Do you REALLY not understand why there is an "enthusiasm gap?"

[Pab Sungenis]

When you insult your supporters by calling them "insane" (David Axelrod) and "f-ing stupid" (Rahm Emmanuel), do you really think they'll be there when you need them?

When you belittle what we have to say, like Obama did in Connecticut, do you really expect us to try and contribute to the discussion?

When you bend over backwards for the "rights" of far-right preachers to call for gays to be put to death in National Parks, but don't even make an effort to protect the civil rights of gays when the courts rule in their favor, do you really expect them to pull the lever for you or your candidates?

When you cut education so you can spend more money on the two insane wars we've told you over and over we want to end, do you really expect us to cheer you on?

And when you tell us not to let the door hit us in the ass on the way out, do you really expect us not to leave?

Why is there an enthusiasm gap? It's not because of us. We're still as fired up as we were in 2006 and 2008. But we're not fired up for people who are doing the opposite of what they told us they were going to do.

And if anyone feels offended by what I've had to say, all I can say is....

...good. DO something about it.

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[Unvanguard]

2. That's not why there's an enthusiasm gap.

Democratic enthusiasm is about average. Republican enthusiasm is high, probably because of a combination of the economy and the success of Obama's legislative program. But you can't appeal to any weakness in the Democratic base, because none is apparent.

Also, you grossly overestimate the extent to which non-DUers pay attention to, and recall, day-to-day political events. The proportion of midterm voters, for instance, who know about the Obama Administration's emergency motion for a stay in LCR v. United States is likely far less than one percent, and those people are probably sufficiently aware of politics to have a strong partisan preference that they will express in voting anyway.

[PatrynXX]

98. the gap as far as I'm concerned

Is with Congress. Especially the Senate. Who have blocked Obama's every move. Now why would some people run to re elect idiots who act like they are Republicans??

[JDPriestly]

176. But, the percentage of those voting Americans who are gay and who follow that case is very large.

And the percentage of those voting Americans who depend on Social Security and who know about the appointment of so many Social Security foes to the Cat Food Commission is great.

Similarly, the percentage of those voting Americans who are teachers and who oppose Obama's education policies is very high.

Need I mention the teachers who follow education issues and who do not like Obama's policies in that area.

Then there are those of us who follow civil rights and economic issues. Again, Obama has managed to disappoint his base on those issues.

And on and on it goes. Most voters have one or two issues that they follow -- and Obama has offended his voting base on far too many of those issues.

[Unvanguard]

192. Actually, I very much doubt that even a substantial number of informed voters

know very much about the "Catfood Commission", and while I have no doubt that large numbers of gay Americans are disappointed in Obama, I persist in my view that even among that subset, awareness of day-to-day legal developments is pretty low.

Dissatisfaction among teachers' unions might make a small difference, if they alter their campaign strategy--e.g., if they start endorsing Republicans, or just decide to sit out the election. I haven't heard about that happening, but I suppose it's possible. It's still going to be a difference at the margin: first you have to exclude all the teachers whose partisanship is too strong to be affected, then all the teachers who aren't politically involved enough to vote, and then all the ones who disagree with or simply aren't on the same wavelength as the critics of Obama's education policies. It doesn't add up to very much.

Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly approve of Obama. Those liberal Democrats who do not approve are far more likely to be concerned about the economy than about whatever new objection critics of Obama on DU have each week. Things like the "Catfood Commission", and to a lesser extent the LCR v. United States appeal, are things that register with a tiny, tiny minority of the voting public. They do not decide elections or determine enthusiasm gaps. The notion that they do is simply the DU version of the common human tendency to project one's own concerns and opinions onto other people.

[JDPriestly]

204. Approval and enthusiasm are two different things.

You talk about the majority of people -- those who do not follow political news -- those who do not keep up on the issues, those people are not so likely to vote in midterm elections.

How well a party does in midterm elections depends on how enthusiastic its base is and, depending on how enthusiastic the base is, how well that base gets out the vote. The Republican base is very enthusiastic and angry. The Democratic base, the liberals, approve of Obama but are not enthusiastic about him.

So, if you take a poll of liberal Democrats and ask them whether they approve, approve somewhat, disapprove somewhat, or disapprove of Obama, they will all say they approve.

That poll question does not ask whether they approve enthusiastically, etc. So, the polls show approval but do not test the degree of enthusiasm. In fact, what they are testing is the party loyalty.

In a midterm election, party loyalty, that knee-jerk reaction to the name of the party, that sense of belonging and adherence, is not enough to insure that a majority of voters get out and vote for a party in which the voters are not enthusiastic.

In the past, I have checked with my neighbors to make sure they are all registered to vote. This year, I have not wanted to get out and talk about politics with my neighbors because I know that I will have to defend Obama's record -- and I cannot.

In past years, not only have I had signs reminding people to vote (I live in a normally strongly Democratic precinct), but I have obtained signs for my neighbors. Again, this year, there are no signs at all on my street. That's the reality for the Democratic Party.

The Democrats here in California have put up excellent candidates, popular candidates. I think we will do well here. But, the enthusiasm level in terms of getting out the vote is really pitiful. In my neighborhood the people who are usually active for the Democratic Party are focusing local, local projects like small community improvement projects. They aren't talking that much about the midterm elections -- and I am talking about the people who, just a few years ago, were the backbone of the local Democratic Club. They are still Democrats, and if you engage them, they will tell you they personally will vote for Democrats. But they are not working for the Democrats -- not like they have in past elections.

That's the reality here on the ground. Sorry to have to break this news to you. But you cannot abdicate the responsibility for leading and inspiring the people as Obama has done and expect your supporters to be enthusiastic.

[Unvanguard]

206. Actually, as I said in my original post, Democratic enthusiasm is about average for midterms.

Republican enthusiasm is high. That is the enthusiasm gap. In short, Democrats have no "Tea Party" equivalent and no poor economy to campaign against. It's not that Obama has done especially badly at rallying the base, or that the base dislikes his record in a way that manifests itself electorally.

[JDPriestly]

210. We shall see.

[TexasObserver]

3. Things I'd love to discuss, after the election.

Simple concept. You're down to two choices. Which will you choose?

This is the same dilemma we face every two years. It's always a ballot full of Democrats who have disappointed us or will soon do so.

You can hold your nose and vote Democratic, or you can shoot yourself in the foot. Pick your poison.

[iamjoy]

5. But That's Not Enthusiasm

Holding your nose is not enthusiasm. It's sucking it up.

Of course the choice is clear. We can vote for Democrats who may or may not continue making progress on gay rights, the environment and consumer protections. Or, we can let the Republicans win and know that there will be no progress on these issues - in fact, we may even start going backwards.

Suck it up and it could be worse do not generate enthusiasm the way hope does. Since unlike the Republicans we have no one figure on whom to focus our frustration, we're sort of meandering.

Now, I am off to go volunteer for a campaign.

[TexasObserver]

9. I can't argue with that.

Don't think I haven't been saying it all summer, but now, I'm like a horse headed back to the barn. I know this path and where it leads, having traveled it many times, and I just want to get back to the barn.

[tomp]

229. that's not democracy, either.

the two party system IS the problem. it is endorsed and defended by dems and repubs, and guarantees lack of progress.

