Weeping and gnashing of teeth

I never listened to Alan Keyes so I can't comment.

But as for the election I found another take on why we lost. This one is not a boo hoo it's the other guy's fault.

Thursday, November 04, 2004
Reflect and Reform, Don't Recriminate
Sorry once again for the lack of posts, but (1) the posting problems have continued, (2) the Day Job has been frantic, between helping formulate the DLC's official take on what happened Tuesday, and dealing with an incredible number of press calls, and (3) like many of you, I am still in recovery from Election Night. After a good night's sleep Wednesday, I felt pretty good until I made the mistake of reading today's morning papers, and the previous night's bad dreams came flooding back.

To those of you who think of the DLC as an organization that wants to engage in intra-party warfare, and that perennially advises Democrats to "move to the right," I suggest you give today's New Dem Daily a thorough and dispassionate read. We do not think this is a good time for a "struggle for the soul" of the Democratic Party; the unity we achieved in this campaign is a precious asset that it would be stupid to throw away, and moreover, we are all complicit in the mistakes our party keeps making.

Moreover, and I will say this personally, you won't get any argument from New Democrats that the Dean/MoveOn legacy of this campaign--the ability to build passionate grassroots organizations, and to raise money from small donors--should be thrown away, either. But in the end, the problem we had this year was not a shortage of money, volunteers, organization, excitement, or candidate charisma: it was a shortage of message. An electorate poised to fire Bush and his Republican allies was never convinced it understood exactly what Democrats would do with the power they sought, and that was the killer.

The GOPers had a clear message, and a mobilization strategy as well. We just had a mobilization strategy, and it wasn't enough. You have to persuade as well as "energize," and we didn't do it.

It's time, finally, for Democrats to understand that we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. We have to persuade and mobilize; we have to appeal to voters on cultural and economic issues; we have to make inroads in red states without sacrificing blue states; we have to turn out our base and reach out to expand it.

And there's another point on which Democrats of every ideological tendency ought to be able to agree. We're the "out party" now. Republicans control every nook and cranny of the federal government they still pretend they are fighting. Why on earth can't Democrats finally take advantage of hostility to Washington, supplementing anti-corporate populism with anti-government populism? Polls consistenly show that more than a third of Americans don't know who controls Congress. But how often did you hear any Democrats--not just Kerry, but congressional Democratic candidates as well--remind voters of that fact, or pledge to reform all the patent abuses of power in Washington, from corporate welfare to strong-arm partisanship to fiscal profilgacy? Why are we defending government programs, and demonizing every dishonest Republican claim to reform them, when Washington is being run by Republicans like a country club? Beats me.

Reviving Democratic fortunes is not a matter of moving left or right. And it's not a matter of money or mechanics or organization, important as they are. It's a matter of reconnecting the party with the mainstream values, the economic aspirations, the openness to reform, and the craving for security and unity, that Americans want, and that we can and should be able to supply.

http://www.newdonkey.com/2004/11/reflect-and-reform-dont-recriminate.html

Excellent article, and so is the NDOL article it mentions. The DLC "Gets it"; this election was more lost by The Democratic Party than won by The Republican Party. As long as the DLC remains a minority voice within The Democratic Party, The Democratic Party will increasingly be a minority voice in The American Polity.

I agree, that is a good article. Timber and Tico, don't worry, everybody knows Keyes is a freak of nature and nobody thinks him representative of the Republican party.

Everybody okay with opening the thread to everybody now? As long as the rabid gloating stays on the other thread? I feel I've blown off enough steam.

Fine with me. I blown off enough steam too.

I do have a question though. How are not supposed to get upset when President Bush starts talking about social security reform and other reforms?

I don't know anything really about anything, but judging by the way they do everything they are sure to mess up more than they fix. For that reason alone I am worried about them messing with social security.

yup, me too.

good to see ya timber. i appreciated your "voice of reason and moderation" type stance on the bush thread. thanks !

