NYT: Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities

[sabra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08dems.html

Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: February 8, 2006

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — Democrats are heading into this year's elections in a position weaker than they had hoped for, party leaders say, stirring concern that they are letting pass an opportunity to exploit what they see as widespread Republican vulnerabilities.

In interviews, senior Democrats said they were optimistic about significant gains in Congressional elections this fall, calling this the best political environment they have faced since President Bush took office.

But Democrats described a growing sense that they had failed to take full advantage of the troubles that have plagued Mr. Bush and his party since the middle of last year, driving down the president's approval ratings, opening divisions among Republicans in Congress over policy and potentially putting control of the House and Senate into play in November.

Asked to describe the health of the Democratic Party, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said: "A lot worse than it should be. This has not been a very good two months."

[grasswire]

1. agitprop -- bogus -- disinformation!

Adam Nagourney is no friend of Democrats. This perpetuates the main meme out of the WH political shop.

[ixion]

24. neither is his source: the DLC

IMO.

[truthisfreedom]

2. horsehockey.

total baloney.

[MaryRN]

3. And the DNC...

certainly doesn't help matters. "A house divided against itself...."

[biscotti]

5. I believe Senator Dodd

is DLC. Perhaps we should email his office and ask him to make a statement clarifying Mr.NAGOURNEY's spin on things.
.

[meisje]

16. and you are?

[Jayhawk Lib]

4. Total BS

Democrats are going to do great in 2006 and 2008 is going to be a banner year. In 2008 we will then have control of the house, senate, and the presidency. I can't hardly wait!!!!

[Jujiman]

6. Missed Opportunities? Like Not Saying Bush Spied BEFORE 9-11???

Ummmm, So sorry...But YES!! Appeasement strategists DLC have taken over.

We're not "allowed" to speak the truth anymore...911 changed EVERYTHING!

:shrug:

[Lorien]

7. Hey, they're "keeping their powder dry"

for the day when they fight for...????

[understandinglife]

8. Good time for Dean, Murtha, Conyers, Slaughter, & others ...

... to stand together on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and call "BULL SHIT" -- and then make it clear that we are going to clean house and send Bush, Cheney, and a bunch of WHIGers, neoconsters, and their Republican Congressional enablers TO JAIL in the next two years.

Oh, and dismantle and forever destroy anything remotely resembling the DLC.

Get real; kick butt; SAVE AMERICA.


Peace.

[fshrink]

9. This ranks number one

in the understatement category. For the last several years, and for the first time at the end of 2000, democrats, by and large, have not only missed but squandered so many opportunities to stand proud and tall for, well, democracy, that it's not even funny. They have preferred to pussy-foot or reframe, or play smart, however you want to call it, with the disastrous results that we know, and with which we will have to live for a long time. Aside from 3 or 4 mavericks, rightfully admirable, the trend seems to go on undisturbed.

[BillZBubb]

10. Actually, it's a pretty fair assessment of the situation.

As absolutely awful as the Repugs and Bush have done, the Democrats aren't really capitalizing. Sure, we've got a slight lead in voter preferences, but that is pretty tenuous. We haven't got a screaming majority like we should have under these circumstances.

[Larkspur]

11. Senate Dems need to look into the mirror to see where

the problem of these squandered opportunities lie.

[ShockediSay]

12. Use the simple devastating soundbites

like the Republicans keep cutting Medicare PERIOD

And use them over andover and over again.

[QC]

13. It's written by Nagourney.

'Nuff said.

[Rose Siding]

17. And it really really shows

Someone needs to send Nag the links to dem sites, or maybe suggest that he write about the dem agenda rather than whether or not they have one.

[QC]

20. Nag is a political operative.

He's no more a reporter than Judy Miller was.

[cry baby]

14. My deepest hope is that the Dems are like a snowball rolling down

a hill. It starts small and gets bigger and bigger until it will roll all over the repubs. Timing will be a factor for the elections.

