How do we end our (national) losing streak?

[ConservativeDemocrat]

Poll question: How do we end our (national) losing streak?

If you like this poll - keep it kicked.
- C.D.

[Cheswick2.0]

1. other

Get rid of the DLC

[greenohio]

3. Yeah lets kick out all the DLC'ers

Good plan. Spoken like a true deaniac.

[Cheswick2.0]

24. I agree

great plan. Let's do it.

BTW, who did you support in the primaries?

[ConservativeDemocrat]

4. Poll has been updated to properly reflect your choice.

(BTW - I supported Dean in the primaries, so I don't quite get this "Dean" vs "DLC" business).
- C.D.

[Cheswick2.0]

26. There is no choice for me there

perhaps you are assuming too much?

My support of Dean has very little to do with my disgust with the policies of the DLC... besides If you supported Dean and are now sporting a DLC avatar, you were not paying attention.

[GRLMGC]

2. I still don't like the DLC

but alienating groups of people who vote Democratic is the most idiotic and unproductive thing this party can do. I believe that a little compromise is necessary. However, a lot of these Congressional Dems aren't just compromising, they're straight up rolling over which is more than a little frustrating.

[Q]

9. Alienating 'groups of people' is exactly what the DLC is doing...

...to the more liberal elements of the party.

While I don't agree with eliminating the DLC...I think Democrats should become more aware of what THEY are doing to our party with their systematic purging of liberals/progressives from leadership roles.

[GRLMGC]

11. Well yeah

I don't think the DLC should be eliminated. I also don't think it should become dominant. Either way, someone is being alienated and its counterproductive.

[greenohio]

13. Help me here, really.

Give me some examples of this systematic purging of liberals/progressives from leadership roles that you speak of.

And 'they fixed the primaries so dean couldn't win' doesn't count.

[Cheswick2.0]

32. sooner or later you will realize

most people are not going to continue to answer disengenuous questions. There is plenty of information on the DLC. Take responsibility and educate yourself.

[sangh0]

36. Plenty of info? But not one example?

Uh-huh

[greenohio]

43. Aww c'mon Ches.

Work with me here. Just one link? I'm trying to learn. I spent time on mediamatters and ndol and I read the posts by the floridan lady. It would help your case.

[leyton]

48. I have an example: our Senate leadership.

I'm the last person you'll see joining the anti-centrism crowd, but I am sick of seeing our Senate leaders be from red states. Daschle had to play conservative because he was beholden to conservative voters at home. Now, we have a pro-life conservative leader from another red state. Could we not have chosen Teddy Kennedy or Dick Durbin or somebody to lead us in the Senate?

Not exactly a systematic purge, but not exactly a good pattern either.

[greenohio]

50. The DLC is NOT pro-life. Daschle nor Ried is DLC.

Daschle was not DLC. Neither is Reid. They do not have a strangle hold on who the Senate leadership is. If so, they would have chosen one of their own.

[leyton]

51. My bad - they are not DLC, though they are centrist.

I didn't realize that the topic was about DLC specifically. I was just saying that's an instance of where we could have real progressives leading the Senate but instead chose conservative red-staters.

[greenohio]

5. Good post.

You make a great point.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

6. Ohhh, pick me, pick me....

I'm a moderate republican who has decided that the (R) now stands for Rapturist party.

Hope the Democrats get serious in PA in 2006 to oust Santorum. Chris Heinz anyone????

[wiley]

7. Yes. Chris Heinz!

[GRLMGC]

8. I'm not from PA

but i'd love nothing more than to see that pig be ousted. I don't understand how he's been elected and re-elected. I don't know how it is in PA so i'm not in any position to judge. I'm just wondering

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

10. Phila, Pittsburgh and Erie need to smother the red center of PA

The larger PA cities have the populations to engulf and devour the "Pennsyl-tucky" middle if the Dems put up a good candidate. There's a nice scandle in PA right now involving Santorum actually living in Virginia yet taking advantage of a PA cyberschool for his kids using a 2-bedroom rental house he keeps in Penn Hills as his "residence" for admission/tuition. Hope the Dems don't let this scandle die.