[Pab Sungenis]

6. Not discussing it before the election

is what has created this enthusiasm gap in the first place.

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. There are at least two other choices

(1) Decide that since your interests and priorities are unimportant and/or ignored by your elected representatives that you just don't care and have no obligation to them or to their party. You can go one of two ways. You can become a principled voter who refuses to vote for a candidate just because they aren't as bad as their opponent or you can be apathetic and choose not to vote at all.

(2) You can save your pennies and buy your way out of this country or you can seek out the opportunity to work and live elsewhere.

[TexasObserver]

18. No, those are both covered by the "shoot yourself in the foot" option.

[Coyote_Bandit]

53. I disagree

If someone just doesn't give a sh*t about voting then he certainly hasn't done anything to advance or protect his needs and interests. But he may find that his life is far more pleasant and enjoyable when he no longer feels a need to pay attention to the all too frequently deceptive politicians. Why should he care to invest his tme and effort in doing so when the politicians repeatedly prove that they cannot be trusted?

If he decides that he really does give a sh*t about advancing and protecting his needs and interests then there is little difference to him between a Puke that does not serve to advance and protect those needs and interests and a Dem that does likewise. He may find meaning and value in voting for the principles and priorities he values. Why sould he support any candidate that does not serve to advance and protect the needs and interests which he prioritizes?

If he chooses to leave and relocate then he hasn't shot yourself in the foot. Indeed, he may find far greater personal and financial opportunities. Is he obligated to sacrifice the opportunities available to him?

Granted, these choices do not serve the greater good of our national community. But, well, we are mostly a nation composed of diverse groups that compete for resources and opportunities nd position and the power it often brings. We've forgotten how to be a national community. We have little sense of mutual committment and national identity. And that is refected in voter behavior.

[bobbolink]

64. How can poor people "advance and protect their needs" when they aren't heard by ANYONE?

And I don't want to hear more of that crap about how "X" is going to be much better than Palin.

When they are cutting our benefits, it doesn't matter.

[DesertFlower]

121. how have they cut your benefits?

i'm on social security. my benefit is the same.

[bobbolink]

173. Haven't you heard that Food Stamps have been reduced, for instance?

Many resources for many people have been cut.

[DesertFlower]

189. sorry i haven't heard about the food stamps.

that sucks. did they give you a reason?

[bobbolink]

240. In the first place, it wasn't *me* it affected. I care about others besides me.

Second, of course they don't have to give a "reason", and it would never be *the* "reason", anyway.

Poor and hungry people are disposable, and until "progressives" like you and other DUers start raising holy hell on our behalf, it will continue.

[awoke_in_2003]

186. "how have they cut your benefits?"...

by kicking people off of disability (as the person you responded to can attest), and fighting tooth and nail not to allow eligible people to gain it (like my wife). By cutting food stamps (just ask my step daughter about that one) and nixing a COLA (talk to my mother in law) even though things cost more than ever (even if the "normal" inflation guidelines show differently). Oh, but how well the chaps on Wall Street and our politicians are doing- just ask John Kerry, who purchased a new fucking yacht that was not made in this country.

[DesertFlower]

193. i had no idea. i got disability after fighting for

it for almost 2 years. i always worried that they would take it away. they only sent me to a doctor once (their doctor). he felt i could work, but my doc said i couldn't. i breathed a sigh of relief when the disability went into social security at age 65 and 8 months.

i know about the COLA. i'm on social security and i see every week how much things have gone up.

john kerry didn't get his yacht because of the cuts. his wife is filthy rich.

[awoke_in_2003]

194. well, you are lucky...

my wife has seen 4 SSD doctors, and they all feel she can work. I have to help her out of bed every morning because of the pain. My wife is no weakling, and gets pissed because she cannot do what she used to. She pushes herself every day, and every night I have to try to make her feel better so she can get some sleep.

[DesertFlower]

196. i had 5 doctors say that i couldn't work -- yet

i was still denied SSD. finally an administrative law judge ruled that i was eligible. i don't trust the SSD doctors. they're paid by social security.

my advise -- get your own doctors and hire a lawyer. if she qualifies the money will come retroactive. the lawyer's fee came out of my award.

i got mine for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. they were just starting to recognize it as a legitimate illness. i was told that it was easy to get it on a mental problem. well WTF i could have made them think i was mentally incapable, but it would have been a lie. i did consider it.

[sabrina 1]

90. So when is a good time to do something about this situation?

There is an election every two years where the choices are 'hold your nose' or 'don't let the door hit you etc.' A year before every election we are given the same advice 'hold your nose or vote for Palin' or whatever the dismissive talking of the day is.

I never see any of those promoting the continuation of this system which is only getting worse each year, demonstrating how much of a failure that advice has been, offer anything constructive to make it better. They are around only to say 'vote or stfu'. So, do we continue down this path until eventually people stop holding their noses and let the whole thing collapse or is there a time-frame where we start to change this failed system before that happens?

[awoke_in_2003]

187. That is always the excuse...

it is sickening.

[defendandprotect]

136. Neither of those two help us blast further thru TO THE LEFT ...which is what we need to do...!!

Agree with your sentiments -- but without a viable third party and IRV voting it is

"shoot yourself in the foot."

Personally, I'm refusing to look at it as voting FOR Democrats -- the way I'm handling

this is concentrating on trying to knock out as many Repugs as I possibly can ....

and then doubling back for the corporate-Democrats AFTER the election.


We began this push to the left in '06 -- and don't see that we should throw it away and

go backwards.

I'm all for what you are saying, but in the end I have to try to ensure for my family

and everyone else's that things don't get any worse!

Give me a viable third party and IRV voting and I'd probably have a different answer!

That's why both the Repugs and Dems refuse to go there!!

:)

[bvar22]

38. "This is the same dilemma we face every two years. "

In fact, this has become so consistent that it has become obvious that it is happening By Design,
The system is working perfectly for those who bought it in the 80s.

[TexasObserver]

41. Makes no difference. The choice remains the same.

[bvar22]

54. Well, no it doesn't.

In 2008, The American People gave the Democratic Party:
*A large MAJORITY in The House

*A filibuster-proof MAJORITY in The Senate

*The WHITE HOUSE

*most importantly, a HUGE MANDATE FOR CHANGE

How much MORE does the Democratic Party want before if starts fighting FOR and PASSING a traditional "democratic" Working Class/Pro-LABOR agenda? :shrug:


Like our troops in the Middle East, WE have performed our mission perfectly.
It is The Leadership that has produced the "Enthusiasm Gap", not us grunts in the field.
I resent being blamed.

If you want to generate enthusiasm,
give us LEADERSHIP that sounds like THIS:

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.”People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."---FDR

I will Go to The WALL for THAT Democratic Party!!!!
But this "Centrist", "Seeking Bi-Partisan Consensus", "New Democrat", "Tax Cuts create jobs", "War on Terror", "Pro-Growth,", Supply Side, "Some are more equal than others", Bailout the BIG Banks but the Working Class must compete with 3rd World slave labor....is bullshit.

Like most of the grunts in the mud, I will be holding my nose and voting the straight Democratic ticket (with one exception)....but I am becoming more open minded about longer term solutions.


