If Democrats Follow The Advice Of Evan Bayh, You Can Count Me Out !!!

[WillyT]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

<snip>

It is clear that Democrats over-interpreted our mandate. Talk of a “political realignment” and a “new progressive era” proved wishful thinking. Exit polls in 2008 showed that 22 percent of voters identified themselves as liberals, 32 percent as conservatives and 44 percent as moderates. An electorate that is 76 percent moderate to conservative was not crying out for a move to the left.

We also overreached by focusing on health care rather than job creation during a severe recession. It was a noble aspiration, but $1 trillion in new spending and a major entitlement expansion are best attempted when the Treasury is flush and the economy strong, hardly our situation today.

And we were too deferential to our most zealous supporters. During election season, Congress sought to placate those on the extreme left and motivate the base — but that meant that our final efforts before the election focused on trying to allow gays in the military, change our immigration system and repeal the George W. Bush-era tax cuts. These are legitimate issues but unlikely to resonate with moderate swing voters in a season of economic discontent.

And...

A good place to start would be tax reform. Get rates down to make American businesses globally competitive. Reward savings and investment. Simplify the code to reduce compliance costs and broaden the base. In 1986, this approach attracted bipartisan support and fostered growth.

<snip>

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/opinion/03bayh.html?ref=opinion

:wtf:

:puke:

[BootinUp]

1. The truth is he has to do a little of what this traitor says

and a lot of what Dionne is talking about.

[emulatorloo]

2. Per MSNBC crew, Dems are pretty pissed at him right now n/t

[phantom power]

3. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind the Dems will tack further right.

[donco6]

4. Me too. n/t

[Catherina]

5. Me too. Rec'd n/t

[IndyPragmatist]

6. I've known Bayh for years...

And I agree, he did turn his back on the Democrat Party. That is, the national party. I think he helped Democrats in Indiana because he is still very well liked here in Indiana. He was a VERY popular governor as a democrat in a very republican state. By backing away from Obama, and embracing "Indiana Democrats", he is keeping the possibility open of Indiana becoming a Democratically governed state.

In the long run, Bayh will help Blue Dog Democrats in Indiana get elected to Senate and the House. Progressive here wont have much of a chance, but they really didn't in the first place. So, I would say, overall, he has helped the Democrat party. It may not look that way now since he gave his seat to a Republican, but I believe Democrats will benefit a lot if he decides to run for Governor.

[kath]

13. A little tip - the name of our party is the DEMOCRATIC Party.

only rightwingers refer to us as "the Democrat Party".

[Enthusiast]

25. You will have that in Democrats

with only 21 posts. :rofl:

[Dappleganger]

16. He only helped the democratic party in Indiana.

Everyone else he flipped off.

Now go tell your buddy to give back that 10 million dollars.

[kenfrequed]

24. Uhm

Blue dogs are a bad investment in time and though you may think they are good for winning Indiana, the facts put things a little differently. They divided the party and forced both liberal and moderate democrats to kowtow to the conservative Democrats that really didn't want to do much anyhow.

Bayh's blue dogs were a stab in the back to the Obama administration over a month before he even took office. Frankly, senate caucuses are rare for a reason but it didn't stop Bayh from bottling everything up.

The net result was that the Democratic party could not come out with a solid unified plan to get behind with regards to health care, and that every major issue that could have been an advantage became a blobby morass of undefinable glop. Great, I suppose if you are playing an eternal defense game of protecting the white house from looking like it is taking too strong a side on any particular course of action, but absolutely terrible for getting things done.

Republicans are able to put out the most bizarre, nightmarish, illogical, and absurd ideas imaginable and pretend that it is good policy. Why can't democrats lead with their policies since they are almost universally better?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[okieinpain]

9. good god almighty. it's the economy stupid. president obama

could run down the street buck ass naked and people would not give a flying shit. that's if they are not worried about finding a job, I truly hope dems don't over analysis this shit and go freakin crazy. it's truly some of the simplest shit in the world. jobs, jobs, jobs.

[nashville_brook]

10. wow -- I didn't know there was a giant river in his district

you know...DaNile.

[mzmolly]

11. You've counted yourself out for a while now, haven't you?

:shrug:

[WillyT]

12. No... I Just Support Real Democrats...

Got some here in California too.

:woohoo:

[mzmolly]

14. I'm glad Boxer/Brown won. But I'll take a so called fake Democrat

over a Republican any day of the week.

Peace

[BzaDem]

15. Did you seriously think that Democrats would move to the left if their ranks were decimated? n/t

[WillyT]

17. But It as The BlueDogs That Were Decimated, No ???

<snip>

The House's shift to the right came partly at the expense of the Democrats most likely to vote with them. The Blue Dog Coalition lost almost half of the 47 members who were seeking reelection -- 22 have been declared losers, and one other (Jim Costa of Fresno) appears certain to end up in that column too. Seven Blue Dogs didn't seek reelection, and all of their seats were claimed by Republicans.

The 11 Democrats (nine of them Blue Dogs) who voted against the $787-billion stimulus package in 2009 didn't fare well either. Only two won reelection -- North Carolina's Heath Shuler and Tennessee's Jim Cooper. Three retired, and all of those seats went to Republicans.

Nor did the 34 Democrats (including 23 Blue Dogs) who voted against the healthcare reform bill in March. Thirteen won reelection, and Democrats held on to the open seat vacated by "no" voter Artur Davis of Alabama. The other 20 either were defeated or retired, with their seats taken by Republicans. Several of those -- notably Rick Boucher of Virginia, Chet Edwards of Texas and Ike Skelton of Missouri -- were longtime centrists, even though they weren't members of the Blue Dog caucus.

<snip>

Link: http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2010/11/a-vanishing-breed-blue-dogs.html

:shrug:

[spanone]

18. actually evan, i believe the democrats under-interpreted our mandate

but you're the unemployed political genius here

[HughMoran]

19. Ultimatum # 112431132.5

Fuck Evan Bayh - nobody is listening to his BS and you know it.

[WillyT]

20. Hey Hugh...

:hi:

[HughMoran]

21. Yeah, I know, thanks for kicking my thread

You're predictable, if nothing else...

[WillyT]

22. You Too My Man, You Too...

:evilgrin:

:hi:

[Bozita]

23. The best Senator that Wellpoint ever owned!