Get a little dirty Dems...goodness knows the Republicans will.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

14. Welcome to the DU, ModRepubinPA...

...eventually, I'd hope to persuade you to change your name to ModDemInPA.

Please remember to take some of the flaming you see in this forum with a grain of salt. The D.U. reaches out to people who consider themselves too leftist to be Democrats. That's where most of the more obnoxious posts come from.

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

p.s. Haven't a clue about Santorum. I'm at the opposite end of the country.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

17. Thanks for the welcome...My heart is with the Democrats (RINO)

Only staying Republican to vote AGAINST Santorum in the PA primaries (have to vote within your registered party for PA primaries).

I really hope the Democrats will start an aggressive "Take a look at us now" campaign aimed at the socially liberal/fiscally responsible moderate Republicans. I'd get involved in that if it happened.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

20. We have done exactly that -- in Oregon

And we won our major swing district (Washington County) last election - and turned the state solidly Blue, by doing so.

I agree with your point on messaging, though. Because of party labels, people still don't quite get the changes that have been going on over the last 10 to 20 years. Now, it's largely the GOP that is in favor of pork-barrel, in the form of corporate welfare (e.g. crony capitalism to their donors). Democrats still want to protect schools and a safety net, but we've decided that we can pay for it without raising taxes - if we just allow the state to open up its contracts to competitive bids.

- C.D.

[Cheswick2.0]

31. funny sounds just like the republicans

give tax breaks and privitize everything.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

40. Maybe to you, Cheswick.

But not to anybody who actually pays attention. Governments of every size have always "privatized" much of the service they provide. The Interstate Highway system wasn't built directly by congressmen breaking rock - it was doled out as contracts to various road builders. Neither does the military design fighter jets. It contracts aerospace firms to build them.

The problem is, a lot of those contractors have found ways to force taxpayers of this country to pay massive overcharges: they buy politicians. Or more specifically, they buy Republicans.

Forcing a level playing field in terms of government contracts may sound "just like the republicans" to you. But to the rest of us, we know that if we just get competitive bids, we can use the savings to pay for more services without costing middle income Americans more in terms of taxes.

And guess what? Voters like that.

- C.D.

[geek tragedy]

53. I agree--the Democrats need to update their "brand."

The Dems are now the responsible ones. They've just got to keep hammering on that theme.

The real balance and trick will be to communicate to those outside the party that the Michael Moore Democrats/liberals/progressives don't have a lot of influence in the party, while at the same time not alienating those same Michael Moore Democrats/liberals/progressives.

[Cheswick2.0]

27. You are defining DU with 300 posts?

There are all kinds of people here. Stick around and post more than a few posts a year and you will figure that out.

But thanks for speaking out for the rest of us in the meantime. The truth is that there is a great mix of people here. If you want to try debating "leftists" this is not the place.

[Leilani]

12. Maybe some new ideas

& a cohesive message

with candidates who KNOW the message?

[leftofthedial]

15. all of the above

apparently

[doc03]

16. Run someone that can win Ohio. Time after time the our candidates

are selected in New Hamphire and Iowa. Middle America has no input in the process. I swear the people in New Hampshire and Iowa work for the GOP.

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. Maybe we should start compromising with each other,

and stop compromising with the repukes.

[NoPasaran]

19. Other- Post more flamebait threads on DU!

[Cheswick2.0]

29. woop there it is

wait...that's greenohio's line.

[greenohio]

35. Awwww, thanks for creating a reputation for me.

Looks like I've made a friend.

[rman]

21. Odd, most people voted for the non-answer;

Winning is by definition getting more voters to vote for you then for your oponent.

So the question can be rephrased as:
"How do we get more Dems?"

Most popular answer:
"By getting more Dems."

