Hackett teaches us how to win in '06 and '08

[steve2470]

Yes, I know he didn't win, at least not yet officially :) However, if a candidate with a huge handicap (being in an overwhelmingly Republican district) can do so well, it teaches us something. All of the Dem candidates should come out swinging and tell it like it is. What do we have to lose ? We've tried being nuanced and polite for the last 5 years and usually we've gotten run into the dirt. The American people need to hear the truth spoken in stark, simple, unmistakable terms that cannot be spun without looking laughable. Those of us who are going to vote Democratic may wince but we're still going to vote blue. The brain-damaged and delusional will still vote red. The voters in the middle need to understand and need to be TOLD the truth. We can tell the truth without "going over the line". Americans respect honesty and plain-speaking. F*** the DLC and the Gucci-clad consultants in D.C. Attack, attack attack AND have a rational plan for the country. NO attack on Dems should be tolerated and should be responded to with equal ferocity except it will be the truth. We need to lose the Neville Chamberlain routine and stand up to fascism before we're all speaking RWese and producing papers. We can't all move to Canada. I think the rumors about Cheney ordering an attack plan drawn up on Iran have put me over the edge. IT'S TIME TO STAND UP AND FIGHT.

[Norbert]

1. As long as the Repubs can successfully hit us with sound bites

and bullit points it is not going to be easy to win any more. The voting electorate has been conditioned to react by the noecons and quite frankly the voting electorate does not think for themselves any more.

[bryant69]

6. That's crap

While there is a segment of the voting population that reflects that, I think it is a pretty small section.

Anyway I don't know why you disdain sound bites and bullet points - do you think our side never uses them? They are just tools to get your message across. The Right Wing uses them and we use them - we could get better at it, sure but to say the game's already over, I don't know, I just can't agree!

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[sendero]

9. I submit..

... that the voting electorate is slowly realizing what an absolute bunch of fuckups the Republican party is, and are just waiting for SOMEONE to have the guts to say so. They will reward those with the GUTS TO SAY SO with votes.

Any other explanation for Hackett's showing is bullshit IMHO.

[auburngrad82]

15. Well, that's a pretty defeatist attitude.

In my opinion, the general population is waking up to the fact that the GOP is full of shit and are really a bunch of radical warmongers posing as the Righteous Right. The only thing they have going for them right now is the fundies, which went against Hackett.

We can and should win if we can start learning from people like Hackett and stop with the defeatist and apologist attitudes that we as Democrats seem to love. If we come out swinging, not with lies but with the truths about how the GOP is fucking up our country we can win.

People are beginning to listen.

[lvx35]

2. I love to hear such good points on DU.

That's exactly how it is!

[Tesla]

3. We have to start local!!

Start making a crack in their bucket!!

Come to the 3rd, Mr. Hackett!!!

[lvx35]

21. Start local? What do I do about my pro-CAFTA senators?

Dems always take Washington state...But I wonder what I can do locally about my pro-CAFTA senators, Murray and Cantwell?

[Ian David]

4. The close call (or win) here also sends the GOP a message...

It says, "You can't take any district for granted."

It means they now have to spread money around in places they have never needed to before.

If nothing else, this will cause a sort of "virtual attrition" for the GOP.

[ObaMania]

5. Not really..

This is just another example of the re :puke: 's making us think we are doing well, then assessing their deficit and making adjustments to pull off a win.

Sorry for the pessimism, but the fix is in. Going forward, I believe we are screwed until there are truly non-partisan overseers of this process and a paper trail of voting machines.

[hollowdweller]

7. I don't see that him losing is anything to celebrate.

Just like ALL the races anymore it was close, but the Democrats just aren't getting that small margin that they need to win.

[winga222]

8. That's assuming a level playing ground

The margin Hackett moved was HUGE - just not enough in a heavily-gerrymandered district. Chances of taking the seat were in the slim to none category and the Hackett campaign made the Repugs sweat for every vote. This would be like the Repugs forcing a 30 point swing in Marin County, or West Hollywood. Sorry, but as someone who sweated in out in the Hackett phonebanks and canvassing, I'm not in the mood to hear that we didn't score an immense victory yesterday. We did. The seat would have been great. The tide turned, the blueprint was laid out for other Dems. It was an amazing achievement and should give anyone with an ounce of optimism in their soul great hope.

[Telly Savalas]

10. Thanks for your hard work!

Don't let anybody here piss on your parade. There are a lot of doom-and-gloomers here whose sole purpose isn't to support the progressive community, but rather to destroy morale. In 2006 if we run campaigns like Hackett's in places that aren't nearly as red as Ohio-2, we'll be picking up a lot of seats in the House.

[tomg]

13. We'll win when there are more

candidates who campaign like Hackett and more folks who work like you for those candidates. Thanks for the effort in Ohio, and it was immense.

[blondeatlast]

14. The RNC spent enormous amounts of money in the final days,

the Hackett campaign hit the streets.

In terms of ultimate effect, one method proved conclusively better--a sincere grassroots effort yielded more votes than the money did.

We may not have won, but hitting the streets and knocking the doors turned the tide in a big, big way.

Let's make sure the DNC realizes this.

[Vinca]

11. I agree with you 100%.

Hackett proved a major point. Democrats don't have to masquerade as Republicans to win. It's astonishing he did so well in that area of Ohio after calling Shrub an SOB and a chickenhawk.

[blondeatlast]

12. Offense: come out swinging, tell it like it is or should be.

Defense: tie every Repub candidate as closely to Bush as possible. Every vote, every quote, every dinner invite, every photo-op exploited.

This president is a failure and the people see it. Even those who voted for Bush in 2004 realize they risk making a similar mistake in 2006.

We don't have to move to the center--we just have to find a position and stand our ground.

[steve2470]

16. kick nt

[sandnsea]

17. One Unified Message

Locals always have an advantage over a national candidate. They can get away with skirting issues that the national candidate can't, like guns. They can run on their local environmental issues, for example, that may be the exact opposite somewhere else. Locals know the candidate and can vouch for them. In the case of Hackett, an Iraq Vet attacking Bush is a whole lot different than a tree sitter attacking Bush.

Hackett ran on a strong defense and winning in Iraq, despite his disagreement in going to war. He also ran when the national media was blistering Bush, not covering up for him. The real difference is that the Democrats who supported him, supported HIM completely. No nose holding, no whimpering at every attack, no attacking him as much as the right was.

So the lesson really ought to be that when the media tells the truth and Democrats support their candidate, wins are almost a given.

[Toots]

18. Not that I disagree but one main thing not mentioned is Hacket has

(street cred). He walks the walk. If other Democrats do the same we could very well win some House Seats. Most politicians sway with the breeze and so do not have the credibility to say the truth.

[wiggs]

19. Why wait till 06?

Based on Hackett's strong performance I guess we'll see our existing dem leaders take more aggressive stances on DSM, Bolton abuse of power, Plame, Abu Ghraib, Edmons, repeatedly lying to congress re Medicare, torture, election reform, deficits, WMD, altering scientific reports to fit policy (why don't our leaders tie DSM to known instances of alterning reports), napalm, Halliburton corruption, missing 8 billion, oil for food US involvement, Chalabi lies....right?

Why not?

[bearfan454]

20. Right on steve2470

Fuck this repuke lite shit. We need to go WAY left.