What can fire up Democratic voters?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Accepting that there is a profound enthusiasm gap right now, with Americans politically enthusiastic in rough proportion to how reactionary they are...

And accepting that--no matter the wisdom of the policy--increasing efforts in Afghanistan will have a deleterious effect on party unity...

And accepting that enthusiasm for healthcare reform is ebbing rather than surging (one can argue that one, but the numbers and atmospherics seem to support it)...

What can fire up the Democratic base and Democratic-leaning independents?

This is a serious question, and I have no ready answer beyond my perennial proposal for mass refinancing of consumer debt.

What do Democrats want? Perhaps our politics has become so purely oppositional that the only thing people every really want is somebody gone. We hated Bush. Republicans hate Obama. Is it that simple? Is political enthusiasm just 100% Donald Trump politics? ("You're Fired!")

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Hat-tip to flpoljunkie (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... )

The first number is certain or likely to vote; the second is unlikely or certain not to vote.

Republican Voters: 81/14
Independent Voters: 65/23
Democratic Voters: 56/40

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/11/watch...

[polichick]

1. If the WH and Dem Congress acted like Democrats without kissing up...

...to the other side, people might see change they could believe in.

The left is disgusted and the middle is made up of followers - they like to be on the winning side.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. excellent observation. The middle follows social cues as to what constitutes the middle

Easy to forget that the middle is the middle on purpose... they perceive themselves as moderate as a positive personal character trait, not as the incidental culmination of analysis of competing political visions.

[polichick]

3. Yeah, and imo they see moderation as a "positive character trait" because...

...they don't actually want to think enough to take a stand.

[msongs]

4. 2008 = personality election, the charismatic "change" Obama, and now

there is no charismatic candidate to get people inspired. Change we can believe in has become more of the same old thing. Interest is low on the dems side because the trendies and the youth that were all hyped have nobody hyping them anymore.

Msongs

[Better Today]

5. If they don't deserve the enthusiasm, then they don't. Artificially firing up

Democrats or even looking for a way to fire them up artificially is just counter to anything I want to be a part of.

If them Dems want an enthusiastic base, they need to pump up the HCR bill so they quit losing those of us that wanted Health CARE reform, not Health INSURANCE mandates; show that transparency they claimed they were going to; end the wiretapping; charge the war criminals; get Blackwater and the like out of conflicts and demand repayment of the billions of lost and fraud; get stimulus to the little and middle guys;.......

If all of these things were being done, the Afghanistan issue would be "forgiven"

I sure don't understand everyone being so friggin focused on the Afghanistan issue. You're claiming it will be THE thing that causes all of the disenchantment, but it isn't. Obama said he was going to focus more effort on Afghanistan, I had no expectations that he would do otherwise. It's all this other shit that is losing me.

Edited to add: OH! and lets not forget things like DADT that he should've solved by now, particularly if he is going to send more troops out there.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Democratic politicians.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. Act like they hold deeply principled positions they will risk losing elections over

Republicans always position themselves to the public as a party with strong values and the courage of their convictions. They pretend to be warriers while Democrats act like taylors. The incredible shrinking health care public option embodies today's Democratic Party. It isn't even clear how profoundly Democratic leadership believes in it let alone how strongly they are willing to fight for it. Republicans for better or worse have always been identified as being champions of a the less restricted the better free market. Democrats historically were champions of using Government to protect the interests of the people. With both the Wall Street bail outs and health care reform Democrats come across as being apologetic about having to use government to protect the public interest. The way Democrats framed the public option was pathetic; just a means to prod the private sector to do a better job which could be traded away for any other approach that might produce the same result. It is obvious which party is on the ideological offensive and which is on the ideological defensive. And given that Democrats overwhelmingly won the last national elections, it is extremely disheartening to witness. A disheartened voter is not an enthusiastic voter.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. Maybe if they tried acting like DEMOCRATS for a change?

You know, like ending wars, rather than making shitty excuses to escalate them, or planning another one based on yet more goddamn lies.

Or actually reforming health care, as opposed to prostituting themselves to the insurance criminals.

And how about holding the Bush Crime Family responsible for all the damage they have done to this country?

[treestar]

9. One has to fire oneself up

that's one thing one can't sit back and wait for the leaders to do. The far right stays permanently fired up, no matter how little they get of what they want from Repuke leaders. If you look at the far right, they have little of what they want. Yet they rabidly push forward.

We could have gone to DC to countermarch the teabaggers. Either we weren't there or the M$M didn't cover it.

Because of the M$M we have to be twice as hard working as the repukes do.

[Thrill]

10. I expect big wins for the Republicans mid terms

Weak Healthcare Bill and Escalation of the Afgan war? Nothing for Democrats to be excited about. They won't show up. We've seen this movie before.

[QC]

11. Do something that benefits someone other than Goldman Sachs. n/t

[frazzled]

12. The threat that Republicans will take over Congress

Honestly, people don't get out to the polls "for" things. Especially for midterm elections in nonpresidential years.

Fear, hate, and fed-upedness is what drives voters to turn out. The conservatives have that on their side right now. We have to realize that, and consider the consequences.
I am considering working early and hard for get-out-the-vote projects with either Organizing for America or the state and local Democratic party. It's entirely possible that we could get a Republican senator or governor here in Illinois, even ... or especially.

I think we have to work extra hard to convince people who turned out in 2008 that their agenda could be ruined if they don't show up at the polls.

[TayTay]

13. The promise of jobs

And Democrats who are thought to be on the side of those who are going through hard times right now. People will fight for those who are thought to be fighting for them.

[Oregone]

14. Republicans fillibustering a REAL health care reform would fire up the base

Too bad that wasn't made to happen.

[Onlooker]

15. Health care reform

The moment it passes, all the insurance companies, to get market share, are going to beginning marketing its benefits. At that point, people will be quickly sold on health care reform, and the Democrats will look really good.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

16. With a watered down bill that is essentially a giveaway to the insurance industry?

I wouldn't count on that.