How can we set the political spectrum straight?

[fujiyama]

Already the way I see it is if someone as extreme as Bush can go through four years enacting about the farthest right wing policies this country has ever seen and people still are considering voting for him, then this nation simply skews waaaaay too far to the right.

How can we as democrats (and for that matter greens and other progressives/liberals) set the spectrum back to something more sensible?

After all, while many here including myself could see through Bush's phony "compassionate conservatism" in '00, I can understand if some were foolish enough to fall for it.

The question is, how can anyone see Kerry as being "too liberal", rather than Bush being seen as "too conservative"?

The consequences could be devastating for the future of this country if this isn't fixed soon.

While I would say it's way too early to call this election, recent numbers in swing states are worrying me. Numbers in MI, WI, and several other swing states are closing in (and in some cases reversing themselves), after big leads inititally. While I'm sure Kerry can reverse them, I'm afraid these ads are having an effect.

[genius]

1. We need to move the rest of the Democratic Party to the left

That way Kerry won't look so liberal. He's only liberal compared to the right-wing Democrats.

[cornfedyank]

2. attack from both sides

[Snow]

3. *chuckle* Once a political pollster called me up while I was living

in Nebraska. Bob Kerrey was running for reelection and his main opponent was Jan Stoney, an amazingly r-w type person. The pollster asked me "how would you view Senator Kerrey - liberal, central, or conservative?" I replied, "conservative". That gave her a moment's pause. But then of course the next question was, "How would you view Jan Stoney - liberal, central, or conservative?" Well, there I was. There sure was some difference between Stoney and Bob Kerrey - but by golly, I thought Bob was pretty darn conservative. What can you do?

[fujiyama]

4. LOL

hey from what I saw, he was pretty liberal for a Nebraskan. Didn't he even work to get anti discrimination laws against gays and lesbians enacted in the state (in Lincoln I think)? Though I heard something about him making some jokes about lesbians once (don't know much about it).

Anyways, yeah it's all relative.

[Snow]

5. Didn't hear about the anti-discrimination laws -

that may be from before my time, back when he was governor. Was he mayor of Lincoln? That's the usual path to senatorhood in nebraska. The current mayor, a boy wonder, is next in line for governor. I've bickered with him a bit, but he's a bright guy.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I think the acceptance of Reagan reset the political spectrum...

and I characterize Generation X as "Reagan babies" (with MANY exceptions, including all on this board in that age group), and that generation is the dominant professional age-group now. (I have hope for Gen Y.)

Then there was the successful demonization of the word "liberal," and the fostering of the idea that to be "conservative" meant to be a good, Godly citizen, with sound business principles, i.e., if you're not "conservative," you're pond-scum.

And the media -- don't get me started! Or -- I don't know where to start. I'll just give an example: when a person like Tom DeLay can occupy a high position in our government, without setting off a media firestorm as a person from outside the normal spectrum of American politics, we've got a problem. And you're right, when the country accepts Bush's extreme right-wing agenda, and considers actually electing him for the first time, then we have an even bigger problem.