Turns Out Running as an Anti-Democrat Democrat Doesn't Work

[Yeggo]

Jim Marshall in Georgia's 8th district voted against most of the Democratic agenda, says he'll vote against Nancy Pelosi for speaker, and ran what amounts to an attack ad against her. How's that working out? He's now an underdog against his Republican opponent.

While I get that not every district is ripe for liberal representation, if we, as Democrats, are looking for a long-term silver lining from this year, it's that a lot of the Blue Dog coalition may lose their races. If the political winds shift, we can get more progressive Democrats back in those swing districts in 2012.

http://conversation101.squarespace.com/georgia-08/2010/10/24/great-scott-anti-democrat-democrat-jim-marshall-struggling-b.html

[ClassWarrior]

1. I disagree. Marshall is proof that every district IS ripe for liberal representation. Says Lakoff...

...I am a cognitive scientist and believe that people's brains play a significant role in elections. From the perspective of brain science, the answer is a no-brainer. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) You speak to biconceptuals the same way you speak to your base: you discuss progressive values, and if you are talking to folks with both progressive and conservative values, you mainly talk about the issues where they share progressive values. What that does is evoke and strengthen the progressive values already there in the minds of biconceptuals.

And of course, you don't negate or argue against the other on their framing turf -- remember Don't Think of an Elephant!

That was the winning strategy of Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Brown is a thoroughgoing progressive who never moved one inch to the right. He talked about the issues where he agreed with his Ohio audiences -- and legitimately spoke for them.

Think about Barack Obama going to Rick Warren's megachurch and getting a standing ovation from evangelicals because he talked about the places where he agreed with them, he activated his values in them (values they already had), he came across as a man of principle, and he didn't get in their face about where he disagreed....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/no-center-no-centrists_b_60419.html

NGU.

[kentuck]

3. I agree with Lakoff.

The Deep South still has progressive values left over from the Great Depression. They have a lot of emotion in their politics historically. They value jobs and values that defend the poor and middle class. It is not impossible to win in the South with progressive values. You lose when you stand for nothing.

[ClassWarrior]

4. Bingo. "You lose when you stand for nothing."

:fistbump:

NGU.

[Bozita]

2. So, ... how's Blanche Lincoln's campaign going?

[Tesha]

5. She's headed towards defeat. (NT)

[704wipes]

6. confirmation of what Harry Truman said

"Given the choice between a Republican and a Democrat who tries to act like a republican, the voters will choose the Republican."

Something to that effect. I may have paraphrased the exact quote, but, sounds like that is exactly what is happening to Blanche and Marshall.