In retrspect this Reagan Obama thing realy is not so bad..

[Perky]

We missed all those Reagan Democrrats

in 1984
in 1988
in 1992
1n 1996
in 2000 (boy they sure would have been useful then huh)
in 2004

I will glady welcome the return of the prodigals and their children. We have missed uou a lot


Shame on any one for thinking it is a bad thing to appeal to voted to come home to the Party of Roosevelt and Jack Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey. Shame on all you.

[mrdemocrat78]

1. No, it's not bad

It's not like he slammed clinton or anything

[jackson_dem]

2. Reagan Democrats=Wallace Democrats. They are racists who defected.

Obamites are arguing Obama's Reagan comments are great because he will bring the racist vote back?

[Perky]

4. You are completely cluelesss as to who Reagan Democrats are.

Thet are not southerners at all...


here read this...


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reagan Democrat is an American political term used by political analysts to denote traditionally Democratic voters, especially white working-class Northerners, who defected from their party to support Republican President Ronald Reagan in both the 1980 and 1984 elections. It is also used to refer to the smaller but still substantial number of Democrats who voted for George H. W. Bush in the 1988 election.

The classic study of Reagan Democrats is probably the work of the Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. Greenberg analyzed white ethnic voters (largely unionized auto workers) in Macomb County, Michigan, just north of Detroit. The county voted 63 percent for John F. Kennedy in 1960, but 66 percent for Reagan in 1984. He concluded that "Reagan Democrats" no longer saw Democrats as champions of their middle-class aspirations, but instead saw them as working primarily for the benefit of others: the very poor, the unemployed, African Americans, and other political pressure groups. In addition, Reagan Democrats enjoyed gains during the period of economic prosperity that coincided with the Reagan administration following the "malaise" of the Carter administration. They also supported Reagan's strong stance on national security and opposed the 1980s Democratic Party on such issues as pornography, crime, and taxes.<1>

[jackson_dem]

6. Who won the 1972 Michigan primary? And what constituency was his base?

[Perky]

11. Who won the general election in Michigan

1943
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980???

That was a primary election and it was a brutal syfunctional year for the Dema we won a single state.


Thos Reagan Dem in Ohio and Michigan Western PA and Western NY. Ar now living on union pensions in Florida and their sone sons and grandson have taken their place in the Auto factories, steel mills, and coal mine.

We lost them to Reagan in 1984. We could hav gotten them back in 1994 withe a cogent approach to healthcare, But the Clinton mismanged the effort completely and drove them back to the GOP for another half generation.



We want them back... We get them back...we win the election.

[jackson_dem]

15. Wallace had support outside the South. That was the point

Wallace won 10% of the vote in Michigan in the 1968 general election. He won 12% in Ohio, 10% in Missouri, 13% in Idaho, and 5% in New York. These are states I randomly chose.

We won't get them back without moving to the right because they are very socially conservative and many are racist. Obama is promising things he knows he can't deliver again. Realignment? Give me a break.

[comradebillyboy]

5. Interesting point, its not like the "Regan Democrats"

will vote for Obama, if they have a high ratio of racists. Puts me in a quandary as a Hillary supporter. I think the pukes can keep the racist element.

[jefferson_dem]

8. Oh, what a load of crap.

Get a grip. You're becoming unhinged...and talking weird shit.

[jackson_dem]

9. Wallace's vote

Where do you think Wallace's vote was by 1980 (I don't expect a reply)? Reagan successfully used race based appeals, such as "welfare queens" to bring them into his fold. They weren't all racist but a large percentage were. I am tired of the deference to Reagan Democrats. They weren't progressives at all. Why shouldn't pine for them.

[Perky]

13. Yes we should

unless you wan the same do nothing agaenda we have suffered through since Reagan left Office.

[jackson_dem]

17. Which parts of our platform would we cede to them then?

You don't just wave a wand, say "hope" and have them come back. You have to appeal to what they want. What is Obama going to surrender in order to create this realignment?

Do nothing agenda? Barack Obama had great things to say about the Clinton administration's "recognizably progressive" policies.

[Perky]

23. Not a single one

Bu since when has the Standard Bearer abided by the platform anyway :shrug:

What is Hillary going to apppeal to?


