OK. We lost. What do we do to take Congress back in 2006?

[MikeG]

[KittyWampus]

1. Address E-Voting Or We Will NEVER Win Another Election.

[Lorien]

20. And get rid of the DLC.

[BayStateBoy]

24. Right...If We Don't Get Rid of E-Voting Nothing Else Matters

The history of democratic voting is a history of ballot recounts and the ability to conduct same.

The legitimacy of democratic elections is inexorably predicated upon the electorate's ability to verify the results which is only possible with a tangible ballot giving a permenent record.

A ballot that cannot be physically verified or interrogated is no different than a vote by someone with no verifiable name or residence. It is like making a bank deposit with no receipt and the institution retains no hard copy of the transaction. If it's not good enough for our financial transactions, it's certainly not good enough for our elections.

Any voting method without permanent record that can be verified by recount is UnAmerican and an open invitation to fraud by those of either party who control the state's electoral machinery.

Although George W. Bush rode the moral value issue into the ground and it surely benefited him, he was propelled him to "victory" by the "black box" votes that cannot be verified and therefore legitimized.

[Toronto Ron]

2. Start the search for excellent candidates TODAY

Not just in a handful of target districts, but everywhere.

Also, focus all possible resources on ejecting Santorum.

[izzie]

3. Carry a cross.

and swear women should be in the home and not working.

[Spiffarino]

4. Start the mud-slinging now

Whisper campaigns about gay affairs, pedophilia, bestiality, non-white children born out of wedlock...

Fuck these people. Use their own filthy tactics against them. I've fucking had it.

[CottonBear]

8. I'm with you. Fight fire with fire.

Start with Blogactive. How about Jesse Helm's gay granddaughter running for elected office in NC? Not to mention Strom's 1/2 black daughter. Screw the bigots and homophobes. Let's out every single hypocritical wingnut.

[aneerkoinos]

5. Join the Republican party

Only way. Enough of this pretended two party system...

[unfrigginreal]

6. AAR must start trumpeting a 'throw the bums out' message.

The only way we have any chance of regaining a majority is to run a national campaign against incumbents.

[LauraT28]

7. get rid of the BBV Machines.. Till then it ain't happening.

[OKNancy]

9. Quit making excuses

that it was voting machine problems. Get down to the grassroots party organization level.
Educate with every thing we have. Don't give up.

Massive effort to confront BushCo and not take it.
Figure how to get our ideas out in the media more effectively.

for starters

[highplainsdem]

10. Investigate and publicize the results to bring RW candidates down

and expose what's being done by the corporations who back them. Use the Internet. Use the lawyers in our ranks. This is NOT mudslinging. We can't count on the national media to provide the equivalent of 1970s-era Woodward and Bernstein. Remember how much Erin Brockovich accomplished.

Out every gay Republican hypocrite who backs homophobic policies.

[ps1074]

11. I am pessimistic

Not because I believe the Democratic party is dead (as some DUers believe) but because it will be very hard thing to do.

In 2000 election Dems gained 4 Senate seats (lost 1 dem incumbent and 1 open race and defeated 5 repuke incumbents and won 1 open race)

Defeated Democrats - Robb (Va)
Defeated Republicans - Roth (De), Abraham (Mi), Grams (Mn), Ashcroft (Mo), Gorton (Wa).

Here is a list of the 2006 Senate seats. You tell me where seats can be won.

Arizona - Kyl (R)
California - Feinstein (D)
Connecticut - Lieberman (D)
Delaware - Carper (D)
Florida - Nelson (D)
Hawaii - Akaka (D)
Indiana - Lugar (R)
Maine - Snowe (R)
Maryland - Sarbanes (D)
Mass - Kennedy (D)
Michigan - Stabenow (D)
Minnesota - Dayton (D)
Mississippi - Lott (R)
Montana - Burns (R)
Nebraska - Nelson (D)
Nevada - Ensign (R) - first term senator
New Jersey - Corzine (D)
New Mexico - Bingaman (D)
New York - Clinton (D)
North Dakota- Conrad (D)
Ohio - DeWine (R)
Pennsylvania - Santorum (R)
Rhode Island - Chafee (R)
Tennessee - Frist (R)
Texas - Hutchison (R)
Utah - Hatch (R)
Vermont - Jeffords (I)
Virginia - Allen (R) - first term senator
Washington - Cantwel (D)
West Virginia - Byrd (D) - probably open seat
Wisconsin - Kohl (D)
Wyoming - Thomas (R)

Dems defend 17 seats
Republicans defend 14 seats

Most of the republican seats are just unwinnable - Wyoming, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana.

I have hope for the following races:
Virginia, where dems must find someone strong enough to defeat a first term senator (Allen).
Pennsylvania - this is absolutely a must win seat. The party needs to put whatever money neccessary to win the seat curently held by Rick Santorum.
Nevada - a first term republican senator. This seat might be winnable.
Arizona - Can we win Kyl's seat?

So, you see there are just not enough opportunities to win back the Senate. Even if everything breaks our way. Even if we held all the dem seats and win these republican seats we'll still fail short.

[OKNancy]

13. Thanks for that

Wow, you are right. It will be tough.

[MikeG]

14. I disagree. We need to do more than nibble at the edges.

Each race must be contested HARD.

This is the thinking that cost us this year.

Fight hard everywhere and you'll win the marginal seats.

Fight hard on the margins and you won't even win those.

[OKNancy]

17. I think we agree

saying it is tough doesn't mean giving up.

