We Need A New Head Of The DNC: Kaine Needs To Go

[Me.]

Listening to the punditry you keep hearing that people are against incumbents. I don't know if that is true or not but I do know loud voices are raised against Obama and the dems. Where, I wonder, is the response? Where are the raised voices calling the Cons the party of no? Where on earth is the push back? In the Mass. race Coakley ran a bad campaign but where was the oversight? The WH said she didn't ask for help. Excuse me? Before Dean, not a lot of attention was paid to the DNC, we didn't know how effective a proactive DNC could be. Yes, the beltway was happy with McCauliffe, but he was most certainly a business as usual guy. And now we're back to the ho-hum running of the DNC. There should be interviews with Kaine every week. When was the last time you heard a news story about the DNC? Why has the ball been dropped? The Cons and Steele are all over the place shouting their lies, where is the push back? Nature abhors a vacuum and the only ones filling it are the Cons. Obama has been doing his part, being very visible but where is his back-up?

[RKP5637]

1. To me, it has all been invisible... I see/hear no push back by the DNC. The DNC

appears to be weak, ineffective, passive and defeated, letting the RNC roll all over them.

I see a lot of Dean, but I've only seen/heard Kaine once or twice. In fact, some of my democratic friends who do not always closely follow this stuff were wondering who was head of the DNC. From out here, Kaine looks weak, ineffective and invisible... I've not been very impressed in the least.

You shouldn't have to go searching for these guys, they should basically be in everyone's face.

[rocktivity]

9. Kaine's being an elected official probably has something to do wth it

The great thing about Dean is that he was able to push back "full time." If Kaine can't, he should assign a surrogate to respond every time Steele opens his stupid trap. Or maybe we should make like the Rethugs and form a "shadow" DNC.

Equally important is that while lack of Dem pushback may not hurt the base, it does hurt the fringe. Is Gov. Kaine aware that we've already lost three Dem seats because unimpressed and uninspired swing voters either went back to voting Repub or stayed home?


rocktivity

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Kaine holds no elected office at this time

He used to be Governor of Virginia, but he is no longer. So that excuse is out the window. Kaine is bigoted against an entire voting block of Democrats, and he is as dull as dishwater, a drag to public events.

[lamp_shade]

2. I'd agree with you if McConnell and Company weren't doing such a good job of hanging themselves in

full public view.

[abluelady]

3. So True

Sometimes I watch a basketball game and one team definitely "wins." Other times the team that wins only does so because the opponent definitely "lost" the game. The party of no may "lose" again because they are constantly shooting themselves in the foot. At the rate they are going, hopefully, they will be crippled by November.

[Me.]

4. They Could Be The Gift That Keeps On Giving

But the dems are not taking advantage of that. Polls shouldn't be showing the Cons besting the dems but right now they are. The HRC battle should never have been allowed to careen out of control the way it did. Kaine should've been flooding the media with counterpoints etc. The teabaggers wouldn't be garnering the attention they have if the field hadn't been conceded.

[RKP5637]

14. +1, n/t

[KharmaTrain]

5. Kaine Can't Play Hardball...

He's following one hell of a party chairman...and my jury is definitely out on how well Gov. Kaine has worked out. I agree he let several early campaigns slip...but the DNC isn't responsible for running campaigns, only giving it additional money and resources once it's up and running. I don't see the outreach we saw under Dr. Dean, but the money figures look good (the prime job of the DNC) as Democrats are in the rare position of outraising the rushpublicans on all levels. So while some of us may not like what we're seeing in what he's doing, under the media radar seems like he is getting the fundraising done.

That said, it's gotta be hard to get any attention when your counterpart is a non-stop rolling circus. Mikey Steele sucks the air out of the room (as well as any money he can scrounge) with his antics and we're seeing how "productive" that is to helping the rushpublicans.

The "pundits" always whip up the "kick 'em out" winds...it creates controversy and ratings. So much of the divisions we face in this country are "made for teevee"...and the current teabagger/anti incumbent mantra is part of a script to lure eyeballs and big campaign and PAC money into their pockets.

We're watching the great unhinged throw tantrum after tantrum...more irrational with each one...and becoming more irrelevant as well. All the predictions of doom and gloom for Democrats come primarily from rushpublican and corporate spinners who have a vested interest in pushing such an image, but its one that may have peaked too soon.