"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone

[The Uncola]

68. Perfectly stated. Thank you Bvar.

[sabrina 1]

95. Excellent post, and exactly how I feel. This may be the last chance

Democrats have before people start looking for other solutions. To keep repeating the same actions expecting different results is insane, and yet here are again, about to repeat the same actions.

[Shining Jack]

181. +1

[Jackpine Radical]

135. Oh but those awful Blue Dogs blocked everything in the Senate.

We had to compromise everything away in order to get their support.

But of course Blue Dogs are the only electable Dems in so many places; naturally we had to support the Blue Dogs in the Primaries. And of course most of the newer Blue Dogs were hand-chosen by Rahm so we could have both a majority and an excuse for not being able to pass anything that might displease or discomfit the Corporate Overlords.

Supporting Progressives is insane, you know. Or is it fucking retarded? I forget. That's why Bill Halter had to go down in favor of Blanche Lincoln, who, even though she's losing in double digits, is at least losing without upsetting the Powers & Principalities with leftist rhetoric.

[quakerboy]

162. Ah, but you can be sure that the Dems will learn their lesson

that its Bills fault Blanche lost, and they must move to the right next time. Oh, and support Crist, he's the only choice for a Democrat. His continued bleeding of voters to the right not withstanding, he's the only way to win!!

[awoke_in_2003]

191. +1000. nt

[defendandprotect]

137. Thank you bvar22 .... K&R --

:)

I'm with you ....

Of course, if we by any chance succeed in blasting further thru to the LEFT in November --

there's always the chance that Obama and corporate-Dems will continue to find a way to

cow-tow to the Repugs and adopt their agenda!!

If so . . . THERE WILL BE NO HIDING IT THIS TIME!!!

Think it would be a good idea to find out!

[garthranzz]

166. AGreed on FDR, but...

It was not a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, because so many of those Democrats ("democrats") were of the blue-dog, belong in the old South democratic party type. They had about 53-55 votes solid, with smaller, livable compromises. But there were always 5-8 Dem Sens that pulled right either because they had to to get elected, they were cowards, or they believed the repub beltway lines. And how effective is Reid as majority leader?

Plus OBama did not have the clout in Congress that FDR or LBJ did.

Not to say Obama hasn't made mistakes, but the whole thing's a bit more complicated.

As for the "enthusiasm gap" - meh - sort of like all those evangies that voted for Shrub in 08 - a pre-cooked fabrication to justify stealing another election.

There aren't more repubs making noise. There's more of their lunatic fringe making noise, enabled by Fake Noise (!).

The noisy don't win. the GOTV wins.

[JDPriestly]

199. My beef is that Obama did not use his bully pulpit to educate

the American people about the choices our nation faces. Instead, he seems to have turned to Wall Street to find out what they wanted and then turned to sell whatever Wall Street wanted to the American people. Obama was simply a pawn of the corporations. What he has not realized is that while he may have been funded by the corporations in 2008, the moment they don't need him, they will abandon him. Had he really taken care of the voters in his base and had he educated Americans about the reality of our time and not just encouraged people to think that we can continue with business as usual, he would be way ahead right now. We would be as enthusiastic as we were in 2008.

What is discouraging to us is to see Obama so passively accepting the corporate media's take on everything. He is not engaging the American people in new, progressive, exciting ideas. He is just sort of making do with whatever the Republicans and the Blue Dogs do and say. He is not leading the country. He is allowing the Republicans and Blue Dogs to lead the country.

A leader would challenge Americans to see things differently than we have seen them in the past -- to question free trade -- to question the Bush legacy on security and defense -- to question the idea that the bank is always right in a foreclosure -- to question all kinds of things that Obama just seems to be telling Americans to accept without debate.

[bvar22]

238. No. It WAS a "Filibuster Proof Majority" in the Senate.

You are making excuses for the FAILURE of the Party Leadership in bringing pressure to bear on those who would derail "CHANGE".
The Party Leadership coddled and encouraged the defectors.
This WAS a FAILURE (by design?) of the Party Leadership,
NOT the grunts in the mud.
We DID our job!

[Blue_In_AK]

175. Bvar22, as usual, you speak truth. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

188. I love you man...

I love that pick of Wellstone- I am convinced they "offed" him.

[TexasObserver]

190. What makes you think I disagree with your assessment?

Maybe you didn't notice my thousands of posts criticizing the president and congressional Democrats for caving in on important issue after important issue.

I'm down to one thing, though, now: Democrats retaining control of the House. If the GOP takes the House, the president is doomed to investigation, accusation, and maybe even impeachment, again. All hope of progress ends. We will be in the ditch, not merely going much more slowly than we would like.

Of course the party leaders don't deserve our support. They never do. We do it for our interests, not theirs. We're better off with them than with their GOP counterparts.

[FedUp_Queer]

198. As the "Uncola" wrote

perfectly stated. May I kiss you?

[laughingliberal]

205. Spot on, as always. nt

[Yuugal]

217. +1

[uponit7771]

225. BULLSHIT!!!!! There were ONLY 59 dems senators!!!! FDR had 83, LBJ had 69 BHO had 59 and you

...call that a fuckin mandate/!!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!

This is the same shit we've gotten from the MSM and republicans since the 08 election when people thought a controling majority was > 50%!!!

The GOP changed the rules and filibustered EVERYTHING.....EVERYTHING!!!!

My GOD...You KNOW this has been repeated OVER and OVER again on this board...

You want change get Obama more senators PERIOD

[Odin2005]

242. +1,000,000,000,000,000,000

I miss Paul! :cry:

[Enthusiast]

66. By design.

I find it very difficult to escape that conclusion.

[defendandprotect]

139. Absolutely .... look at Rahm, pushing conservative Dems forward vs more liberal Dems ...!!!

[Scruffy1]

106. You are unfortunately correct

The real question is how do we get the fuck out of here? I haven't got a clue and I'm ready to try something else. Any ideas anyone?

[tomp]

230. absolutley, and the REAL point is....

....that the DEMOCRATS would rather have republicans win than be progressive.

when we can get our collective heads around that we will be getting somewhere.

[zenprole]

78. Deal With It

"Sure, we can talk about it after I get what I want" isn't an electoral strategy. It's Ayn Rand lite.

Your comments validate every Democrat in history who refused to get in line...like I'm doing on Nov 2. There are some Democrats who have earned my vote, but Patty Murray isn't one of them - not even close. I voted for her in '92 and have watched her turn into dead wood - a visionless corporate zombie who has supported these insane wars through thick and thin.

Though respect for democracy is what makes me vote the facts and my conscience, watching DU apparatchiks blow a gasket is even more important.

[onpatrol98]

My only thing...

My only thing is...no matter how much disdain we show for tea party members, I think at the end of the day, they are right to challenge the leaders they don't like.


Yes, they picked some screw ball candidates WHO WILL NEVER WIN. Yes, they will be demonized by mainstream republicans who want to keep their jobs by any means necessary and democrats. BUT...AND ITS A BIG BUT, even if they lose a few races on the front end...they'll cause some politicians to think twice before they vote on some bills.