It really ticks me off that we don't field and support good candidates everywhere! We have to go after every state and every seat.

[9119495]

15. And I could see us losing West Virginia without Bird

as well as North Dakota, and depending on the candidate WI. Remember, the Bush strategy team is 3 and 0 right now so they'll be helping in all those races. We can only hope bush will be tremendously unpopular--and that is quite likely.

[displacedyankeedem]

16. Here's who we need to run in these seats

Virginia: Gov. Mark Warner-wealthy and popular as hell in the Old Dominion.
Pennsylvania: Probably Barbara Hafer-a good centrist candidate for the job
Arizona: Former Phoenix Mayor and Current Attorney General Terry Goddard. His ties in Phoenix will help him to win Mariacopia County, which is crucial for a Democrat
Nevada: Two options-US House Rep. Shelley Berkley, who represents inner city Las Vegas or Las Vegas's Mayor. To win, we have to tie Ensign to Yucca Mountain via Bush.

Other Possibles
Missouri: Jim Talent isn't exactly known as a strong campaigner (the notoriously weak Bob Holden even beat him) and barely carried MO in a heavily Republican year with a horribly weak opponent. I think former Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell can make it a race.

Ohio: If he doesn't run for Governor, Ted Strickland, who represents rural Southeastern Ohio, could give DeWine a very, very, tough race.

Tennessee: Frist has term-limited himself, and the 800 pound gorilla on the Democratic side is going to be Harold Ford Jr. His probable opponent is Zach Wamp who represents the ultra-Republican Knoxville area, I think.

The only two seats I'm worried about defending are Minnesota and West Virginia (hopefully Byrd will stay until he dies)

[TexasBushwhacker]

18. I doubt Kay Baily Hutchison will run in 2006

The rumor is that she wants to raise her adopted children in Texas, not Washington and that she's going to come back to Texas and run for Governor. She may not resign her senate seat first though. Still I think it's well worth it to find a strong Democratic candidate to run against her in 2006.

Texas - I don't think she would run because she's in her 70's now, but I think someone like Ann Richards could win a senate seat here. We need to look for someone like Ann Richards. There are some good representatives who lost their seats because of the GOP gerrymandering. I think we should be able to find a good candidate - it's a big state!

Nevada - I agree about Nevada being winnable. Kerry had a much better showing there than expected. He's only down 20K from Bush. Nevada has a strong independent streak. It might be helpful to find a Democrat who could appeal to those independent voters.

Mississippi - Call me crazy, but I think Trent Lott could lose his seat to a strong black candidate like Barack Obama. Now wouldn't that be sweet?

West Virginia - Yeah, I think there's a good chance that Byrd will retire.

[9119495]

12. We can't get the house

Redistricting on a partisan basis has made it so only 30 per 435 are contested each year--and many of those are not really close either. Focus on the Senate as the only line of defense.

Get governorships and state legislatures above all else.

[Ducks In A Row]

19. Get decent Sec't of States into office in Ohio and Florida

insist on knowing you are registered and locking down where your poll place.

then watch that like a hawk that it doesn't change. Sue to be sure.


Getting rid of BBV is going to be a long battle, and we'll need to get the voters to place good Sec't of States into office first.

[MacDo]

21. Stay away

from Guns, Gays, and God. We are not the majority on these issues, and until we understand that, we can't win. JMHO

[drbtg1]

22. invade their turf

join a church and run for local offices (school boards, town councils, etc.) and support the democratic lines

ask the clergy if they are bigots.

go to church and ask fellow parishioners how gay couples will destroy their marriage.

get to know the bible and know there's a lot in there that can be used against them. F'instance, ask them if they knew that Paul's Letter to the Romans 13:1-7 can be used to justify following Hitler (This may have inspired Thomas Jefferson to say, "Paul was the first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus.")

http://www.liberalslikechrist.org

talk to Bush supporting neighbors and find out if they're comfortable with Valerie Plame, A.Q. Khan, the two traitors in the Cheney-Bush administration that Bush said he doubted they could be found, and all the others they know nothing about.

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/060804_coup_detat.html

ask them if they'll send their kids into the Fallujah meat grinder.

ask the purple heart bandages wearing-type women if they're happy that their uteruses will soon be owned by a bunch of wrinkled old white men.



....and when the draft starts and the next "new Pearl Harbor" happens, let the world know, "Don't blame me! I voted for Kerry!"

[Killarney]

23. We need to take back the media.

[aneerkoinos]

29. Bingo!

http://www.bigleftoutside.com/

[Cat Atomic]

25. Discredit fundamentalist leaders.

Down to the local level. Suggesting they're gay, tranvesite... that sort of thing. You can't pull the fundamentalists from their brand of militant Christianity, and you'll never get them to vote for Democrats. But you might be able to make them doubt one another, and stay home on Election Day.

[RushIsRot]

26. Eliminate Black Box Voting or all your plans will...

go for naught. As long as they can control the outcome of the vote, your vote will not count. Eliminate BBV now or forever gnash your teeth over lost "elections."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. You need three things:

1) A coherent vision of what America could be, not just a list of issues

2) The ability to relate that vision in simple, emotionally satisfying terms

3) A candidate with great people skills who personally embodies that vision

[chaska]

28. MAKE MORE LIBERALS....

We have to change minds one at a time. We have to go to church and remind those people that JESUS WAS A LIBERAL. We have to end the use of the church as a political tool.

JESUS WAS A LIBERAL!!! SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

...for starters.