I didn't like reading about dems that repeat the repub meme, that we are weak and don't have a message. Those dems that do that might have to watch out, the snowball will roll over them, too.

[Pithy Cherub]

15. It's going to be close to 90 degrees in parts of so. Cal

tomorrow. The snowball thing works better if Democrats would stop wishing for snow and work with the raw materials they are given:

Abamoff, republican Culture of Corruption, Abramoff, earmarks, Medicare cuts, indictments, environmental degradation, civil liberty evisceration, Katrina aftermath, Haliburton, Iraq War, Downing Street memos, DeLay, K Street Project, Big Oil profits, loss of jobs, economic collapse, and on and on... just sayin':shrug:

[cry baby]

19. I agree - I'm saying that I believe they are getting started.

I feel a little momentum. The hearings went well for us yesterday. The funeral for the beloved C.S. King was historical in it's significance as the call to action was given in such an inspriational way. Also, I guess that recognizing that you have a problem is half the battle. Now, maybe they will take up the issues (including those you mentioned in your post), which is the other half of the battle.

I'm not being literal about the snowballs in so. Cal. - it was a metaphor. I am hoping they will get stronger and stronger as the snowball (metaphorically) would get bigger and bigger.

[Elidor]

28. That's almost exactly the message they need

Abramoff, corruption, Abramoff, earmarks, Abramoff, Bush, indictments, Bush

The following week you change the pitch a bit:
Abramoff, Delay, Abramoff, Bush, Delay, Bush, Libby, Bush, etc.

A new interlaced theme every week. They have to hammer on this shit relentlessly.

[yurbud]

26. there's a difference between saying you need to get in the fight and

saying you are defeated already.

Probably the biggest liability most democrats have is the degree they voted with Bush and the GOP, as part of their inexplicable, 'keep your powder dry strategy.'

The one semi-valid defense the White House and GOP have for any criticsm of their actions is the Democrats often voted for the things they are criticizing.

Democrats needed to have been developing a track record of opposition, even if they weren't winning, so people knew what they stood for, even if they didn't agree with us.

[Triana]

18. they have failed miserably....

...they've had truck and boatloads of opportunities to slam the bu$hit regime for 5 years not and they've essentially done nothing much until very recently. Dumped on them with silver platters .. but nada. It's like they're asleep or something. Go figure.

[depakid]

21. Adam Nagourney- a grain of salt with that-

Might as well be Wolf Blitzer writing.

That said, I think this reflects reality more than most of his condescention.

I think he's just jumped on the bandwagon of other astute political observers who, after the actions of the past 2 weeks (if not 5 years) realize that, absent some deux ex machina, the Dems under Harry Reid have already blown 2006-

[PBass]

22. Ongoing weakness in Democratic candidates is nothing new

The Dems couldn't beat Bush in 2004, and he is arguably among the very worst presidents in American history. They should have won in a landslide.

The Dem motto seems to be "The right wing is slapping us around, we don't want to do anything to make them mad because then they might call us names, too".

[Psephos]

23. Not considering this information is just one more missed opportunity

There are a number of people here who quickly dismiss both message and messenger, but only a few who recognize the obvious - Dems haven't made hay despite that the sun's been shining for *five years.*

I'm not buying what the article says whole-hog, but the same ol', same-ol' comments that it's all due to a Rovian secret operation or black agitprop or the gross stupidity of the sheeple or whatever sound an *awful* lot like refusal to face the facts.

Here are the facts. President: repug. Senate: repug. House: repug. SCOTUS: repug.

The naysayers have some splainin' to do. Maybe this time they'll use Ockam's Razor.

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=Occam's%20Razor&gwp=16


Peace.

[depakid]

25. Nice move, Mods!

ALL of Nagouney's copy belongs on the editorial page. Someone should tell that to the NY Times.

Not that they'd care.

[stopbush]

27. Geez. Da ya think so?