[The Wielding Truth]

23. Other... I'm sick of being pushed around. I want another government!

Parties aren't even the problem anymore it' apathy. I want to have someone respect me a citizen. Not a Jew or Christian or Dem or Rep or
rich or poor or gay or straight that is a handful of superfluous trappings. I want to be lead by a person who sees me as American second and HUMAN first. Health care. I want to live healthy.... I want to have a chance to earn a sustaining wage. I don't want an indoor pool a Hummer or an oil well of my own. What kind of egocentric would want to deprive others to spoil themselves.It is disgusting.Lets own this country again.Anyone from now on who dares mention war an only choice to me is getting my ire. Anyine who suggests that being independent is a virtue when you down and out is worthless to me.Sorry the Irresponsible greedy and the fools, it's reality time!!!!

[greenohio]

25. I think the point is

that its a loser strategy to start kicking out people.

[Cheswick2.0]

28. Not democrats

just republican trojan horses.

[greenohio]

34. You volunteering?

Or are you calling all DLC'ers trojan horses. I just don't think calling Clinton a trojan horse is going to fly with many people here.

[Cheswick2.0]

38. Waaaaaaaaaaaa

I am scared of what people here think about me and my opinions of Clinton. Now you have me all shaking in my Birkenstocks and spilling my Latte.

Did you miss the part where I said not people...just organizations? Clinton is not the DLC he just happened to be a member.

[greenohio]

39. The poll is asking who should be kicked out.

DLC/Clintonista's is an options which you voted for. I think it is pretty safe to say Bill Clinton is a Clintonista.

[sangh0]

44. But she won't address the logical part

Instead, she'll raise a straw man about her being scared.

[ConservativeDemocrat]

37. It's not a NON-answer - it's really the ONLY answer

The real question of this survey is this: have you let your emotions so much get the better of you, that you no longer think rationally? (Or to put it the way we talk about Bush supporters - Are you a moron?)

The survey results so far don't look all that encouraging...

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

[greenohio]

42. Right on.

Nicely put.

[sangh0]

45. yep

very little reason left in GD and GDP

[Dinger]

22. Can't Say

I'll go to Gitmo

[GOPBasher]

30. NONE of these! Just get fair elections. Throw out the machines!

Let's just get paper trails and fair elections. That's all we need. I'm telling you, we WON this time.

[mmonk]

33. Become the opposition

in deeds (votes on the floor). Side with truth.

[Comicstripper]

41. What losing streak?

The is the first presidential election we've lost since 1988....

[brindis_desala]

55. You need to understand that reality more clearly

This red state blue state crap is half mirage/pure distraction...yes the south still tips republican but look at the trends. You got the young vote in Louisiana and even with a 24/7 right wing noise machine Gore won and Kerry probably did too and he ran a shitty campaign until Carville gave him a couple good bitch slaps. Kerry didn't even RUN a TOKEN campaign down South. I wonder how lonely it feels to be a local democrat with 40% in Alabama. You've been snookered twice because you sit on your fannies and don't ACT even when you see you're being ROBBED! The minute those numbers went south you should have had your asses back in FLA and OHIO. You think the repugs would've sat back if we ever pulled that kind of B.S.? Politics is down and dirty. To win you gotta TAKE control. "No" should not exist in your vocabulary when the truth is on your side- Which means taking care so your poor footsoldiers don't get shafted year after year until they say you know what? These mf liberals ain't serious.

[DireStrike]

46. None of the above.

Simply throw out all our ideals until we appeal to the most possible voters.

[catbert836]

47. Let's get rid of the DLC

We're not getting anywhere by keeping those losers around.

[Kazak]

49. Er...install printers?

It'd be a step in the right direction.

BTW, by my count, we've won four Preisential elections in a row!

[Avalux]

52. PLEASE ADD

reform of our voting system. Without knowing if the election was fair - how do you know we're on a losing streak? Maybe that's the biggest coup of the Republicans - making us believe what we're doing is wrong.

[Hatalles]

54. kick

[NinetySix]

56. What the fuck are you talking about? We won the last 4 elections.

If you want to end the "losing streak," by which I suppose you mean get one of our own back into the White House, then end corporate control of voting and counting, and go back to paper and pencil balloting counted by citizen poll workers.

It's just that simple...even though it may never happen.

[robbedvoter]

57. Uh, losing? I don't think so