I read on someone's post here that a senator hasn't been elected

[JAYJDF]

president since 1960. Then why aren't the Dems trying to find someone other than senators to build up and run?

[LaPera]

1. Diebold rejects senators -- Does not compute!

OK- so let's run ex SF mayor, democrat & the kickback king, Willie Brown!!!!

[wyldwolf]

2. We are trying to find others besides Senators to run

Clark, Warner, Vilsak... there are a handful of non-Senator or more than just Senator names out there, including Gore.

[WCGreen]

3. Gore was a Senator....

[NoPasaran]

7. But in 2000 he was Vice President

[wyldwolf]

16. which is why I said he is a "more than just Senator " name

[snowbear]

4. What 'choo talkin' about JayJDF?

No telling who our candidate will be.

Some Democrats have their hearts set on a Governor..

Some on a Senator..

Some on a General..

Some on none of the above..

Get with the program!

[JAYJDF]

5. This post is what I'm talkin about.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2415435

Seems like a repub gov. is paving the way on a very important and hot topic.

[snowbear]

10. His Mormonism will effect the ballot box..

Even if he did recycle Hillary's old healthcare plan and put it out there again..

Tweety and the talking heads keep saying Romney's religion will kill his changes in his own party.


Besides.. a DEMOCRAT will be in office on inauguration day 2009.

[blm]

6. Do electronic voting machines favor Dem governors? Does corporate media

favor Dem governors?

We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

The GOP didn't spend the last twenty years buying control of most media and voting machine companies so a Democratic nominee could get a fair shake.

[JAYJDF]

8. Of course you are right.

But, once the voting fraud has been fixed, and you have to believe it will be are we're all just wasting our time, we have to at least pay attention to history and the odds.

[blm]

11. There is no model for this time in our history.

Never before has one side had so much control over broadcast media, and now they have a preponderance of control of the print media, too.

[Awsi Dooger]

12. The November elections will favor Dem governors

Plenty of new ones. Most likely giving us a majority.

Including defeating a GOP incumbent in a Diebold state like Maryland.

[blm]

13. And stop short of turnover of either house - Governors can't effect WH

decisions.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. Governors become future senators

How many examples do I have to list in that regard?

Governors make political appointments. Nominate judges. Infuence funding. Not to mention basic political issues. I can't believe we're downplaying the significance of electing as many D govs as possible.

In some cases they can even impact your pet issue, voting methods and how the state election system is run.

Recently we took over the gov mansion in many red states -- Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming, Arizona, Montana. Also the swing state of New Hampshire. The incumbents up for re-election this year all look safe and very high approval ratings. That can only have positive residue in the 50 state plan.

on edit: somehow I forgot about the swing state of New Mexico. Richardson is safe for re-election and he moved the state back to paper ballots this year. The governor pushed the proposal through the legislative session, saying the system would make voting more secure and restore the public's confidence in elections. He signed the bill in March. Voters will mark paper ballots that are then fed thru electronic tabulating machines.

[blm]

18. I was referring to Bush's own skin for the next 2 years.

I don't think BushInc cares so much about the party itself, at this point.

[saltpoint]

9. If both major parties nominate senators in 08 that "rule" goes

right out the window.

History is fluid in a lot of ways, especially in politics.

We could see zero senators on both tickets, or 4.

[Mass]

14. A minority person has never been elected, so we should not run one.

A women has never been elected, so we should not run one.
A catholic has not been elected president since 1960, so we should not run one.
A vice president has never been elected since 1988, so we should not run one.

We can continue as long as we want and make all the false tests we want. Truth is that we should try to find the person who is the most competent and the closest to our ideas. The rest is just rethoric to justify why we will not support one person or another.

[TheVirginian]

15. A 2008 history lesson:

There have only been two senators elected straight from the Senate to the White House: Warren Harding in 1920 and John F. Kennedy in 1960. Senators almost always run for office, due to their exposure to national issues and national news coverage, and the appeal of being the man in charge, instead of one out of a hundred. However, senators rarely win, because of one or a combination of factors: 1) lack of executive experience, 2) a long voting record that can be difficult to defend without going into Senatese-speak, 3) a lack of polishment for the type of exposure a presidential campaign nets, and 4) senators are usually less preferable than incumbent presidents or vice-presidents.

Note that this is also the first election since 1952 to feature no incumbent president or vice-president running for office.

As far as whether or not we should put one up in 2008, that depends entirely on the candidate. Senators like Evan Bayh, for instance, have executive experience, which bolsters their record. Senators like John Kerry and Joe Biden have campaign experience, so they're more prepared to smooth out the rough edges of their personality for the spotlight of a national campaign. Senators like John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have a relatively small voting record, on account of being on office for only one term, and therefore aren't as hindered as multiple-termed candidates.

Whoever the candidate is, its important, most of all, not to dismiss an individual simply based on a trivial generalization.

[ArkySue]

19. Kennedy was the last Senator elected Prez

Before that was Warren G. Harding (Repub) of Teapot Dome Scandal fame. 2 in the 20th Century....out of how many that ran?? Not good odds.

NO SENATORS!!! PLEASE!!!