You don't get that by holding your nose and voting anyway. You get the same thing you've always gotten. A senator, rich BECAUSE he's a senator, and compromises that you don't want, and absolutely no respect.

Me personally, I think they know if they have your vote, they don't really don't have to appeal to you. They can do what they want to do. And, for all of our talk of rich bankers...politicians aren't hard behind. Get into office, sell a few books, be in on the know about key votes, give scholarships, stimulus money, and grants to your friends and families, and life is good. They do just enough to stay in office.

I think this is why the black community continues to suffer. Democrats know they have a sure thing in the black vote. Where else are we going to go? Republicans know they don't stand a chance in Hades of getting it? Why should they court it?

We're a cheap date. I'm guilty. At times, I don't even hold my nose and vote. I see D. I pull the lever. Pavlov's dog had more discernment. But, I feel a change a-coming. I'll never be republican...BUT

I'm starting to pay more attention to what they do...and less attention to what they say. Because, I simply haven't found a politician unwilling to lie to me. And, when I catch the one I supported in a lie, I plan to call him/her on it and I expect the media to the do the same or it just ain't journalism.

I think if we start senators home when they screw up, eventually, we'll get a better batch. But as long as we're making millionaires out of them by sending them, and resending them, simply because they're democrats we're doomed to get the messed up policies we've been getting.

We've got to start training them. Instead, they've trained us.

[Autumn]

152. Very good points you make there

I'm not about to be a republican either, but yeah I feel a change a-coming. This can not continue. Excellent post. Thank you.

[Jim_Shorts]

99. When it comes to REAL CHANGE their all the same

Think of what politicians lives are like: their lives are not the same as the average joe public : D.C. is one big granite & marble monument to man ( and they think that they are that MAN )doctors, waiters, lobbyists all kissing their feet daily.

We are just mice. ---http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqpFm7zAK90

[quakerboy]

158. Are you really wanting to pose that choice to the american populace?

Hold your nose or shoot yourself in the foot? We been hopping around one legged for so long we've forgotten what it was to have two.

[okieinpain]

160. no you mean shoot yourself in the head. n/t.

[JDPriestly]

177. I already voted -- and believe Democrats will do well in California.

But, I'm not enthusiastic. I usually table and walk precincts -- not this year. I don't even have yard signs yet. I just don't have the heart. That's what is missing -- the heart.

The Obama administration and Congress could have done so much to help homeowners. But they did nothing. All the money went to the bankers. That in itself is just heartbreaking.

Sorry. If we don't say something now, then when? This is indeed the time to let Obama and his administration know how disappointed we are in his course of action thus far.

Obama is listening now. We have his ear -- and all our protests and comments fell on deaf ears until even the right-wing press noticed our lack of enthusiasm.

[FedUp_Queer]

197. Molly Molly Molly

When I see that photo, all I can wonder is what would Molly say?

[NuttyFluffers]

219. life is never two choices only. even Gandhi disproved the "impossible choice" of the Bhagavad Gita.

the Gita is a Vedic orthodoxy response to the heterodox theological rebellions by Buddhism and Jainism. it places an impossible situation where mankind is essentially told "you have two choices, to obey and destroy everything you love, or disobey and destroy everything you love even more." the wisdom from this is to detach from goals and let it be the responsibility of God. the parallels, i hope, are not overlooked.

Gandhi invented a third way: to obey by joining the fight, but also disobey by refusing to fight with violence. the end result is "to obey and destroy everything you love even more," but further, in resisting yet refusing to play the game the game is exposed as pointless, fixed, and an utter failure in any outcome. it is the new choice where the premise is exposed as false.

and when the premise is exposed as false, then the light of a thousand other choices becomes open...

(ps: sadly, this requires a cursory awareness of Vedic mythos. apologies for those lost.)

[tomp]

231. thank you for the philosophical perspective. nt

[old mark]

4. IMO, most of the "gap" is media creation and 'publican wishfull thinking...

'publicans tend to believe their own bullshit, then wonder where they went wrong.
They are setting themselves up for a fall on November 2.

It will amuse me to watch it.

mark

[K8-EEE]

35. Agreed! I have to say where I live there really is no gap

There might be one somewhere else but h ere in L.A. we're pretty much GoBama all the way NOBODY wants those tea party nuts anywhere near any power....it might be a regional thing.

[Whisp]

49. that is a for sure. people are so easily suckered in by the lieing media

it's sad to watch.

rove tactics work on the weak minded on both sides.

[Number23]

123. Not just Republican wishful thinking, obviously

All I've been hearing from folks that have actually gotten off their asses is how fired up the base is.

Here's an example: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x479253

[saltpoint]

7. There's no fucking enthusaism gap at my house.

[muffin1]

29. There is one at my house

and at the houses of my friends. I will probably hold my nose and vote anyway - in the midterms. Obama has a lot of work to do before he can automatically count on me in 2012.

[kristopher]

76. +1

[sabrina 1]

96. There is in my house ~ n/t

[donco6]

180. There is at mine. n/t

[Scuba]

8. There's an enthusiasm gap for one and one reason only:

Because the media saida there was.

[Pab Sungenis]

10. Then you're blind.

There are a lot of us who feel betrayed by the Democrats. Here in my district last year the Democrats openly bragged about blocking the gay marriage bill in their campaign literature. Did you honestly expect me to vote for them?

We're really stuck in a Catch-22. If we turn out and vote for Democrats on the second, then it will be seen as endorsing these anti-gay, anti-peace, anti-consumer, anti-education, and anti-progressive policies. If we don't, then the Republicans get back in control.

So we either get shat upon by our enemies, or by our friends who take our votes as a mandate to keep doing so.

[Scuba]

56. I agree that there are many on the left who are disillusioned....

...but I don't believe they lack enthusiasm.

They are so afraid of the right, that they will show up at the polls.

[elzenmahn]

71. This is what happens...

...when in our so-called "democracy", there are only two viable choices. In "market" speak - that's not much choice at all, especially when they have been feeding from the same corporate trough. It really smacks of a political oligopoly, much as certain sectors of our economy, like media, are controlled by only a few large corporations.

One popular solution proposed by people like Thom Hartmann is that what the progressives need to do is take over the Democratic party machinery. The problem with this approach is that money flows where money is served - to wit, look at the corporate contributions to the Republicans since Citizens United, and with some of the progressive-leaning Dems like Alan Grayson coming out of the woodwork. The more "progressive" the Democrats get, the more the corporate money will flow in the other direction, as the Labor movement, which prior to the 1980s, couterbalanced Big Business with their own largess and voting blocs, has been decimated.

I'm in agreement with Ralph Nader that our two party system is completely bankrupt. I would go further and say it has become a worldwide joke. Perhaps what will make the Dems more progresive is a viable, third party option. In order to prevent an exodus of progressive voters from the Democratic Party to a party like the Greens, their candidates and officeholderes will have to move to the left, and stay there. "The Marketplace of Ideas" needs more participants than the two codgers we have now.

To clarify - for NOW, I recommend voting Democratic, if nothing else to keep the Tea Party Freakazoids from obtaining any more power than their forecast to take. But after this election, I will start seriously advocating, and working for, progressive alternatives to the present makeup of the Democratic Party. They can no longer be the only game in town for the progressive voice.

