If Democrats lose the Senate who should we blame?

[Capt. Obvious]

The 15% of liberal Democrats that don't approve of Obama?

The 29% of moderate Democrats that don't approve of Obama?

The 40% of conservative Democrats that don't approve of Obama?

Source

And please don't try to be nuanced here - some wing of the party needs to take full blame if the Senate is lost.

I'd like to get started on making my effigy.

[bowens43]

1. the american people

[CJCRANE]

2. Capt. Obvious!

[elleng]

3. The Democratic Party itself,

badly 'organized,' hasn't learned YET how to deal with repug propaganda. and facing HUGE $$$.


Isolates wise ones like Howard Dean.

[Nay]

37. Yep. And they also fail to fund and back many local Dem candidates who might

have in the future been senatorial candidates. IOW, they don't build up that pipeline of experienced Democrats who can later be called upon to serve in higher positions (Senate, VP, judgeships, Prez).

[elleng]

38. Right

[frylock]

53. their farm system, along with their messaging, sucks.

[Capt. Obvious]

55. Farm system not only sucks

it's closed to anyone who would like to join.

Members only.

[elleng]

64. Right, it essentially doesn't exist.

[Capt. Obvious]

70. I was a little stunned when I tried to get involved with my local party

I ran for delegate from my ward to my state convention. Party rules state that anyone can run as long as you were registered D by the first of that year. Rules are that all candidates declare their intentions and each gives a speech before voting begins.

My ward operated differently. You had to be nominated and seconded and no one gave a speech. I declared that I wanted to run and was told that's not how it works. Two people from my ward stepped up to nominate and second the nomination.

I had a speech all ready to give that I had worked on. No speeches were given. The delegates were already pre-selected and attended the caucus with their votes in hand. I felt like a fool being the only vote cast for myself.

Now I know that next time I need to round up neighbors and bring them with me to vote for me. I need at least 6 votes in hand if I want to run again.

[newfie11]

39. Agree!!!! Nt

[840high]

54. +1

[Raksha]

67. +1000

[Scuba]

74. Bingo!

More than half the population will not vote in November. Meanwhile, our Party leaders continue to move to the right trying to pick of the mythical "Moderate Republican" vote.

[yardwork]

4. Moran voters. /nt

[JoePhilly]

5. Let's cross our fingers!!!

Otherwise what will we argue about after November?

Maybe who to blame if Cruz becomes president I guess.

[Capt. Obvious]

7. One pogrom at a time please

[JoePhilly]

10. We can multi-task.

[closeupready]

6. Gay marriage.

Obviously.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. The candidates who couldn't convince people to vote for them.

[verwirrt]

52. This poster has it right

It is always the responsibility of the candidates to earn the votes of the electorate and to do so by honestly representing his/her position on the various issues. If he/she did not accomplish that goal then fault resides there. That doesn't make them bad people mind you, but if you must assign blame that is where it goes.

[LadyHawkAZ]

9. Car salesmen. n/t

[1000words]

11. Eydie Gorme

[Orsino]

12. America.

The nation that slept while its Constitution was auctioned off.

[FSogol]

13. Let's avoid losing.

[Xithras]

14. Everyone who doesn't vote exactly the way I want.

Because if all politicians voted exactly the way I wanted, our party would control the entire universe, all children would get free puppies, and the whole world would be dancing gaily in the streets.

If you want to win, just agree with me on everything. If you won't do that (which you won't because you're obviously a socialist, DLC-loving, bankster-friendly, Olive Garden eating, Putinista freeper troll who just wants his own unicorn), then it' will be YOUR fault when we lose.

[butterfly77]

15. The Democratic Party..

[pintobean]

16. Is Obama running for the Senate again?

Seems a little premature.

[Iggo]

17. By that time, it won't matter who's to blame.

[Capt. Obvious]

18. Well

if get started blaming the correct set of the party we may be able to save the Senate and who knows, take the House.

