Gary Hart on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"

[American liberal]

during the pre-game interview provided a very sensible analysis of the problem the Democratic Party is having in gaining momentum against the Republican machine: The Repubs are single-minded corporatists that are easily rallied around the issues, whereas the Dems are a party of coalitions (he mentioned women, minorities, labor) and that it is difficult to reach consensus. I think we have experienced that here at DU, and I know I have witnessed it during the anti-war work I did during Daddy Bush's Gulf war.

I believe that the greatest challenge facing the Left's efforts to regain control of at least two branches of gov't is to carve out succinct talking points that appeal to the greatest number of people.

I think Dean and moveon.org have shown how powerful the grassroots can be. We now need to synthesize the divergent voices of all these coalitions (which is one of the things I value and love most about the Left) and form our own lockstep that will break down the very fierce opposition. The Right has been perfecting its game since the 1950s; its time the leftist think tanks hone its message and get the word out--in unison!

It was great to hear Hart this morning. He's another supreme example of how the Right has been using Rovian tactics to bring down our best and brightest. So-called swiftboating has been going on for YEARS! We need to develop even better tactics that rise above the fray: Hart, who was just named a full professor at a university in CO (I forgot which one), suggested that something based in courage and conviction might just be the ticket.

Peace,
AL

[Greyhound]

1. I'm originally from Colorado and have been a Gary Hart fan for

many, many, many years, but he brought himself down through sheer arrogance and stupidity. He has admitted it himself.

[American liberal]

3. thanks, greyhoud, for your perspective...

and I agree he made mistakes. But my point is that the opposition party capitalized on those mistakes relentlessly. To this day (we're talking more than 20 years later), when I think of Gary Hart, I don't remember the candidate and the issues he was pressing for, but the images of him in sunglasses on that boat with a woman who wasn't his wife. We were bombarded with that image again and again and again (similarly to that Clinton shot with Monica Lewinksy) to the exclusion of all else. It's a powerful method of propaganda that has been very effective in the past in discrediting public figures.

[Greyhound]

4. Yes it is. His mistake was in challenging them to find something

on him. BTW it was during his primary run up to the Presidential race in '83 (I think). If your doing a woman that isn't your wife and you want to be President, it's not a good idea to make a big deal of your fidelity.

[leesa]

2. He would have been a good Prez. Classic swiftboating.

[Greyhound]

5. The swift-boat asses just made shit up. Gary Hart actually got caught

red-handed. :shrug:

[RandomKoolzip]

6. He wasn't 'swiftboated." He fucked up.

He was a great candidate, but he really pulled a fats one on himself when he invited the press corps to investigate every aspect of his private life and then decided to have an affair.

Too bad, he coulda handily beat Bush I in 88. Sure was a damn sight better than Dukakis.

[Ignacio Upton]

7. Gary Hart is a sad case

I agree that had it not been for the "Monkey Business" incident, he could very well have won in the 1988 election (I'm not so sure about 1984, because while the economy wasn't doing the best back then, Reagan was pretty popular that year.)
Hart has actually redeemed himself as a private citizen. He worked with former Senator Warren Rudman to write the Hart-Rudman Report on the dangers of terrorism to America's shores. This is the same Hart-Rudman Report that BUSH failed to look at! I believe that Hart could be in a cabinent-level position in a future Democratic administration, possibly as Homeland Security Secretary after Chertoff (we should change the department's Orwellian name when we control the Presidency.)

[CTyankee]

8. Weren't there a couple of students who wanted him to run in 04?

I seem to recall they tried to start a movement for him. I think I saw an article on it in the NY Times Sunday magazine.

[Debi]

12. He put his toe in the water here in Iowa

and the national press just trotted out the 'Monkey Business' garbage again, ignoring everything he'd done in the last 15 years.

[Humor_In_Cuneiform]

9. Oh the irony. If only he'd used the show title as his guide.

He challenged journalists to catch him in an affair.

Then he went to have one, or continue one.

And they did.

Exit stage right for an embarrassed kinda stupid Gary Hart.

[Greyhound]

10. I'm gonna kick this to bring Hart's name back to the discussion. n/t

[murdoch]

11. The Democrats are not a coalition

The Democratic party, at least in any shape to win, is a labor party. In the early and mid 20th century, when it was a labor party primarily, it usually one. Now that the DLC tries to make it a coalition of "identity" groups, it is not in power in the Senate, the House, the White House or the Supreme Court. According to 2004 polls, a majority of people making under $50k voted for Kerry, a majority of people making over $50k voted for Bush.

The very rich, and the professional/managerial class make up 20% of the country. Thus you have a base of 80% to work with. Even if they manage to peel off the top third of that 80%, you're still in the majority. That's where bringing in a work force from Mexico and not allowing them to vote (Bush's "amnesty"), religious fundamentalism and so forth come into play, helped by a DLC leadership who wants to get rid of the Democrats one strength - labor.