[Lorien]

91. Obviously you don't know many Democrats in the real world

the ones I know are pissed as hell.

[Scruffy1]

109. Yeah all my friends are mad as hell.

[sabrina 1]

103. No, in my house and among my many Democratic friends, the

enthusiasm has faded because of POLICIES such as the Health Care Bill, the decision to NOT prosecute war criminals, Offshore drilling ban lifted after more than 30 years, not be a Republican but by a Democrat! The Deficit Commission and the attacks on SS. Among other thins.

We do not watch the MSM. So before you speak for others, try asking them why they have lost enthusiasm for this party. Most of us are perfectly capable of speaking for ourselves.

[defendandprotect]

141. Really? Take a look at DU sometime .... !!! Liberal bloggers, liberal radio ...!!

[donco6]

143. So, no credit at all for our ability to think and reason?

Super. I guess we gay folks should all just be kicking our heels . . . for some reason that escapes me. Maybe the Media will tell me.

[quakerboy]

164. Bull. and Shit

I don't have "media" in my home. No TV, no Radio, only rarely even a newspaper. The news collected at DU is my news source, basically since the election in 08. I dare ya to find a source of information more fair to the democratic party and its elected representatives.

And I have a massive enthusiasm gap. I already voted for my democratic candidates here. There was never a question of that. But getting my skeptic of a sister to vote for Kitzhaber, or my republican father... that's a whole different story. I got them to vote for Obama, to believe that he was going to do something. I saw the vision that he presented. I shared my belief. It was easy because I believed.

He did not follow through. Now, the only vision left is dirty gritty practicality, mix. R's make it worse. D's make it worse, but not as bad as R's. That's a damn hard vision to sell someone who has a gut instinct to vote R or to not vote at all. And unless something changes, its going to be even more of an uphill battle against apathy in 12.

[Bluebear]

200. Foolish.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skidmore]

13. Thank you!!! K&R for your response!

Couldn't have said it better.

[DURHAM D]

14. Oh that will work.

Just insult everyone and order them to vote Dem.

great

You are part of the problem.

or perhaps this is just your strategy to insult and piss off Dems because you are not one

[Pab Sungenis]

19. And if we DO vote?

We kill any chance of DADT being overturned, since the Republicans will keep filibustering, the President will keep appealing until the right-wing Supreme Court locks it in permanently.

We keep moving the Supreme Court to the right, like Obama did with two appointees who were to the right of the people they replaced.

If we were going to get EFCA it would have been last year when we had the "filibuster proof" majority. It won't happen, period. If the Republicans don't block it, the Conservadems you want us to vote for will.

The good parts of the health care legislation? What good parts? Forcing us to buy overpriced insurance? The insurance companies have already found ways around the few good measures in the bill and the Administration and Congress don't seem interested in stopping them.

We create two more years of neglect at best and open hostility at worst.

And on and on.

[kentuck]

12. That is an invented phrase...

created by the media.

There is no evidence that the Republicans that were so disappointed by Bush and had sat out the last election are now happy campers? There are just as many unenthused as before. Democrats are more disappointed than unenthusiastic, I would guess. We built up high expectations, especially here on DU, during the Bush debacle. We expected things to change in a much more dramatic way. When they did not, we were disappointed and unenthused, and the rest of the Party were scratching their heads wondering what the hell was wrong with us??

[Recursion]

132. By design the leeway available to any government in the US is small

That's part of how the Constitution set things up: it's very difficult to make large systemic changes quickly. All in all, this is probably a feature rather than a bug.

You point out something that a lot of DUers don't seem to get:

the Republicans that were so disappointed by Bush

Clinton, Bush, and Obama have all deeply disappointed their base because the amount a President can change national policy is pretty limited. Again, feature, not bug. Unintended consequences of big changes are usually dire and severe. By '08 the Freepers were as down on W as we were. We're already hitting that parity with Obama, and we're not even 2 years in.

[Le Taz Hot]

15. K & R

In this case, in this ONE case, media is reporting accurately in terms of enthusiasm, or lack thereof in this case. What they're misreporting is why.

[G_j]

16. for me the enthusiasm gap is not putting a bumper sticker

on the car, or not donating money or campaigning door to door.
It's not about voting. Most people I know will be voting, but I haven't seen many new bumper stickers beside those faded, peeling Obama stickers.

I really don't know of anyone who is withholding their vote.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Donnachaidh]

22. so rather than acknowledge the abuse, you pile on?

How VERY *big tent* of you!

what's the old saying *it takes one to know one*? :sarcasm:

[Pab Sungenis]

23. Like I said, this is why some of us are turned off about voting.

This kind of attitude is endemic in our party, and especially here on DU right now. This is the kind of attitude that turns us off.

[Donnachaidh]

25. totally agree with you

I've got to wonder about these *supposed* Democrats who think it is totally okay to not only be ragged on, but join in the fray.

And we wonder WHY there is an epidemic of BULLYING in this country. Wonder how many of the *pilers on* in this thread are *against* bullying, at least when THEY are not doing it?

[bigtree]

28. so folks say idiotic things

That's the silliest reason ever for not concerning oneself with the outcome of this election. What's at stake in this election for YOU? That's what you should be focused on, not the deliberate noise from detractors.

[Pab Sungenis]

36. What's at stake for me?

My rights. The Republicans won't fight for them, and the President has shown that he and the Democrats won't fight for them. That more than anything is what's at stake for me.

I might hold my nose and vote for someone who won't support my rights, but when the President and Democrats are actively fighting against them like Obama is by appealing the DOMA and DADT rulings?

Can you not understand that? From the standpoint of the overriding issue for me, there is no difference. And that's a problem. The Democrats are supposed to be the party that stands up for the oppressed, not adding to it.

[bigtree]

43. in either the next election or the presidential one

There will be a point where you will need to either participate or not. There isn't really any equation in which non-participation gets you want you want. That's the point in asking yourself what's at stake for YOU in these elections. You may well find that the Democratic candidates don't represent your concerns. But I'll wager that the republican candidates will be worse every time.

Primary season is where we push for the candidates we feel will represent us best. After that, we have to make a choice between the Democrat and the republican. It makes sense to continue to advocate for what you want, but our political system isn't a zero-sum game. Until you manage to find and help establish a political movement and party which will rival the present ones at the polls, you will always face this difficult choice. We still have to rally enough political support for the changes we want to effect into action or law.

But, politics doesn't end at the ballot box. We can have success in effecting the changes we want if we commit ourselves to stay engaged. If we're not engaged - or if we insist that we're just going to sit on our hands, as some suggest - we allow an engaged and energized opposition to advance and prevail.

There is really no substitute for continuing to vote and remaining politically active afterward.

[Scruffy1]

113. Not to mention the FBI raided many of my friends

What the fuck? When they didn't prosecute Cheney et al I was pissed a little,but said to myself they want to use the energy on progress. When they folded on health care I got a little more pissed. when they refused to help home owners deal with the banksters I got even more pissed. Defending DADT really pissed me off and I'm straight as they get, but believe in equal rights and respect for all. When they call a 60+ year working guy who has busted his ass his whole life "insane" for wanting a little justice for my friends and neighbors I really got pissed. But when they start raiding peace activist and stealing their meager possessions they can go fuck themselves. Worse than the goddam tea partiers, who are merely stupid, which is no crime. This administration is just a subsidiary of the Big Money and Corporate oligarchy.

