Which candidates would govern more to the left than they're campaigning?

[RememberTheCoup]

Bush campaigned as a moderate and is "governing" as an extreme RWer. Which of the current candidates do you feel would govern more to the left than their current campaigns indicate?

[Terwilliger]

1. are you kidding??

Every Dem on the pallette will be running to the center once the nomination is sewn up.

None of them would govern more tot the left.

[fleetus]

4. Yep.

I gotta agree with you. I think moving policy to the right once in power is a lot easier than moving it left. That's because the left is usually about puting people first, while the right is about strengthening current power structures. I'm not convinced a president could move the country very far left even if he did have a "secret" far left agenda as the original poster is suggesting.

[RememberTheCoup]

6. I didn't exactly suggest a "secret" far left agenda...

Just seems like common sense that one would have more freedom after winning an election than during the campaign when needing to grab swing votes. Maybe it's just wishful thinking...

[BootinUp]

2. The ability to Govern to the left is entirely

dependent on the mandate from the election. This is EXACTLY why we should NOT be running a Northeastern Liberal Senator who at best will manage a narrow victory, and not help us carry sentate and congressional races in the South.

It is simply amazing to me to watch the Democrats make such a huge miscalculation.

[RememberTheCoup]

3. You think?

I don't know that margin of victory is such an important factor. I would think the D/R makeup of Congress is a much bigger factor.

[BootinUp]

5. coattails is part of the mandate as I mentioned

The other party does yield to mandates in Presidential elections, if it is clear on what basis the election is won.

[Nashyra]

8. Huge miscalulation

is an understatement, the Dems are being shortsighted as usual. Dean saying that right now on Wolf Blitzer. The Dem powers that be want a candidate early, this is there goal and they are not budging from that. Wrong Wrong Wrong. They should let the electorate chose the candidate and let the *'s poll numbers continue to fall. My Sunday morning mantra Clark and Dean would turn DC upside down and empty the pockets of the politicians and the Dems don't want this as much as the Repukes don't want to lose the WH. Kerry will have no coattails.

[Johnyawl]

10. Huge miscalulation

Clark and Dean would turn DC upside down and empty the pockets of the politicians

You are seriously over estimating the power of the presidency. You can't "turn DC upside down" without a lot of help from congress, and NO Democrat is going to get any help from a republican controlled congress to do that. And anyone who runs as an "outsider", talking about upsetting the applecart, will get very little help from their own party. I watched that happen to Jimmy Carter. The democratic congress hamstrung him at every opportunity.

[blm]

7. Kerry will win with 56% of the vote.

At least.

[Nashyra]

9. I wish I could believe this

Just saw a poll where over 50% of people polled think that Clark or Edwards should not drop out.

[Johnyawl]

12. How meaningful is that?

It's still the primaries, and the poll you're quoting has nothing to do with how Kerry will fare against bush.

And besides, I'm a Kerry supporter, and I don't think either of them should drop out. Certainly not both. We need at least one southerner in the race until the end.

And we've only had 11 primaries so far, and Michigan is the largest one to date (128 delegates). We haven't heard from Ca, NY, Oh, IN, Il, TX etc, etc. And even a Kerry supporter has to admit that anything could happen. Where would the party be, if everyone dropped out now, and Kerry (god forbid) dropped dead next week? (Or stuck his foot in his mouth, and was unable to extract it.)

[Johnyawl]

11. I agree, blm

And I think the best coattails would be provided by a Kerry/Clark ticket. I think we'd have a realistic chance of retaking the house. I think the Senate is out of reach, given which seats are being contested this year.