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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: carranza2 who wrote (12809)	2/20/2006 3:09:43 PM
From: KonKilo	Respond to of 541701

No amount of justification or rationalization will put the Dems in power unless they go after that tiny sliver by shifting to the right, eliminating fools like Dean, not glamourizing uneducated Hollywood celebs as political geniuses, putting a muzzle on chest-beating Al Gore and Jimmy Carter, etc. It's not an impossible thing to do, as Clinton brilliantly showed them. Clinton did none of the things you listed. He did, however, connect with the Everyman as well as anyone in my lifetime. How do you reconcile that with his representing "failed" policies? I know you and the rest of the GOP would love to see the Dems move rightward, that's only natural. But please spare us the constant "advice" on how to win. Its unseemly, coming from the competition and all.

To: carranza2 who wrote (12809)	2/20/2006 3:09:56 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541701

The political genius of Clinton was moving the party enough to the right to sit well with more of the middle, but not losing the populist spirit that has always animated the party and given the Democratic brand its appeal. After all, this is the party that held Congress for decades and the White House for a 20-year stretch long ago. As for centrists, since they make up 25-35% of the electorate and the Democrats polled 48% in the last election, obviously a large chunk of centrists do think the Democrats are worth voting for. I know that a partisan will only regard a "true centrist" as someone who agrees with his party, but those of us who haven't decided who to vote for in 2008 see it very differently. And our credentials for defining the center have a more authentic tone in my mind than anyone on the right or the left (who have defined themselves as non-centrists by choice). I agree completely that the shrill progressive left only hurts the Democrats with centrists. But I am still waiting to see if anyone closer to the center can bridge the divide and bring enough genuine charisma to the table to make a difference. On the Republican side, I haven't really seen anyone apart from McCain who could begin to do that either.