What the base of both parties fail to understand.

[bigbaddan]

There is simply not enough of them to swing elections. Elections, especially on the national level are decided by the middle. The base can get people nominated but if they can not make them appeal to the "independents" they are not going to win. That is why someone like Dennis Kucinich, or Michelle Bachmann, on the other side could never win a national election.

The right seems much more wiling to accept a piece of the pie when there is a Republican in office. We on the left want it all and we want it now. As a result we will always be dissapointed in our presidents.

The truth is many of the issues that are most important to us are political hot potatos. For example, this mosque thing. Obama is 100% right that this is about religious freedom and private property rights. Still, this is an issue that will cost him at the ballot box.

A deplorable example of this was when Bob Graham became governor of Florida in the 70's. He knew how popular the death penalty was down there. Before taking office people wondered if he was tough enough. He proved his toughness by signing slews of death warrants against death row inmates. The first guy executed in the electric chair in 1979, from when the death penalty was reinstated was a guy named John Spenkelink. In truth he killed a guy in self defense. The evidence was overwhelming. Instead of taking the moral stand and saving Spenkelink, Graham let him die for the sake of his approval rating.

Graham did a lot of good things as Florida governor but to stay in office he made sure the electric chair got used as much as possible.

[Cleita]

1. Actually, there isn't enough money. It has nothing

to do with "the middle". The majority of Americans want the same thing progressives want. They don't have the deep pockets to get the candidates elected that the minority has. It's that simple.

[truedelphi]

2. + 1. n/t

[bigbaddan]

4. and they do not have free 24-7 talk radio pimping for them

like the right does.

[metapunditedgy]

7. Agree... I think typical Americans would be very open to a progressive agenda,

if it were ever articulated clearly to them.

[zipplewrath]

3. Wow, you wanna try that again?

First of all the reality is that yes, the "middle" or independents are what move elections. The question is what moves the middle. What tends to move the middle is a guy that does what he says and says what he does. They dump him if it doesn't appear to be working out. The GOP got in trouble with the middle because they dragged their wars on longer than they suggested, they couldn't seem to shoot straight after Katrina, and far too many of them got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

If Obama wanted to keep the middle, his best plan was to do exactly what he said he'd do in the campaign, which was basically to do it different. Everytime he moves back towards the GOP, or sustains a Bush era policy or person, the middle says "I coulda had that with the GOP".

But finally, did you really mean to suggest that killing innocent people with the power of the state is a good way to maintain power?

[mmonk]

5. Much of this is ideological differences and priority differences

inside the Democratic Party. I do not consider corporatism a piece of any pie for me.

[metapunditedgy]

6. So why did Obama campaign with such a left-leaning message? n/t