[Dr. Strange]

19. Nader.

Duh.

[Capt. Obvious]

24. He's the Pitts

See what I did there?

[Larry the Cable Dude]

20. Approving vs. showing up to vote

Will approvers show up, or give their thumps-up response in polls only?

[Bluenorthwest]

21. The turn out killing Doom Shouters who keeps saying we can't win.

They infest our Party. It's the Alex Sink centrists, they predict Democratic failure and declare Republican victory is set in stone eternal even in the middle of their own campaigns. It needs to end.

[SomethingFishy]

28. Can you explain to me how the "doom shouters" are keeping people away?

I mean I don't know a single person that would look at a poll where they were losing and say "well fuck it there's no point in voting". Not one.

I don't understand this meme at all.. It makes no logical sense to me.

[hobbit709]

80. Anyone that is not an enthusiastic 150% supporter is a traitor.

doncha know?

[Fumesucker]

22. Non-Reagan Democrats of course

Only those Democrats who voted for Reagan truly know what it means to be a Democrat.

Well, maybe also those NJ Dems who endorsed Christie, they have a nuanced view of how politics really works.

[el_bryanto]

23. Well if it's an effigy you be wanting to make - i suggest you pick something easy

Like the common garden slug - everybody hates them, and you just have to pile up the straw in a sort of round tubish shape.

Bryant

[joeglow3]

25. Obama is running for the Senate?

[thelordofhell]

26. Got A Mirror?

GOTV

[Bobbie Jo]

79. .

I see what you did there.

[Shivering Jemmy]

27. The political map

it doesn't favor us this year.

[amandabeech]

57. There's a luck of the draw factor in the Senate.

This year we have an exceptionally bad draw.

2016 looks much better, though.

We may have a couple of very tough years in DC in between, though.

[Atman]

29. Democrats

[Le Taz Hot]

30. Well, for once,

"they" won't be able to blame this progressive. Neither of my Senators are up for election this year.

[Capt. Obvious]

33. Don't sell them short

[Le Taz Hot]

35. Well, you have a point.

After all, it seems I don't understand "nuance" (read, sellout) so there's got to be some blame for me in there somewhere.

[liberal N proud]

31. You have to start by asking, "what have did you do to help the Democrats?"

That must happen before you can look elsewhere.

[Deep13]

32. James Madison nt

[amandabeech]

58. Much more true than will be admitted here. n/t

[kydo]

34. No one, cause the Dem's aren't going to lose the Senate

[WilliamPitt]

36. Me.

I read it on DU.

[Douglas Carpenter]

40. the media which have allowed craziness and ignorance to be represented as a legitimate political

philosophy and movement. There is absolutely no excuse for this coalition of crackpots, religious fanatics and kooks known as the Republican Party to win a single election on their national platform outside of the most cultural retrograde regions of the country. But the media with the help of conservative Democrats allowed this kind of nuttiness to be mainstreamed. Of course media consolidation and the end of community responsibility in broadcast media was a project of both the Reagan and Clinton Administrations.

[spin]

41. Congressional job approval is far lower than Obama's job approval. ...

Congressional job approval is currently at 12.5%.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html

Obama has an approval rating of 43.1.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

If we do lose the Senate perhaps we shouldn't automatically blame it all on Obama.

However I do feel that if Obama would have shown a little more leadership and if he had actually used his "bully Pulpit" and his oratory skill, he could have convinced the American voters that the reason there has been so little change is the Party of "NO" and not the Democratic Party.

[PM Martin]

42. Bruce Brailey?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024764389

[Puzzledtraveller]

43. DU

cuz DU=Activism

[Capt. Obvious]

44. The more posts the more activism

It's better than Hashtag activism

[Larry the Cable Dude]

45. Nate Silver nt

[Capt. Obvious]

46. That RW shill?

That's giving him too much credence.

[Douglas Carpenter]

50. yeah,remember how he shilled for Romney in 2012?

