Does the feeling in the air remind anyone of 2004?

[More Than A Feeling]

My memories of 2004 prior to the election are that every week, there was a new scandal in the Bush administration, like the National Guard thing, or Bob Woodward's book showing that attacking Iraq had always been the plan. Something that many of us were absolutely sure would keep many Bush-voting folks from repeating their mistake. Or there was a new reason to hope, like a poll showing numbers that no president had ever been re-elected with, or something else. We all know how that turned out.

Now we have weekly Abramhoff revelations and NSA mischief. We also have excellent recruiting by the folks at the DSCC and the DCCC, and generic polls showing large potential vote leads for Democratic candidates for congress. It's giving me deja vu. Who thinks that all of this hope and promise will fizzle out again. Who thinks that Dem's may end up gaining one seat in the House and the Senate, or some other inconsequential thing?

Does anyone else have the same feeling now that they had in 2004?

[dogday]

1. Time for a diversion

sounds about right to me....

[MrModerate]

2. Among the things that are different . . .

Is Dean's 50-state, on-the-ground presence by dem operatives. While black box voting may steal 2006 (as it did in 2004), it's going to be much harder.

Also, the accumulated scandal load is much higher now than then. Incumbents beware!

[blm]

3. Read DU homepage article by Patricia Goldsmith - the media controls the

volume of any scandal. They can pump it up or mute it to suit their agenda.

[Nightjock]

4. I feel COMPLETELY different

In November 2004 I did not believe you could fix elections in the United States and get away with it.
Now I know you can because they DID!

Any hope I have of reclaiming back our country and getting a Dem majority or president is dimmed by these effin criminals!!!!!!

[seabeyond]

5. hey maybe why it feels so famaliar, most of them are the scandal of

the past, just more peeled, like an onion. layer after friggin layer after layer. but yes, it does.

[Burning Water]

6. I think where

we make our mistake is in thinking that just because people are against Bush means they will vote for the Democrats. Especially seeing as how we are on the 'wrong' side of their issues.

Yes, I know, they are voting based on emotions and fears rather than logical, fact-based arguments like we do. But. And it's a big 'but', that's what they are voting on. They won't throw our Bush until they have another conservative to put in his place. It may be the most corrupt administration in history. You know what they'll say? They'll say, "He may be crook, but he's my crook." They simply won't let him leave office if Al Gore, or John Kerry were to be installed in his place. Maybe if Cheney were going in. Whoops. That's how it stands now.

What we've got to do is win elections. Now, I'm making this argument based on the premise that the election will be an honest one. This may be a flimsy reed to use. But if the election is not honest, and we can't prove that, in a court of law, they're going to win anyway. So, support the people trying to bring down the regime that way, but look to the voters, too. They have short memories, and are unlikely to vote against the Rs based on 'election-fraud'.

Again I'm making an assumption here, but for the sake of argument, let's assume that the electorate is pretty evenly divided along liberal-conservative lines. That means a few votes, either way, can honestly sway the election.

So, how to get those few votes. Well, as I see it, there are two ways. Either the Democratic Party nudges right enough to attract those votes, losing who knows how many off the left end of the spectrum to the Greens or somebody. Or, it stands firm on its principles, loudly, publicly, and often, in an attempt to educate the educable.

Naturally, I'd prefer the latter. I'm not enough of a political technician to determine which is the more effective method of returning to the White House and regaining control of Congress. But I suspect the former. So I am torn.

On the third hand, if the elections really are rigged in 2002, 2006, and beyond, we might as well go down in flames, because going down we are. Unless we can get some leadership and some evidence.

[rudy23]

7. We have to be tough on terror

That's going to be the key. We're going to have to show we can be tough on terror AND protect civil liberties. Whether it's warranted or not, people are genuinely afraid of an attack, and fear is an effective motivator. People just don't feel safe voting Democrat, even where it's the common sense choice. I think people like the idea that some Repubs are willing to cheat and lie to "protect" us. They're playing on some father figure archetype--the Dad who can beat up the class bully's dad.