Hey everyone,
In light of the Port scandal, Hurricane Katrina, Cheney "quail hunting" fiasco, the Scooter Libby Scandal, and (lest we forget) the Abramoff affair, what do Dems have to do to sweep the 2006 elections? Should they focus on the corruption alone? Or should they have well, developed domestic and international agenda to appeal to a broader base of Americans?

Just curious.

Ceci

Stick to the facts and be Democrats. The "Republican Light" Dem candidates don't deserve to win. People want change. Not a change in name only.

But I would also like to add that they have to focus on being bold. The one thing that I have missed about the Dems is the fact that they would rather be quietly cowed over than take a stand. Ah...if only one had the ability to stand up and fight against the agenda that's being passed (the Patriot Act, the Port Matter, etc.), I would take notice.

I think that they should start early with trying to develop an effective strategy and strike while its hot. And, the only way to convince people is to bring up facts that support the emphasis of their strategy to convince us that they are a party to be reckoned with.

Heck...maybe they should fight a little dirty too--against the onslaught of organized, publicized attacks from the Right Wing pundits.

I agree with all of the above.

They need to stand for something.

They need to give voters a reason to vote FOR them, not merely AGAINST the Republicans.

And most of all, they need to sever their dependence on corporate contributions.

Take back their party from the screeching liberals, come up with a plan other than slamming the Republicans about their plans, and then take the time to explain the plan to us.
Kerry would have been a worse dimwit than the one we got, but the reason he didn't beat the current dimwit, besides his transparent war hero crap, was that he never TOLD us about the plan we were told he had.

Jiminy Christmas; I really don't think it is rocket science. As a whole, the DNC needs to look like it has the brain to be in the driver's seat, not like it has the mouth to be a backseat driver.

During the six years the Bush Administration has been in office, there hasn't been much of a domestic agenda. Families--unlike the super-uber-rich--are earning less. The Working Poor are suffering under the yoke of the new Bankruptcy Laws and the lack of finding good jobs in a poor economy. And especially what is troubling is the "War on the Middle Class". Despite the tax cuts as well as cuts to much needed programs that aid people in this country, the Middle class are the ones that suffer the most.

That is why the Dems must try to not only appeal to their base, but also the Middle Class as well. I think that the Middle Class is the key to earning more seats in Congress. If they tried to gear to the concerns of the Middle Class (such as affordable health care and job security--not corporate welfare), they would make a better impact.

But, what I ultimately want is a platform that sounds different from the same old thing.

Thanks for your replies so far.

Stay out of the GOP's way as they implode in a fireball like explosion of chunky conservative bits all over the windshield of middle America. Also, they need to support Ned Lamont in his challenge to unseat Joe Lieberman.

Seriously folks, 34% and dropping for King George II . He's pretty much the modern day equivalent of Nero Caesar, dancing like a harpy and playing his fiddle as the empire burns around him.

Also, stay out of Cheney's way. By 06, he will have shot all the republicans in their collective faces, mistaking them one by one for quail.

Get rid of Clintonian electioneering tactics, i.e., tell the truth, stop distorting the facts, remember that the ends (being elected) do not justify the means (lying through your teeth to distort what is really going on). For that matter, prevent any more Clintons from running for president.

Call off all the media Dem clones who implement their agendas without question. It is sooooo obvious when they do that.

Stand for truth, the common man, a populist view, not lies, hollywood and corporate control of the world (profits are ok!)


(Apple computer's board member AlGore's not a scientist and he did not invent the internet. Sheezhze).

A couple of others: close the borders, federalize management of all ports (a little socialism in some cases of national security are important); pass laws that jail employers who use hiring practices that put americans out of work.

Stop using hate Bush and the Republicans as a platform. Adopt a meaningful platform that implements more controls on Banks who are keeping the poor poorer and Corporate entities who are tending to abuse human and individual rights. both inside the work environment and outside (aka, the Google China Syndrome). There was a time for example when usary laws limiting interest on credit cards were the norm, around 14 percent max and an overdraft charge was a few dollars not 35. A poor person who is running on empty will get one overdraft fee so high that it kicks a dozen other checks into the red creating an overdraft of hundreds of dollars and ruining that persons credit for years. A struggling family should not have to face these kinds of difficulties given a reasonable effort to pay their debts.

Apply the same laws and controls on the Cell Phone carriers as is applied to the land line carriers. Eliminate cell phone annual or bi annual contracts, requiring cell phone carriers to move to a monthly line rental or block set of minutes with no cancellation penalties for moving to an area where there is no signal. Simple common sense stuff.

Focus on Small Business in a big way like Reagan did.

Re-establish the individual as the primary focus of America.

Enforce the Constitution, Defend it with your life. Enforce the borders and the right of America to be a soverign country, not a residential destination for all the world.



