Thom Hartmann says: "The way you win elections is by bringing the base out." True or False?

[AZ Progressive]

He also says that Republicans know this but Democrats for some reason don't. He also referred to the latest Canadian election as being won by the base coming out.

[Ken Burch]

1. Absolutely true. That's why we got hammered in 2010.

As soon as the administration got in, it did nothing but send message after message after message that the base didn't matter...because RAHM hated the base(he famously said we don't HAVE a base).

We made the same mistake in 2014.

People need to vote...equally, a party that wants them to vote has an obligation to keep the enthusiasm up and keep people in the loop and feeling like they mattered.

[MohRokTah]

2. False

You win elections by getting more of your voters to the polls than your opponent.

[cui bono]

9. Who do you think the base is?

[Kalidurga]

3. Of course

You can't win without building a base. But, you have to try to bring in natural allies as well. And work harder to get young people involved. And not run to the right as soon as you get into office.

[2pooped2pop]

5. owning the media and controlling

The slant of the media goes a long way.

[Gregorian]

6. So the problem is our party is going in two directions.

That's not our fault. It's a product of where we are in political history. I don't think anyone ought to feel badly about who they support. We all see things differently. I think the best way to move the country forward is to recognize the failures, and implement quantum changes in course direction. How else do we change? You don't just go in the same direction; you hopefully find a course that is respectful to the majority of people. If that's not the goal, then we have bigger problems than we realize.

What I don't understand is this:
Why was Obama's pledge of change fine with all of us? Is Bernie's change a little too scary for some voters?

[mmonk]

7. Correct.

Look at where we are. eom.

[Martin Eden]

8. That depends how you define the "base"

If that includes attracting young people who often don't vote and haven't really established their political identity yet, then I agree. However, I don't think that demographic necessarily fits the definition of "base."

[liberal_at_heart]

10. It is true. Because the majority of Americans don't vote the margin of victory for either

party is pretty small. So, the only way to win is to get out as many of those loyal party voters as you can. I guess that is why we see so much intimidation on this site towards those of us who are not party loyalists. Someone on this site, I think it was Fumsucker said that neither party really wants a landslide because then they really would be responsible for what happens to the citizens of the country. As is all they have to do is blame the other party for what is wrong and that absolves them of responsibility.