The Fivethirtyeight.com analyst, despite being pilloried by the pundits, outdid even his 2008 prediction. In that year, his mathematical model correctly called 49 out of 50 states, missing only Indiana (which went to Obama by 0.1%.)

This year, according to all projections, Silver's model has correctly predicted 50 out of 50 states. A last-minute flip for Florida, which finally went blue in Silver's prediction on Monday night, helped him to a perfect game.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/07/nate-silver-wins/

[CK_John]

47. Blame the a** voters who don't vote or those that continue to vote against their own interest.

We deserve the government we get.

[Capt. Obvious]

48. Okay, now we're gettin somewhere

If anyone of the segments of the Democratic party listed is perceived to not turn out to vote then they can be held solely responsible.

Seems fair.

[QC]

49. Laying our losses at the feet of the The Gays is traditional.

It's an old standby.

[lumberjack_jeff]

51. People who don't defend Andrea Dworkin. n/t

[Starry Messenger]

56. Feminist organizations

...evidently

[whatthehey]

59. Anyone who doesn't vote for the Democrat

No nuance or spectrum-based opprobrium needed. If you don't vote at all, if you vote 3rd party, if you vote GOP - all are to blame in that case.

[LanternWaste]

60. I've found that far more often, it's more effective and efficient to solve a problem rather

I've found that far more often, it's more effective and efficient to solve a problem rather than to petulantly go in search of a demographic to assign blame to.

However, I am the first to admit that solving problems can be a lot harder, and lot less fun than casting blame...

[City Lights]

61. Democrats don't win without some support from Independents,

so let's blame them. I'd rather not wag fingers at fellow Democrats.

[bemildred]

62. I blame the party leadership. nt

[joshcryer]

63. Those who don't GOTV.

Who demoralize the voters.

[Fumesucker]

68. But who demoralizes the voters the most?

For me at least it's those who give the appearance of praising Obama and the Democrats no matter what those politicians do.

I remember how much I loathed that attitude from the right when Dubya was Pretzeldent and it still irks the crap out of me.

[Rex]

65. Will Pitt.

He just said it upthread.

Lazy conservatives that vote for Democrats need to get their asses to the polling both this November! Naturally the liberal base will be there to vote in droves.

It is the moderates that make up the largest number of people in the party, hopefully they realize sitting out the midterms in 2010 cost the country an immeasurable amount of pain and get off their butts in mass and VOTE!

[CFLDem]

66. The DNC.

The buck stops there.

[actslikeacarrot]

69. We blame Canada, of course. n/t

[Boom Sound 416]

73. ...

beat me to it

[cherokeeprogressive]

71. The Voters.

[n2doc]

72. Manny

Gotta be Manny.

[pstokely]

75. irregular voters

voters who only show for "big" elections

[Recursion]

76. People who don't use "whom" when they should (nt)

[lostincalifornia]

77. Really Gallop? Lets see. I would venture that the majority of Democrats are liberal and moderate.

So what does that mean?

if 15% of the liberal Democrats don't approve, then 85% of liberal Democrats DO APPROVE

if 25% of the moderate Democrats don't approve, then 70% of moderate Democrats DO APPROVE

This poll is another meaningless poll by Gallop

Why not ask this question within the same poll if they want a real perspective:

How many Democrats will vote Democratic?

I would venture we would be talking about a number closer to 90%

Don't want to do that, because it might just give an impression that the Democrats are more together against the republicans

[aquart]

78. Anyone who stayed home.

Or proselytized there is no difference between the parties.

[riqster]

81. Anybody and everybody who doesn't GOTFV.

If we turn out, we win. If we sit it out, we lose.

[GeorgeGist]

82. USA.

[scheming daemons]

83. blame "liberals" who tell Obama to "go fuck himself"

I am not joking.

They kill Democratic enthusiasm for the midterm elections with shit like that.

And maybe that's their plan.