Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities

[ECH1969]

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."

Democrats said they had not yet figured out how to counter the White House's long assault on their national security credentials. And they said their opportunities to break through to voters with a coherent message on domestic and foreign policy — should they settle on one — were restricted by the lack of an established, nationally known leader to carry their message this fall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08dems.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[Mass]

1. This said it all

Since Mr. Bush's re-election, Democrats have been divided over whether to take on the Republicans in a more confrontational manner, ideologically and politically, or to move more forcefully to stake out the center on social and national security issues. They are being pushed, from the left wing of the party, to stand for what they say are the party's historical liberal values.

But among more establishment Democrats, there is concern that many of the party's most visible leaders — among them, Howard Dean, the Democratic chairman; Senator John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential candidate; Mr. Kennedy; Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader; and Al Gore, who has assumed a higher profile as the party heads toward the 2008 presidential primaries — may be flawed messengers.

In this view, the most visible Democrats are vulnerable to Republican attacks portraying them as out of the mainstream on issues including security and budget-cutting.

Dodd, Bresesen, Obama, Bayh, against Durbin, Boxer, and Dean, Pelosi, Gore ...

[gulfcoastliberal]

2. Paging Mr B

Why is Sen. Dodd bashing democrats and babbling nonsense?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2443326&mesg_id=2443326

[carolinalady]

3. Classic RW psychological attack. Last week it was Hillary this

week the Dem party. They are scared and they should be.

[USA_1]

7. Today's Coretta Scott King Funeral ...

... Reverend Lowery says "we all know there are "weapons of mass decpetion" in the USA.

But did Clinton take advantage of it? No, instead he chooses to kiss up to Bush. And where were the rest of the Democrats to take advantage of the opening given by Lowery?

Again, it's the Democratic Party leadership that fucks it up for Dems, liberals, and progressives by repeatedly sucking up to Republicans.

[Democrats_win]

4. Americans tired of Republicans accomplishing nothing & spending everything

[USA_1]

5. All the Democratic leadership had to do was ...

... follow the advice they had been given on this forum REPEATEDLY by the posters here. Instead of doing so, they kissed up to Bush and the Pukes. If only they had enough sense to listen but they gave away the White House and Congress to the GOP.

That's a friggin' shame.

[Greyhound]

6. Nine months and one day...

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. This Article Is Prophetic For Two Reasons

1. It sets up the covert action of closet Republicans trying to move the Democratic Party to the right in order to maximize the Matrix-style advantages to corporate donors (of giving consumers an artificial choice.)

2. It uses the after-action report on the initial op (disarray within Democratic ranks) to launch the opening volley of a Media-run PSYOP campaign to prepare Americans for an expected Democratic loss in November. This allows the people involved in engineering further Democratic losses, to prepare for all eventualities.

This ongoing PSYOP in the US media will involve creation of a mythical American political landscape in which Democrats are blamed for failing to respond to the disasters of the Bush administration, and Bush is rehabilitated as a tragic figure who sticks to his guns, like Nixon.

Articles like these are merely an indication of things to come.

[madfloridian]

9. This is spin mostly, meant to divide us as a party.

Nagourney...that says it all. He is always doing this. The Democrats need to learn to keep their mouths shut when he is involved.

[mim]

10. So far so good

Seeing missed opportunities is only the beginning. You've got to learn from your mistakes and grab the next opportunity.

[Nomen Tuum]

11. Remember, this is coming from that liar Adam Nagourney

The #1 PRE$$TITUTE in America. Adam lies any lies for his Führer!