[bos1]

34. LOL. My attitude has turned you off to voting? Blame much?

I am phonebanking and going door to door for Democratic candidates in my state and for Grayson, and I hear PLENTY of enthusiasm. It's wet blankets like you that play directly into the hands of the right wing. If you feel unenthused, get off your couch and get out there among people who are making a difference

[Pab Sungenis]

37. I have no one to do that for.

My Democratic nominee for Congress is a former Republican.

My state representatives brag about denying me my rights.

I've worked for the local candidates, but even have my doubts about them.

Why should I work for someone who is as bad for me as the alternative?

[bos1]

42. wow where do you live? you could still campaign for others. I am volunteering for Grayson

even though I don't live in his state (phonebanking etc). You could also do it for MoveOn or other progressive organizations that push the anti-discrimination message. It would help your (our) own cause much more than spreading the "enthusiasm gap" blather

[Pab Sungenis]

46. New Jersey's 2nd District for the House

and 1st District for the State Assembly. Really sad area, and I also have two Democratic Senators who really need to get with the program or have their asses turned out, too. I actually cast my first Republican vote in 20 years against Frank Lautenberg in 2008.

[bos1]

50. voting Republican is the classic cut-nose-spite-face move, isn't it?

Even if Dick Zimmer might have been a decent choice

[treestar]

126. If the enthusiasm gap existed and were about progressiveness

too, then Grayson and Feingold would not be behind in the polls. Since surely, the enthusiasm problem would not affect them!

[sabrina 1]

101. Of course there's enthusiasm if a Democrat like Grayson is on the

ballot.

But don't flatter yourself that you have any influence over people's decisions. But you do
serve as a perfect symbol of the sense of entitlement seen in the current leadership of this Party. So thanks for the demonstration of what the OP was talking about. It's always helpful to have visual aids when trying to make a point.

[Name removed]

107. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bigtree]

24. that may be true for some

. . . but a lot of the 'enthusiasm' gap has to do with voters who assume they've already done their job in the last election and reason there's nothing left to fight for in this election. There's always a misunderstanding about the impact and import of these elections.

Further, it makes sense that the opposition is pining to make a dent in this election since they've been whipped in the last one. Also, I really don't think we'll know how 'enthusiastic' folks are until voting day. Many of these anti-government republicans aren't accustomed to showing up and voting.

It makes no sense for those with issue concerns to use some slight from some statement or the other from the WH as an excuse to refrain from voting Democratic. This election is about CONGRESS, not whether the WH likes us or not. Folks better get a grip and recognize what's at stake in this election and the consequences of their non-participation.

[WilliamPitt]

26. I remember 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008

So yeah, I'm fucking shocked there's an enthusiasm gap.

But that's just me.

[EFerrari]

63. I remember all of those, too, and since I've sworn off abusive relationships

I'll work for local candidates and Obama can go whistle in 2012. I'm fucking shocked that any Democrat would allow his people to talk to voters as he has. The last time I saw such self-destructive behavior, Bill Clinton was being impeached for it.

[mod mom]

72. What did they think they'd accomplish by condescending attacks?

It's like the corporate elites would rather lose than let progressives have a say at how policy should be run. After what happened to Jennifer Brunner in Ohio, I had absolutely no guilt in telling folks who called to ask me to work that my time, $, or vote was not available this cycle. "It's like voting for the (scarey) Republican doesn't work on me anymore because I don't see difference between corporate Dems & GOP anymore. I'm against them both.

[EFerrari]

75. If they want to sneer at me, that's fine.

Expecting me to work for them for free, to donate to them or to vote for them after that is just foolish.

[defendandprotect]

149. SPLIT the Dem Party .... and have corporate-Dems take control ....

Speaker Pelosi was pretty much asking that question when she had to visit

the White House twice because of negative comments about Democratic candidates

flowing from the White House in this pre-election season --

and vicious comments vs Democratic supports continue to flow !!!


And what does this look like except DLC/WH moving toward a stronger corporate influence

in Democratic Party .... ????


Ramh .... crowing about preserving "private health care industry" ... business s/b grateful!


Here is the quote: ”In a Thursday interview, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel argued that rather than recoiling against Obama, business leaders should be grateful for his support on at least a half-dozen counts: his advocacy of greater international trade and

education reform open markets despite union skepticism;

his rejection of calls from some quarters to nationalize banks during the financial meltdown; the rescue of the automobile industry; the fact that

the overhaul of health care preserved the private delivery system;

the fact that

billions in the stimulus package benefited business with lucrative new contracts,

and that financial regulation reform will take away the uncertainty that existed with a broken, pre-crash regulatory apparatus.

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=B2F85DDF-18...


Made me feel ill -- !!!




The quote was posted by here at DU by another poster on 8/12/10.

[mod mom]

227. Auto is correct one big MONEY Party under the heading of R or D

It becomes more apparent there is no room for progressives. :mad:

[stray cat]

27. Some of us thought democratic voters and independents learned something between 2000-8

[Umbral]

47. Some of us thought democratic politicians learned something between 2000-8 nt

[KoKo]

74. Yes...and there was incredible ACTIVISM in those years...early...

REAL ACTIVISM...not "Logo Worship."

[sabrina 1]

105. Too bad politicians haven't learned

who they work for. At least that would be something. No wonder they don't care what we think. There are far too many people willing to give them a pass so long as they are wearing the right letter.

[sufrommich]

30. There's no enthusiasm gap in this household. nt

[katandmoon]

31. K&R

[NorthCarolina]

32. I believe your post to be quite correct, but I also believe most will turn out

and vote while holding their nose should their choice come down to solely DLC vs GOP. The time to rid the party of DLC interlopers is during the primaries. After that, you're stuck with whomever floated to the top.

[laughingliberal]

33. K & R nt

[Bitwit1234]

39. You forgot to add they slapped the seniors in the face last year

by voting against that $240 supplement when, they said lack of inflation, caused them not to get a raise. BUT voted for themselves to get that $3500 raise. The seniors were a large bloc of voters for Democrats. And they seemed to push them off the radar.

[joe black]

40. The administration fails common sense.

In building back up the country by creating jobs, equal rights to gays,insuring SS and medicare are going to be there, ending the wars in order to fix our country, among others.

[glitch]

44. Vote to keep the House, they're the most Progressive branch we've got right now, such as it is.

Then don't go into hibernation, work to elect more Progressives, Democratic party or otherwise. Give this administration something to complain about. I agree with what you've posted, but I say we don't cave, we fight back.

Don't discard what little we've got, build on it.

[LWolf]

45. I understand it only too well. nt

[Whisp]

48. yes. and it's not what you say it's what CNN and the rest of the media are saying.

this enthusiam gap is a whole bunch of hooey.

and anyone believing this tripe should take politics 101 over again. don't get suckered, again.
and again.