Yes, nature abhors a vacuum, but if there is one, it's on the right side of the aisle as their "leaders" spew from teevee studios and hate radio...not from elected representatives. The Democrats are fortunate to have an articulate and strong leader in President Obama who is constantly underestimated in his ability to get things done. Thus the DNC doesn't need the high profile it had in the past.

[Me.]

6. I Agree With Some Of What You Said

Especially regarding Obama but he can't do it all. While the DNC has a big money raising role, it is also supposed to see that we win races. My fear with Kaine is that he is working from an old paradigm. For some reason, and I lay this at the feet of Rahm and Carville, Dean and his practices have been ignored by this admin and I worry that they've thrown the baby out with the bathwater. And while the Cons should have their backs against the wall, they don't. For while we see it, when it's reported on local news the old false neutrality thing comes into play. It would be a mistake for us to assume that the rest of the country sees and knows what we do. A classic example of that is the swift boating of Kerry. It was assumed that such outrageous lies couldn't be believed. The same applies to what happened to Max Cleland. It would be a mistake to assume that the obvious is just death. If that were true the idea of death panels would've been a blip in the HRC conversation.

[KharmaTrain]

7. The DNC's Role Is Different...

When a party controls the Executive, that's where the party's power flows from...or from the House and/or Senate. In the Democrats case, in '04 when Dr. Dean took over the DNC, the party had none of this...he was the top Democratic figure in the country and pretty much fought with one arm tied behind his back. However the strategy and hard work he employed in reversing the party's fortunes are far different than today's demands to maintain majorities.

Again, my jury on Kaine is out as we'll see how well he assists campaigns once we get closer to the November elections. Of course we'll hear a shitload of GOOP lies and attacks in the month's ahead, but I truly think we're getting to a saturation point with their shit. It been so strident and constant, polls are starting to show people are just plain tuning out. The large undecideds speak volumes as these are the people who could tip the balance but instead chose to tune the noise out. The rhetoric has turned so verbose and intimidating it no longer has a mainstream affect.

It's to be expected Democrats will have to play defense this year...they are running on their record as opposed to the GOOP who are totally out of the loop and can throw stones to their hearts content. Many of the Democratic gains in the last two elections were in purple and red areas that Democrats didn't win as much as people's frustrations with booosh and the GOOP's coruption made it theirs to lose.

Yep, their backs are against the wall...caged animals, which are always the most dangerous. However, the good thing is their caged and it's our job to make sure they stay that way. It's not Tim Kaine's job, it'll be ours to provide the votes and support to maintain healthy majorities in both houses.

Cheers...

[Me.]

11. Again, Good Points

And while I understand that Obama is the head of the party and that Dean filled that slot for a while, and we are naturally on the defense, given the party in power, I don't think we are solely responsible for the GOTV. Supposedly that's why they raise money and if the outreach doesn't go hand in hand with that, the job is only partially done. Perhaps the role of the DNC needs to be re-defined if they think all they have to do is raise cash. Though visibility and delivering your message are crucial when trying to raise cash, unless they've gone back to depending on big donors only.

[WI_DEM]

8. Kaine is a mere figurehead, but certainly he isn't even very good at that

I agree get someone who will fight.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

12. Why Can't We Just.............

...............install Howard Dean as the head of the DNC in perpetuity? Appoint him for life, like a Supreme Court Justice. My man Howard gets things done. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed that the Democrats suddenly became spineless almost EXACTLY the time Howard left as head of the DNC.

[RKP5637]

15. +1 +++ !!! I like Dean, did a great job!!!

[jillan]

13. I totally agree! We need a fighter, we need a voice.

The last thing I heard from the DNC is that they made $$ off of Biden's BFD.

When are they going to make money because THEY do something to get the base excited??

Where the hell are they, besides calling me for $ ???

[RKP5637]

17. Same thoughts here. Also, I get these letters asking for $$$. I can only

give so much, but yet the letters keep coming. I agree, "When are they going to make money because THEY do something to get the base excited?? Where the hell are they, besides calling me for $ ???"

[political_Dem]

16. Somebody had to say it. Kaine is horrible. We need a leader who can revamp our image. eom

[truebrit71]

18. Should have kept Dr. Dean...

..but that goes without saying..

[TexasObserver]

19. Kaine is terrible as DNC chair. Dean knew what he was doing.

Kaine is as inept as Steele, just not stupid.