Yep, totally, FreeDuck. I'm out of the worst of it, feel less of a need for a refuge.

Thanks to everyone who respected the refuge aspects and especially to those who tried to help keep it that way for a bit.

Yeah, thanks all. Revel, I think we're still allowed to get upset about stuff. We're just of clearer mind now to state it clearly and back it up.

Kerry Calls For Grounding Of Youth Of America

Low Turnout Among Youth Vote Means They're "Busted," Democrats Say



OYSH

Maybe the phrase "Vote or Die" had something to do with it?

PDiddie, thanks for the link. It's my new favorite 'news' source. :wink:

Yes.... Murdering 83% of the nation's youth will be a daunting task, even for a gangstah like Puff Daddy.

Lash are you still peddling that 17% nonsense?

Because you know it's nonsense, right? I dont know what exactly makes you feel good about thinking that less than 1 in 5 young people came out to vote, but it's not true, so sorry. As both Dys and I already told you in the other thread.

18-30 year-olds made up, both now and in 2000, 17% of the overall electorate.

This their turnout percentage.

In fact, half the youth came out to vote - 10% more than in the last elections. See:

Nimh - we're just having a bit of fun with the "Vote or Die" thing, too. But...go back and read the "Comments" on the link......and the "Talking Points".

I do think the Dems were more than a bit disappointed in their efforts on behalf of the college kids, though. I got clobbered here a while back for calling them "pinheads" LOL. Shoulda said "absentee pinheads" LOL. Just laugh it off

Yeah I know I came off a bit strident there. But I first explained about the 17% in the bookie thread, and Dys posted the actual turnout numbers, and yet Lash still posted this hah-is-PDiddie-gonna-kill-80%-now thing on the thread there. So I then once again explained, politely: err, no, thats the wrong number you got there -- and yet here we are a day or two later, and yet the same thing again. So I'm-a gettin' a bit impatient now, you understand ...

Total national voter turnout up 10%. Youth vote turnout up 10%. Youth vote 17% in both 2000 and 2004.



Hmmmmmmmm .....

Yeah, the youth vote was 17% of the total body of voters in both 2000 and 2004.

Of the youth, 42% came to vote in 2000, and 52% came to vote in 2004 - a neat increase in turnout, thanks also to Puff Daddy and all the others who worked hard.

But that had no impact on the youth share of the total vote, which remained 17% because the other age groups had an equivalent increase in turnout.

Hey, that part's all good to me. Increased voter turnout among all groups.

Why are they so disappointed, then?

Because it wasnt enough to win them the election ...

Increased turnout was supposed to help the Dems. Get Out The Vote would prove all those polls where Bush still had a narrow lead wrong. It would make a difference of up to 3%, and everything.

That turned out to be dead wrong. Yes, 10% more youths turned out, and the youth voted in majority for Kerry. But the other age groups also turned out in 10% greater numbers. And those extra numbers seem to have included as many Republican voters as Democrats.

GOTV was a great success - turnout boomed. But it was the Reps who turned out to actually be better at it -- or at least they were almost as good at it, and combined with a shift towards Bush among return voters, people who voted Gore last time, it yielded them the elections.

10% increase in youth vote aint bad (even if 52% is still way too little). But the Dems are just pissed that it still didnt win them the election.

Talking Points (from PDiddie's link):

(November 02, 2004 -- 11:15 PM EDT // link // print)

One thing that does seem very clear tonight -- at least if what I'm hearing from the exits is true -- is that the much-ballyhooed youth vote simply did not show up. Simple as that.

That is a remarkable turnabout from the expectations that had been growing over the last week. And Democrats weren't the only ones who bought into the idea. Public pollsters and even Republicans in the final days of the campaign were coming to believe it too. And that shaped expectations greatly.

Whatever happens tonight a lot of thought and study will go into just what happened. Was it a mirage? Was it a problem with the GOTV operation? It can't simply be the later. Even the best ground operation can only amplify a demographic trend or spike that has some deeper socio-political basis.

-- Josh Marshal