[LoZoccolo]

51. Rahm Emanuel didn't call his supporters "fucking retarded".

It was his reaction to the idea of running attack ads against Democrats. He didn't alienate anybody who wasn't already out to fuck with and antagonize him. This idea that he called liberals "fucking retarded" is the Fire Dog Lake spin. Sounds to me that they are the ones out to alienate people.

[AtomicKitten]

52. Exactly. nt

[tridim]

58. That's why I unrecced this OP. It begins with a big lie.

I point it out every time, but the OP keeps using it over and over and over.

[bos1]

129. I just got deleted for making the same point. It's getting weird here. nt

[mod mom]

65. Not his supporters, liberal activists attempting to promote healthcare reform

Rahm Apologizes for Privately Calling Liberal Activists "Retarded"
February 02, 2010 12:32 PM

PrintRSSSHARE:EmailMore
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel apologized to the head of the Special Olympics today after the Wall Street Journal reported the fiery Chicagoan privately called a group of liberal activists "f---ing retarded."

Last August, Emanuel "showed up at a weekly strategy session featuring liberal groups and White House aides," the Journal's Peter Wallsten reported lastTuesday."Some attendees said they were planning to air ads attacking conservative Democrats who were balking at Mr. Obama's health-care overhaul. 'F—ing retarded,' Mr. Emanuel scolded the group, according to several participants. He warned them not to alienate lawmakers whose votes would be needed on health care and other top legislative items."

-snip

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/02/rahm-apologizes-for-privately-calling-liberal-activists-retarded.html

HOW DARE THOSE PEOPLE TRYING TO PROMOTE HC FOR ALL INSTEAD OF BENDING OVER TO CORPORATE INTEREST! :sarcasm:

F-Rahm! Losses due to progressives sitting this election out are on his (& others like him) shoulders!

[LoZoccolo]

84. Like I said, if people want to take that out of context and widen the circle of

people he was talking about, I'd say they are the ones causing division. Outside of the disingenuous headline, I'd say that even that article you quoted makes my argument for me.

[metapunditedgy]

92. And Obama himself famously said that HC is a human *right*, when criticizing HIS opponent.

I guess you're only "f*ing retarded" if you say that kind of stuff AFTER the election.

[Name removed]

83. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sabrina 1]

116. What he did was worse. He tried to prevent them from

primarying DLC and Blue Dog rightwing-of-the-party candidates and called the idea of standing up for real progressive issues 'fucking retarded'. That's way worse than just calling THEM 'retarded'. That was a truly revealing moment as to what this administration thinks of progressive ideals.

[LoZoccolo]

144. Wrong.

You can stand up for progressive values in myriad ways besides tearing down all the progress that someone else made.

[sabrina 1]

147. You mean you can stand up for progressive ideals by

protecting people who do not believe in them from primary challenges? How exactly is that standing up for progressive ideals? Is Blanche Lincoln standing up for progressive ideals? Max Baucus? These are the people Rahm Emmanuel was so desperate to protect from progressive primary challengers.

You are not making sense at all. Rahm at least doesn't pretend to stand up for progressive ideals. Probably he's smart enough to know better. He considers it 'fucking retarded' to try to elect real progressives and said so. There is simply no defense for what he did from a progressive pov. I don't know why you are bothering to try to defend it. He didn't, he apologized only for the use of the word 'retarded'. Never for protecting Democrats in name only against real progressives.

[LoZoccolo]

161. You have to first make more progressives.

This won't easily be done if they are seen as people who don't understand and calculate political risks, who spend nine months butthurt in failtown when someone has choice words for their strategy and tries to get everyone else pulled into their battle by going "look look, they're talking about you too!" Beating the Republicans is serious business, and elections are won by slim margins here. You can't go against someone with a high approval rating and think it's 100% not going to end up like Connecticut in 2006. The politicians go where they think they're safely going to be supported, and you'll probably get little or nothing if you don't build that support. Lieberman had a decent Democratic voting record outside of Iraq, but now that his base consists largely of Republicans, do you think he won't try to please them?

Besides, how to you expect Rahm to react when people come up to him and out-and-out threaten him? "Oh please give me more?"

[tomp]

232. you mean lieberman is a political whore...

....but we should've voted for him because he had a D after his name? Wasn't he the one who opposed the democrat in the race?

and to disagree with rahm is to threaten him?

you're making the progressive case.

[LoZoccolo]

239. A person who employs strategic thought...

...can get even his enemies to do some of his bidding. I didn't prefer Lieberman either, but I could see the risk involved in taking a popular senator and primarying him with someone less popular.

To threaten to attack Democrats is to make Rahm's job more difficult and thus to threaten him.

[sabrina 1]

241. Do you really think people were hurt by Rahm's garbage?

Is that how you interpret the reaction to him? No one is hurt, all he did, and we must never forget the lesson he taught us, was to verify what far too many people here and elsewhere have been denying, that the leadership of the Dem. Party and far too many of its members and supporters, are not committed to the Party Platform and use all kinds of twisted logic around election time, to try to avoid committing to Democratic values, while pretending they do.

It was a watershed moment for many people. A real awakening and the end of the commitment many people had made to this party.

We are for now in a bind, because the Republicans are insane, but thanks to Rahm which we must forever remind ourselves of in case we get suckered in again, no one who goes out this year and votes for Democrats, is under any illusions and most of us are working hard locally to bring about change so we can end this charade that we actually have a choice in this country.

We will get more progressives, don't worry. But as long was had trust in this Party, that wasn't going to happen. Thanks to Rahm, the illusion of a party working to use was finally and forever shattered for people and that is why they mention him. We are grateful to him for exposing the sham completely.

[gulliver]

55. I understand it, but it's inexcusable nevertheless.

It's human nature to feel a lack of enthusiasm when you don't get what you want when you want it. It's human nature to feel insulted by those who think you are a quitter, an idiot, or crazy when, in your frame of reference, you are depressed, disappointed, and "righteously" assigning blame to others. But it's a weak side of human nature. It is "prey behavior."

We on the left should not need to be "enthusiastic" to do our duty as thinking, responsible citizens. We should be tougher than nails, not emotionally oversensitive shrinking violets. Politics is war.

When I think of people on the left not voting, I am filled with pity and disgust. They can be unenthusiastic, but they need to show up and vote for maximizing liberal power and minimizing conservative power. Those who come through and vote, even though they may have low morale, deserve to look their fellow liberals in the eye and to have their voices heard.

[readmoreoften]

57. Plus a million...

[MissDeeds]

59. Recommended

Spot on.

[mod mom]

60. First election since 2000 I didn't work either GOTV and/or voter protection

In Ohio, the ODP along with the DSCC not only directed $ away from a very qualified progressive (former judge and the current SOS who cleaned up after the notorious Ken Blackwell and was honored with the JFK Profiles in Courage Award) but it was a fellow Dem Campaign that ran a KNOWN false smear against a fellow Dem the night before the primary in local media. The DSCC didn't even list her as a Democratic candidate in the primary. I see myself as a progressive first and a Democratic second (when the party elite is run with the likes of power hungry corporate types. We were good enough to do the legwork in previous election but progressives shouldn't have a seat at the table? Good luck with that strategy in the Novemeber!