Heath care certainly was not one of them

[jackson_dem]

26. Obama IS like Reagan. Fishes and loaves for everyone with no pain attached!

Platform is shorthand for party principles. The claim Obama makes is he can through the force of personality realign the country without making the sacrifices even attempting that would require.

[jefferson_dem]

20. But your premise is all fucked-up.

Obama did not and would not praise Reagan's appeal to any specific types of voters. His point was regarding the transformative nature of his presidency, and his ability to unite a broad swath of the country...and win in two electoral landslides.

[Perky]

24. Yes it an abastraction....It is an obect lesson...it is not adoration

[jackson_dem]

25. We can't both be progressive and appeal to the Reagan Democrats

What you are saying is different. We can expand or base through other groups but in order to bring the sacred Reagan Democrats back we will have to sell out on some social issues. Abortion is a big one. Are we going to remove our plank for choice and just take no position on it?

[Barack_America]

3. Agreed, not bad at all.

First of all, it's true, he was a "great" President because he was really effective at pushing his agenda. It's just his agenda that wasn't "great".

And, it's possibly smart politically, and could win votes back over to the Democratic party (as you state), perhaps even the very votes that Clinton-hatred drove away in the 90's.

[jefferson_dem]

7. It's called realignment. When it goes our way...this is nothing but great news!

...Re-building that winning Democratic coalition!

:bounce:

[jackson_dem]

10. Realignments in history

1800 Dems take over from the Federalists
1828 Jacksonian Democrats take over
1860 Lincoln, civil war
1896 McKinley's Republicans begin it
1932 FDR
1980 Reagan

2008? How is Obama going to pull off something so rare. This is what Hillary meant when she spoke of false hopes Obama is fostering.

[Perky]

12. The greater false hope is believing that Hiillary can bring them back...

[jefferson_dem]

22. Whaaaa...We can't do it. It's too hard.

Where's that Jacksonian Spirit?

I hope Hillary keeps up the negative "false hope" hand-wringing. That'll present such a pitch-perfect contrast.

[jackson_dem]

27. It usually takes a major president and luck for realignment to occur

Whether conditions are ripe for realignment is another matter. Look at that list: Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. All are considered major presidents. McKinley is the only exception. What are the odds Obama would be an all-time great president?

[jasmine621]

14. They never should have left the party. Look what a mess they caused.

I guess they feel good about the disasterous changes that were made.

[Barack_America]

16. Check out this wikipedia page of presidential rankings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_United_States_Presidents

Reagan is ranked over Clinton in virtually every one. Whether you look at popularity ratings, "greatest" Presidents or even least worst Presidents, Reagan ranks more favorably than Clinton across the board.

Saying that Reagan was a "greater" President than Clinton is nearly fact, IMO.

[jackson_dem]

19. George W. Bush was ranked higher than Clinton in 2005

They had Bush 19th, Clinton 22nd. That goes to show you how "factual" those rankings are.

[killbotfactory]

18. Obama should strictly speak in poll-tested soundbytes

He clearly gives some people too much credit.

[AtomicKitten]

21. Jeez, who cares what the loons here do?

Seriously. It's the daily take sh*t out of context and misrepresent it here at DU over and over again.

Consider the source and on whose behalf it is done.

The ignore and hide thread function are always available if your eyes start to bleed. It's just another day in the Days of our Lives around here.

[Bluebear]

28. Silence = Death

[motocicleta]

29. Probably shouldn't start drinking so early when you are

going to post inflammatory threads. Just a thought.

[Ashy Larry]

30. This is very similar

to the argument that we had in Virginia during the last Senate primary. It was Harris Miller, a lobbyist from the DLC wing of the party with deep establishment support versus Jim Webb, an author and war hero who worked for Ronald Reagan.

A lot of people had reservations about Webb given his admiration for Reagan. Well, I think most Virginians would agree that Webb has turned out to be an outstanding Democratic Senator. Especially for a freshman.

Jim Webb is a Reagan Democrat and I for one am very glad that Virginia Democrats were pragmatic enough to welcome him home to the Democratic party. If they had not, we would be watching George Allen run for president right now.

[Perky]

31. Thanks...He is my Senator as well