Dems find hope amid GOP chaos - Clarence Page:

icon gravatar.comwww.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped1108pagenov08...
sent by RicKelis since 12 days 19 hours 6 minutes, published about 12 days 3 hours 13 minutes
Democrats took it on the chin in this year's off-off-year gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, but the Dems can find a silver lining in the high-profile Democratic victory in a traditionally Republican upstate New York district. The lesson in that contest: National Republican leaders are taking the title for infighting away from the traditionally fractious national Democrats. Here are two more lesson[s] to come out of this year's contests: -- The magical Obamamania that energized young voters, in particular, last year was historic but not easily lent out to other Democrats -- Colorful extremists fire up a party's base and raise a lot of money, but moderate swing voters tend to decide who wins. The GOP's angry tea-party conservatives can raise money and whip up excitement in the discontented Republican base. But when big problems like jobs and the economy are at stake, voters care less about who's right or who's left than with what's going to work.
tags: dems, repubs, elections, tea baggers, obama
3 commentscategory: Washington karma: 164

comments

  1. #1    Of course, the Dems COULD find hope by undertaking actual progressive policies. Won't happen, though. That's the one thing they WON'T do, unless the progressive movement forces them to. Which, of course, is the last thing the progressive movement will even consider. Is it that we progressives are craven cowards, or are we Good Germans, deeply habituated to obeying authorities? Were we the kids who realized in school that if we were good little teacher's pets, we would get good grades, and that would make us feel better about ourselves? Sometimes I wonder.
    written by epppie since 12 days 16 hours 2 minutesepppie
  2. #2    Author Page says, "Party leaders need all the spine they can muster to pass a strong health care overhaul bill this year." Based on what I've been reading about this bill, and the predictions about what the Senate is going to do to it, the only thing strong about it is the stench of corruption permeating it.

    And why did someone leave the fuel locker open for epppie? Now we have to deal with a flame war!
    written by neoconned since 12 days 2 hours 21 minutesneoconned
  3. #3    Epppie is right.
    written by kevin3g since 11 days 23 hours 4 minuteskevin3g
closed comments
Who has negatively flagged this story?


who are we
code: license, download  |  images license Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional    Valid CSS!   [Valid RSS]