OK need some reassurance from my fellow DUer's

[texas1928]

I DVR'd Countdown and saw his report on georgie and rove's confidence in this November's outcome. Please reassure me that they are living in a delusional world and we are going to take it, and that the reason they are not confident is they are going to steal it again.

I know that sounds tinfoil hattish, but damn it, I am scared that they are going to pull something like that, or they are going to have another terrorist attack and declare martial law and suspend the elections.

I am worried here folks.

[MadMaddie]

1. They are delusional....and seriously I think they are getting

the Nazi war bunker mentality...

[greeneyedboy]

2. their self-fulfilling prophecy tactic ain't gonna work this time.

[Captain Hilts]

3. It's their strategy to pretend they're winning when they're not. I worked

in a firm that worked in the Bush 2000 campaign and that is one of their methods. Act like you're the front-runner, even when you aren't. They did this after the Iowa and NH losses to McCain.

[Bozita]

4. Mark Crispin Miller was on BOOK TV w/ Thom Hartmann on Sunday

Miller said the GOP was gonna steal it again.

If it's close, they're gonna steal it. Miller said the margin's got to be big to win.

[texas1928]

19. Not helping.

:spank:

[Wilms]

5. The Iraq War is going just swell, too. n/t

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. Dick Morris (on Fox) just said, They will lose both houses...

Said the GOP base is split down the middle...That The pubs are just re-arraigning chairs on the Titanic. And this morning, on MSNBC, another GOP strategist said that it does not matter how much money they have, cause even with a Yacht, you still get swamped by a tsunami.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

20. Sorry, but I don't think these people are going to take loses on

anything and nothing is outside of their realm of possibilities to save this election.

[greeneyedboy]

7. cf. the "tactical assault project" at politicalstrategy.org

http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/001067.php

it's rhetorical chest-thumping, meant to be intimidating--good strategy, but it's no truer than anything else Bush or Rove says.

[Ediacara]

8. They're putting on a show, and lying to Bush

They want Bush to go on a bender after the election. They fear a bender before the election will give the Dems 57 Senate seats rather than just 50-53...

It's all bluster: as the NYT reported this morning they seem to have settled on a do-or-die strategy of pouring money into MO, TN, and VA while giving up completely on MT, OH, PA, and RI (as well as any chance of actually gaining seats).

ON EDIT: to add that the Dem candidates are leading in MO and TN (according to most polls), and are within the MOE in VA, with momentum in our direction in each of those races; so it may be all for naught as they're in serious danger of losing ALL SEVEN of those Senate seats.

[RoyGBiv]

9. Bush is delusional ...

Seriously think about it ...

Shrub was (is) basically a business person of the corporate variety, a CEO type. Think about Ken Lay and his cronies. Think about the public face they put on everything that was happening, i.e. while the world crashed down around them, what they told the stock holders was nothing but pure fantasy about how wonderful everything was. (See _The Smartest Men in the Room_) Some people jumped ship because they knew what was happening and didn't want to be around when it did. Others stayed on, knowing what was happening but convinced they either could fix it for one more quarter never thinking beyond that quarter or that leaving would only make things worse for themselves. Still others truly believed that everything was okay, or would be. It would all turn around.

Every business Bush has ever touched has failed. He's failed at everything in his life. This is no different, yet he's been delusional about all of it, in part because someone was always there to bail him out, at least to the extent that he was able to move on and not carry the stigma of what he did to those companies with him. He's been insulated in this world his entire life. He thinks things are fine because he thinks he'll be fine because, by God, he's George Dubya.

In a practical sense, presenting a positive public face is the only campaign strategy left to him at this point. Hell, turn this around. Dukakis in '88 was going down in flames. He knew it. Everyone knew it. But some still thought he could pull it out at the last minute while others were fully aware it was all over before the voting started. Still, the image they presented was one of confidence. In the current context, all Shrub has to say is "I'm confident." He doesn't have to mean it. The media will portray him as confident because that's what he said he is, and the modern media don't ever question anything like that. He said it, so it must be true.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Beautifully stated.......

:applause: :applause:

[texas1928]

13. I know you are right, but sometimes my fear gets the better of me.

I am the person who usually has to ask what if. I hope and pray that they do not pull something.

[Infinite Hope]

10. While there may be some fraud...

...it's a typical method of nudging a distraught base.

[hfojvt]

12. it is not delusional

who knows what tomorrow brings,
but you do not rally the troops by talking doom and gloom
too many voters will follow the wind, and if you predict a
loss many will vote against you just to be on the winning side.

Plus they have a 7% built-in advantage
http://www.dailyhowler.com/

I do not believe that it will be fixed.
If a fix was in, then why would Talent be running those negative ads?
If a fix was in, then why would Cheney be raising money for Ryun?

[texas1928]

14. running the attack ads?

Get in some more shots on an opponent. Make them look worse, and throw out more nonsense to distract from what they really are doing.

[Nite Owl]

15. What else can they say?

They have to say stuff like this or just concede before the voting begins.

[texas1928]

17. I know, but I have this nagging thought in the back of my mind.

It keeps cropping up. Rove had had a smug look on his face lately. More smug than normal, like he farted and got all the Democrats blamed for it.

[G Hawes]

16. Appearing confident is paramount to any politician

It doesn't mean that they really *are* confident, but appearing as though you think you're going to lose is a death knell. And these #%@%@^@##$s have been around long enough to know how to do appearances.

So, don't fret. Instead, use it as an incentive to do even more to assure a Dem victory next month in whatever way you can.

[jobycom]

18. It's standard operating procedure.

Bush Daddy swore up and down that he was going to win it, and the polls were "nutty." Mary Matlin tried to bet a reporter $100 that Bush was going to win. The reporter looked at her like she was wacko. Well, she was, but.. well, you know.

Republicans seem to believe that there is no reality beyond what people think. They assume that the economy goes bad because people lose confidence and stop buying (thus, it's the people's fault, and it's okay to lie to them to reassure them, because that in itself will fix the economy), and they assume that they lose because people lose confidence that they can win. So they run around swearing they are going to win, believing that that in itself will make more people vote for them.

It's Repub mentality. They believe politics is just about winning, no matter how or why, and that people vote for winners just because they are winners. Repubs are shockingly shallow people. But you knew that already. :)

[wiley]

21. Some Republicans dare not speak the name of the Party they will vote for

Other Republicans are pretty vocal about their disgust with the current Republican led onslaught.

At this point, making a $50.00 contribution to any Democrat or helping get out the vote almost ensures they will win. You think they want to say that? Besides, they will just blame some other Republicans (like Cheney) or release lots of Anthrax letters as a last gasp attempt.


http://www.massaforcongress.com/contribute.asp

[Vexatious Ape]

22. perhaps their confidence comes from

the fact that this country has been gerrymandered all to hell.

[nam78_two]

23. eh-they have to say it

If its any comfort all the con pundits seem to say they will lose and these are people that said they would win in 2000, 2002 and 2004. So fwiw there it is....

[kster]

24. Join The POL

PISSED OFF LIBERALS........... YOU CAN ONLY PLAY NICE FOR SO LONG......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waWS0Y3Ubc

[livvy]

25. I wish I could offer reassurance, but my tinfoil hat has been calling me..

from the closet.
See the OP from this thread.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=453066&mesg_id=453066

We need to win big. Narrow wins just are too vulnerable.
Everyone needs to get out there and push, prod, coerce, etc. Dems to the polls.