Some dangerous myths we need to quash

[dsc]

Myth one Democrats will win in a landslide. Barring a third party that won't happen. This election will be similar to 1976 unless there is a third party. Carter ran against a President who hadn't received a single vote outside of Michigan, was named VP due to the previous VP going to jail on edit he got probation oopsy, became President when Nixon resigned, and then pardoned Nixon. Despite all of that Carter got less than 52% of the vote and would have lost the electoral college with a switch of around 10,000 votes (in Ohio and Hawaii).

Bush isn't going to resign nor will he be pardoned by a current GOP nominee. I think we will win but not a landslide.

Myth two Hillary Clinton is somehow especially able to be demonized and hated by the right. Have the people who bring forth this myth been sleeping for the last dozen or so years? Al Gore was a boring honest politician. But by the time the GOP and press were done with him he was a dishonest sleeze. Then came war hero Kerry. We all know what the press and GOP did to him. We could nominate Mother Teresa and Jesus as our ticket and we would have Hitchens on the TV 24/7 talking about Duvalier money and long haired hippies.

We will have our ticket demonized no matter what.

I have no dog in the current fight for nomination. But I don't want us choosing our nominee under false pretenses.

[MonkeyFunk]

1. One small correction

Agnew never went to jail. He paid a fine and was put on probation. But I agree with the rest!

[nightrider767]

2. Agreed, ,,

it will be very close.

ANy mistake can make a huge difference down the line.

[illinoisprogressive]

3. democrats spend far too much time worrying about republicans

this is what makes us weak. We are always thinking, planning and worrying about the republicans. Just like Bush and cheney do with terrorists.
Please.
maybe if democrats spent time not worrying about them and were proud and stood tall and were confident then, maybe we would see the republicans are not giants we need to slay but, in fact, equal and we can fight just as well.
It takes being savvy and clever not being loud, bragging and at war to defeat them.

[emilyg]

4. Good post.

[gateley]

5. K&R - thanks! nt

[depakid]

6. Downplaying Hillary's negatives

Makes me think that someone else has been asleep these past 15 year- and it isn't me....

[cali]

7. no. the OP has a point

they will go hammer and tongs after any dem with anthing they can dream up. Atwater/rove politics on steroids. and the OP wasn't downplaying Clinton's negatives but making the point that the repukes have a track record of successfully framing and sliming dem candidates.

[wyldwolf]

18. downplaying everyone else's ...

...Makes me think that someone isn't grounded in reality... but the OP is ....

[rufus dog]

8. Wrong!

It is the typical Dem bullshit that we can only expect so much, like a little squeaker win and then we pass what we can get away with and be happy. It is exactly why republicans can win with 51% of a vote, declare a mandate and get it. Because the thought is, oh we lost so they get their way, but when an equal size win occurs, the thought is oh that was very close we should all work together. There is a candidate that can CRUSH these assholes, create unity and create a sweeping change. His name is Obama, if you want the same old take what we can get, by all means vote for Hillary.

[rufus dog]

9. I just read this again and I am pissed off!

Why in the hell, in November of 2007, do you think that a Democratic candidate can't win a landslide!

YOU HAVE LOWERED YOUR EXPECTATIONS A YEAR BEFORE THE ELECTION! GOD DAMN IT THIS IS WHY DEMOCRATS GET FUCKING STEAMROLLED. IT IS FOR BEING SUCH FUCKING PUSSIES!

[dsc]

13. because exactly four people, count them four people

have won a majority of the vote in the Democratic ticket since the Civil War. Samuel Tildon, who got the EC robbed from him in return for ending reconstruction, FDR who was, well FDR, LBJ who ran against a whack job and as heir to a martyr, and Carter who barely got 50% running against the man who pardoned Nixon. In 140 years of elections we won exactly 7 majority vote victories.

[William769]

11. The Republican attack machine would make mince meat out of Obama.

He can't even deal with what Dem's are throwing at him. :rofl:

[William769]

10. DSC, what a great post.

Now if we can get people not to demonize for the post, life would be good.

K&R!

[rufus dog]

12. Hillary supporters UNITE

We can maybe win by a small percentage then maybe get a few minor things passed!

Woo HOO, lets band together and make America better!

[dsc]

14. FDR got more done with his first, and smallest mandate

than he did with any of this others. Wilson, who didn't win 50% of the vote either time, got a lot done as well. On edit I am leaving out his fourth mandate since he was President for only a few months after he won.

