What is the benefit in peddling false hope about the mid-terms?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

There is, and always has been, a thing on DU of treating serious matters like rooting for sports teams.

We, the Democrats, are going to be hammered in November.

There is no virtue in deceiving ones self and surely no virtue in seeking to deceive others.

It just promotes nihilism.

The value in donating and working for candidates remains the same -- it makes a difference whether we lose 55 seats or 60 seats.

It is better for Democrats to be elected.

There is a powerful argument there for working and voting for Democrats that doesn't require ginning up a mass-delusion that is followed by crushing disillusionment.

Yes, a credulous few may be strung along by delusional rah-rah but many more are ultimately alienated.

[jaxx]

1. I've never been one to give up because I might lose.

And most of the time I don't.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

7. Tenacity does not require delusion or deception

You sum up the problem as I see it perfectly -- equating being grounded in reality with 'giving up.'

Wars are seldom won by the less realistic side.

For instance, a lot of people are upset about resource "triage" because correctly apportioning resources requires accepting the unfortunate realities of the situation.

Should we apportion resources based on a theory that everything is fine?

[jaxx]

10. Grounded in reality means it ain't over till the votes are counted.

Defeatism, in the guise of reality, is a doomsday scenario and only lets those so affected to be able to give up early to avoid responsibility.

[leveymg]

2. There are those here who view themselves as party functionaries. To them, any doubt or criticism

, no matter how constructive or well-intended, is taken as disloyalty.

When things look grim, as they do now, there is a strong temptation by some to deny reality and to make up an alternative version, the repetition of which they can at least prove their loyalty, even if no one else is persuaded.

It's a form of emotional compensation. Nothing new in sports or politics about it.

[SidDithers]

3. What's the benefit of peddling doom and gloom?...nt

Sid

[MineralMan]

GMTA, I guess.

Almost simultaneous.

[Lost4words]

8. about on par with peddling false hope, I would say.

how 'bout an honest approach, that would be nice, yes/no?

[Tiras De Carne Seca]

12. Well said.

[Lost4words]

13. welcome to DU if someone hasnt already!!

:hi:

[Tiras De Carne Seca]

17. Thank you.

I've lurked here since the early days of DU. I only recently decided to start an account so I could comment.

[emilyg]

19. yes.

[MineralMan]

4. What's the point of peddling gloom and doom about the mid-terms?

It's an equally valid question. Unrecommended for failure to demonstrate the truth of your premise.

[SidDithers]

5. Jinx!...nt

Sid

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. I don't peddle anything, which is the point

Every word I type on this board is the truth to the best of my knowledge.

I am surely sometimes wrong but I am never assuming the reader is a child available for me to manipulate.

Our whole enterprise of liberal democracy is reality-based. Liberalism is at heart scientific... not dogmatic or tradition driven or quasi-religious.

What is Nate Silver peddling? Nothing. He is trying to describe reality through examination of the world with the tools at his disposal.

Did people think Nate Silver was a partisan rallying the troops in 2008? Is he a doom-spinning republican operative today?

Without putting reality first and foremost liberal democracy losses all advantage over other philosophies of governance.

Monarchists, nationalists and theocrats have us beat hands down on atmospherics and ability to deceive a mob infinitum.

All we have, all we have ever had, is reality.

[depakid]

14. +1

[PBS Poll-435]

18. Many, MANY folks had their confidence bolstered by Nate Silver's projections in 2008

And because of the stakes, worked even harder.


We have 2 months to go.

[babylonsister]

6. What is the benefit in being so negative? Maybe if some

people can be educated from now until November, it shouldn't be construed as an awful thing.

[Nye Bevan]

9. A week is a long time in politics. Two months is an eternity.

We may lose 75 seats. We may lose 5 seats. You don't know and I don't know. Never underestimate the ability of the repukes to screw up and shoot themselves in the foot.

[Lost4words]

15. or to steel an election,......

[LawnKorn]

21. .

[laughingliberal]

16. I believe it is possible to turn an election around in 60 days.

I also believe it is necessary to honestly assess where you are in order to do it. The further behind, the more some very bold initiative is going to be needed. I think 2 things are needed. Democrats need to really face the possibility of Republican majorities and ask themselves if they're ready to go there. And there needs to be a really kickass populist message going out from the WH and all the candidates. A good Republican screw up right now couldn't hurt, either.

[prolesunited]

22. McCain was up by 10 points in the polls

during the same time period before the 08 elections.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

20. What is the benefit in peddling doom and defeatism about the mid-terms?

:shrug:

I have no doubts that we are going to lose some (net) seats but I'm not buying the "1994 Redux" meme being actively and deliberately pushed by the corporate mediawhores, at least not until all of the votes are in. Things look pretty bad but there are important differences that could change the outcome.
Additionally, there's still enough time for us to GOTV and make a difference and President Obama and the Democratic Party seems to have waited until this week to start up the campaign in ernest. Still, so many people, both here and elsewhere are already doing "pre-mortems" on the election- deciding who's to blame for an outcome that has yet to even be determined or worrying about what's going to happen with the Republicans in control of Congress again when they haven't even been given the "keys" back yet.

IMHO everybody just needs to GOTV and do their part to elect Democrats and/or keep enough of them in office to prevent the Republicans from taking over again.

[Overseas]

23. Resisting the pre-set media narrative that The Party In Power Always Loses Seats in the Midterms.

I found it quite interesting that soon after Rachel Maddow did a big exposé before the Labor Day break on how the media narrative that incumbents would be swept out in the series of around 300 primaries turned out to be very far from the truth, with only about 10% actually losing their seats,

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38824813#38824813

we were treated to a series of Generic Republican vs Generic Dem polls showing that golly gee, Democrats really are in trouble !!

Democrats like me are still hoping that the public remembers that the Modern GOP not only crashed our economy but also crashed our national security and won't want those monsters back in power.