, they do the same thing here in Minnesota. I think that the reason Democrats do this is twofold: (a) they believe that preaching to their choir is all that's needed to win elections and (b) they got used to governming majorities without learning the lessons of why they were the majority.
Forty years ago, preaching to the choir was enough to win elections because Democrats owned a substantial majority in both houses of Congress. Republicans caught up with Democrats awhile back and Democrats either went into denial about that or they know it but don't know how to win back those majorities.
Part of winning back majorities is actually standing for something other than what's inevitable. It means fighting for ideals. It means figuring out what's appealing to more than the moonbat fringe base. Actually, that's part of the problem. The moonbats are so far gone that anything but the wildest, most Bush-hating ideas are rejected. Look no further than Connecticut for proof.
The late great Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,(D-NY), said that the GOP under Reagan had "become the party of ideas" and that the Democratic Party no longer was.
He spent the past few years as an insurance executive, but McGavick has taken to retail politics. He is running in races, marching in parades and walking business districts in his downtime. A big red bus serves as a vehicle for name recognition.Connecting with people is what breeds loyal supporters. You can't connect with those you don't meet. It sounds like McGavick's doing the legwork that's needed to connect with people of all walks of life. That's as smart a strategy as I've noticed this side of Mark Kennedy's Senate campaign here in Minnesota.
Sen. Maria Cantwell excels when it's High Noon on Capitol Hill. She beat back the backdoor bid by Sen. Ted Stevens, (R-AK), to open ANWR to oil drilling. She forced a languid Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to pull the switch on Enron's bid to collect $122 million from Snohomish County's electrical ratepayers. She is not, however, raising comfort levels with the home folks. We get only the old Schumer gambit of tightly controlled media events.Schumer's tactics will be proven to be a disaster. He's orchestrating Democratic candidates like a bunch of puppets because he's trying desparately to nationalize the election by telling the average American that Democrats aren't like evil Republicans.
Contrast that with how Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman have recruited engaging candidates like Mssrs. McGavick, Kennedy and Steele, who are good at talking with people rather than talking down to them like Kerry and Gore did in 2000 and 2004. These candidates are good debaters and they appeal to voters with their positions on the issues.
That'll beat a series of photo ops everytime.
Posted Saturday, July 8, 2006 1:30 AM
June 2006 Posts
No comments.