[Perry Logan]

15. It will be a Democratic landslide. To think otherwise is to posit 100% amnesia by the voters.

Guys...we've just had six straight years of Republican screw-ups. If you're not confident now, you'll never be confident in your life.

[bigscott]

19. i heard the exact same thing in 2004.

it did not work then -

I am confident we will win in 2008. But over-confidence is our biggest enemy. PLEASE do all you can to get out the vote, to talk to your neighbors and friends - PLEASE dont rest until the last vote is counted (and PLEASE do everything you can to make sure every vote IS counted)

[DCKit]

26. "Look at what you're paying or food, look at what you're paying for gas...

Look at the increase in your mortgage and credit card payments, look at the cost of a college education for your kids. In short, look at the value of a dollar. Now explain to me why you would even THINK of voting Republican."

[Virginian]

28. Don't count on it so much that you don't show up to vote.

By saying it will be a landslide will make some people not inconvenience themselves with voting.

You are also assuming that people are logical. With all the sex scandals, there are voters who will vote for the Moral Republican. We know it is a myth, but it is pushed so much that the sheeple feel that it is true even if they know that it is false. I work with one of those and she is only in her early 20s -- Too young to be set in her ways. (Imagine what the rest of her family is like.) She is shacking up with her boyfriend, but still considers herself morally superior to Democrats.

This is waaaaay to early to be counting your chickens before they hatch.

[wyldwolf]

16. double post -

...

[wyldwolf]

17. nuh uh! I was sitting in a car at a farmer's market with a room full of people on Thanksgiving...

...and none of them will support Hillary Clinton because she will mobilize the GOP base and because we're so scared of them we decided to let them decide our candidate. So there. :sarcasm:

[dmosh42]

20. Dem leaders may be snatching 'defeat' from jaws of victory!

As was said, victory should be easy in '08, but the Dem leaders are out of step with the rank and file. While we understand that maybe they can't get impeachment to conviction due to the Senate numbers, they could do more prosecutions and investigations. They did have control of the purse strings for the last year, and we're still on the same course in Iraq. The neo-cons have made the illegal immigration issue their own, and are really scoring points while the Dems have neglected to make any stand. The 'big' corporations own the media, and many of the Dem leaders are owned by those same corporations, so don't expect 'fair and honest' coverage. Our top candidates are expected to back more 'free trade' agreements, which really has been a sore spot for many old time blue collar workers like myself. I would agree with the point of this post just from those few items, and I'm sure many more could come to mind.

[wyldwolf]

22. ... or not.

[MethuenProgressive]

21. k & r #5

:kick:

[backwoodsbob]

23. dont downplay the * girl* factor

I think we can win with Hillary but it WILL be a fight.

Don't dismiss the * I won't vote fer no gerl* southern vote.

We REALLY need to get the vote in the midwest of HRC is the nominee.

[dsc]

24. Other than Flordia, Arkansas, and Virginia

we won't win any southern states no matter what. And of those, Hillary is best position in Arkansas and not in any more difficulty than most others in Florida and Virginia.

[applegrove]

25. Agreed.

[DCKit]

27. That Biden, Kucinich and Edwards are considered unelectable....

Simply because they get mostly negative press - when they get any press at all - is pure BS. A prime example is Wolf Blitzer's promise that everyone would get equal time in the last CNN debate. The fairness doctrine needs to be reinstituted - right after the M$M monopolies are broken up.

Not one of the three discounted candidates carries the corporate baggage of the frontrunners (or any Repuke) and deserve better exposure.

Bill Clinton was a relatively unknown and a discounted commodity until he caught fire and kicked GHWB's ass out of DC. I think we can do it again with a candidate that is neither corporate owned or "centrist."

On edit: Rec'd for a raising a good argument and civil responses.

[terrya]

29. I've always thought this election will be very close.

I'm not even sure we'll know the true results until the next day. But I'm reasonably sure we'll win. And we will gain seats in both the House and Senate.

And I completely agree with you about Myth two. Any of our candidates will be demonized by the Republicans. This election is going to be even nastier than 2000 and 2004.

[Hawaii Hiker]

30. We need to defeat the California initiative to split that states electoral votes,

regardless of who the Democratic nominee is....We absolutely/positively can not afford to spot the Rethug candiate 20 fucking electoral votes next year...

At least this time the attempt to rig the election is so blatant, that we know about it well beforehand, unlike 2000 (Florida) & 2004 (Ohio)..

http://nodirtytricks.com/