[edit on 3/1/06 by dogberts not]
[edit on 3/1/06 by dogberts not]


[edit on 3/1/06 by dogberts not]

Hey Guys,

First off, as a new member, and after reading the other threads, I was really afraid that this question would turn ugly. But, I am very, very glad of the clear, straight-forward answers received so far. Thanks quite a lot for giving one of my first questions a break and bestowing serious thought to this post.

Now, I also believe that there should be a control on not only the banks, but also on corporate welfare. I think that there is something inherently wrong with the upper echelon of society continuing to get richer and the average working family staying mired in debt. Something has to change so that people have the opportunity to make their lives better.

With that being said, I would also mention that education is very important. It is a crime that the fees of universities have been raised to make it impossible for the average person to go to school. What it comes down to this: the rich do not have a problem staying in school because they have the means to afford all the fees. For Middle Class and poor kids, the well of funding is drying up and they have to resort to other means to stay out of debt in order to have a college education. I feel that the Dems have to address this issue because higher education is important for the stabilization of the work force. We need more educated employees. I also believe that education is something that has also not been adequately addressed by the Bush Administration (Okay, "No Child Left Behind" was a poor attempt at catering to the needs of pre-school and elementary school kids).

I would also agree that a platform by the Dems cannot always be weighed by attacking Bush, unless neccessary. As dogberts said, I also would concur that they should appeal to individuality. To add to this point, the Constitution is important to the framework of this country and the present Administration's efforts to attack it lack a conscience.

The Dems mostly have to campaign on restoring "the American Dream" on the fact that it is attainable for everyone.

Ceci

So agree with you! Just let the republicans shoot themselves in the foot, or other in the face, and there you go.

Sad, only preidents to get lower ratings were Nixon and Hoover.

And Cheney is at 18%!!!!!!!!! How do you get that low? Has a VP ever had that low of a score? I guess all the lawyers stopped supporting the republicans, they don't need to be shot in the face either.

Don't just look at the Oval Office poll. The Dems aren't picking up any brownie points.

The Reps are going down the same path of stupidity the Dems already travelled. Being tied for most hated idiots in America is nothing to brag about.

Get a plan. One that is good for America, preferably. Articulate it; don't hide it under your bushel.

[edit on 2-3-2006 by Thomas Crowne]

The problem with polls is the fact that they are so fleeting. Polls can be manipulated and used to generate propaganda, good or bad.

I agree with Thomas Crowne: the Dems have to look past the polls and get a game plan together. Yes, Bush and Cheney are unpopular. But why? The Dems have to find out the answer in order to appeal to the American people.

The problem with the Dems is there aren't any clear cut politicians to support. For myself, I would always support someone with the likes of John Conyers (D-Mich.), Howard Dean (Dems. Nat'l. Chairman) or even Barbara Lee (D-Ca.) because all of them have put themselves on the line to speak out against the Bush Administration. But, not all the base will go after these people. An outsider has to be picked who can appeal to a broad population, articulate a platform well, and pick apart the works of the Bush Administration with FACTS.

What I do know is that Hillary Clinton (D-NY) or Joseph Lieberman(D-Conn.) do not fit the bill. If they are the ones to vote for, I don't know if I could hold my nose and send in an absentee ballot.

Someone has to be selected to energize and inspire us, I think.

The problem with the Democrats is that they've spent the past 14 or 15 years defining themselves as the other corporatist party, differing from the Republicans only on social issues. The problem of declining living standards for average Americans isn't one the Democrats can solve, or even address, if they want to keep on the corporate gravy train.

This is a big opportunity for them, but it's necessary for the Dems to realize that the Bush policies that have people so angry (except for Iraq) were not original with him. Under eight presidents -- Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter -- the U.S. government tilted its support in the labor/capital tug-of-war more toward labor and less toward capital. Under four presidents -- Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush -- the government has slid back the other way, with predictable grim results.

The Clinton years, with their continuation and expansion of Reaganomic policies, and with the worst environmental record of any modern administration (until the current one), is proof positive that merely electing Democrats instead of Republicans is no guarantee the problems will be solved.

This is an opportunity for Democrats, but they will need to do some collective soul-searching and remember who they're supposed to be representing if they want to take advantage of it.

The best thing you can do for the Democratic party is to forget about the '06 election and look forward to the big one in '08. Use the time in between to clean your house; get rid of K&K, Dean, and all the rest of the lunatic fringe in your party. Work to get them out of office and return to your roots; the American people will love you for it.

Someone mentioned to work to unseat Lieberman. Why? Because he dares to buck the fringe and instead reaches across party lines to get things done more than any other politician in DC? Go ahead, unseat him. You'll be doing the Republicans a solid.

Don't work to sweep the elections. Don't encourage them, because they'll continue down the same path they are on now. Bad behavior shouldn't be rewarded.

[edit on 17-3-2006 by jsobecky]