PROGRESSIVE JENNIFER BRUNNER CLARIFIED HER STANCE IN A DEBATE IN APRIL:

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher trade few punches until after City Club of Cleveland debate

By Mark Naymik, The Plain Dealer

April 13, 2010, 6:41PM

-snip
Fisher asked Brunner whether she would endorse him if he wins the May 4 primary. Fisher has already pledged to support her if she wins the chance to face Republican Rob Portman in November.
Brunner said she could not endorse any politician because she will remain the state's chief elections officer through the general election.

-snip

http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2010/04/secretary_of_state_jennifer_br_2.html

THIS RAN IN MONDAY'S PAPERS (TUESDAY WAS THE PRIMARY):

Brunner says she won’t campaign for Fisher if she loses Tuesday
By Laura A. Bischoff and William Hershey
Columbus Bureau

Updated 12:30 AM Sunday, May 2, 2010
COLUMBUS — It’s customary in a primary election for the losing candidate to campaign for their party’s nominee in the fall.
But if she loses Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner won’t be telling Democrats to vote for the party nominee in November.
Asked by a Dayton Daily News reporter last week how much she would work for Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher if he wins and she loses, Brunner held up her hand and formed a zero.
Her unwillingness to embrace Fisher is indicative of the rancor bubbling in the Democratic Senate race.
Brunner accuses Democratic leaders — including Gov. Ted Strickland — of urging political donors to shut her out. Fisher denies the charge, but has used a giant fund-raising cushion to run TV ads touting his efforts to bring jobs to Ohio.

-snip
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/election/brunner-says-she-wont-campaign-for-fisher-if-she-loses-tuesday-683022.html


BTW I am voting in November only FOR PROGRESSIVES who support the principles I hold, as for the corporate types....they will get the same treatment which the GOP gets from us-no votes.

[BzaDem]

61. Actually, the people who arent planning on voting are happier with the direction of the country than

people who ARE voting. There is an enthusiasm gap because the lack of Republicans in power makes more complacent Democrats forget what it was like.

This won't be a problem in 2012, as Republicans in power focus these Democrats' minds. They will be RUNNING to the polls in 2012 to vote for Democrats. People have short memories, but Republican power has a way of reviving them.

And besides, very few people believe Obama is doing the "opposite" of what he promised. 85% of liberal Democrats approve of Obama, and similar percentages approve of his policies. Those that don't are in a tiny, mostly irrelevant minority.

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BzaDem]

77. If you think they are remotely similar, you do not remember AT ALL what the Republicans are like. nt

[TheKentuckian]

97. Totally recollect Republicans, most Democrats are about where they were in the mid 90's right about

now.

The "sensible centrists" like lies and carrots on strings to get their way but will go straight to the pukes at the drop of a hat and vote for any that sell themselves as anything akin to moderate if anybody they fear isn't a corporate toady appears on the ballot.

Such folks don't care about what is good for the people they think they will never be one of and instead focus protecting and embracing on the privileged few they aspire to be.

Its all Republicans, it is only to what degree that is allowed debate. Do we want Bob Dole, Raygun, DeMinted, Palin, Nixon, Dubya, Poppy, or Hoover is what the "sensible centrists" wonder about.

[bobbolink]

62. Excellently said, and I echo the sentiments exactly... with the addition of dumping on poor folk.

Please, remember us, too. We're all in this together.

[Jakes Progress]

69. After reading some of the replies here

I would say that, no, some do not understand. Their solution to the problem is to jump on needed voters, play with commas and phrase subtext to show what is said isn't really what is said, and tell people without jobs that there are jobs. Those methods may work to whip up a nice fight at a soccer match, but it won't get the votes and volunteers that we need.

Best way to get a Democrat excited it to give us real Democrats to vote for. I might vote for a centrist, gop appeaser over an full fledged asshat republican, but don't expect me to be excited about it.

[Egnever]

73. Horse shit

[donco6]

140. ? Horseshit what? N/t

[Jakes Progress]

171. I guess he means that some horse

shit out the replies I was referring to.

[donco6]

138. True.

And don't expect me to be passionate about canvassing or phone banking for these limp dishrags who are running ( Bennet).

[Egnever]

70. LOL maybe in Obama can do no right land

In reality land theres a ton of accomplishments. The real problem is a media that has been on nonstop attack since before he was sworn in and a public who is easily led by the nose.

[KoKo]

79. Repugs seemed to do very well with their media....Dems...in power..can't ever seem

to find a way to do anything about the media. So....which is it?

[JamesA1102]

82. Well said nt

[jeff47]

155. It's not the media

It's the bad politics.

One example: Planning for "recovery summer" when you already know your stimulus was too small was a terrible idea. It's not gonna fly with 9.6% unemployment that's not going to go down.

In addition, the administration spent almost no time crowing over their achievements...probably because many of their achievements included compromises that made them far less effective. Plus, they kept up the constant search for "compromise" on bills, when insiders claim they knew it was a lost cause in Feb, 2009. That also limited their ability to talk about their accomplishments until after the Republican position has calcified in the media.

The administration's media strategy is incompetent, and their shortcomings on politics aren't helping matters. With the election 'round the corner, the administration is finally starting to speak up. But they should have been yelling for the past 18 months.

[The Uncola]

80. I think they understand alright...

.. they just don't give a crap anyone but themselves. They are DINOs.

[spanone]

81. what enthusiasm gap?

[creon]

85. I don't know

I do not know anyone who has much interest in politics, or tries to keep up with events, or has much knowledge of political science. I have never known very many who knew very much or cared very much about politics or current events. So many never bothered to vote. It has been many years since I have encountered anyone who was enthusiastic about politics. Many thatI knowand knew in the past never bothered to vote.

[Name removed]

86. Deleted message

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[freebrew]

87. So, it's about congress?

Here's why congressional Dems have no one to blame but themselves, if they lose.

Remember ACORN?

How many Dems went along with the Rs to censure ACORN? How many helped vote to defund them against their own interests?

W/o ACORN, the GOTV effort will be tremendously more difficult.

[Pab Sungenis]

89. Bingo.

They've been so afraid of annoying Republicans that they've all but handed them the keys.

[Name removed]

88. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

94. Deleted message

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[krabigirl]

93. I agree. I won't vote for a corporate Dem again. Made that mistake to many times.

[rainlillie]

100. I'm not voting to help the Democrats or the President....

I'm voting for my children's future, for my mother who receives social security benefits. For my lesbian sister and my gay friends, so that one day they will have the same rights as their straight counterparts. All those things are possibilities with the Democrats in power. If the republican- tea party takes control, there's no compromising, and I know there's no way they will do anything to help the poor, middles class and other minority groups. The so called "enthusiasm gap" is a narrative that I refuse to buy into. IMO it was created by the MSM and the right-wing parrots to discourage people on the left from voting. Unfortunately it seems to be working.

[DesertFlower]

102. would you rather have had McCain/Palin?

[Pab Sungenis]

108. Really? You want to ask me that?

In hindsight, from what I can see, it would not have been too different. We'd still be at war. We still wouldn't have gay rights. In a few ways it might have even been better since the Republicans wouldn't have been in obstructionist mode and we might even have gotten a jobs bill and cap-and-trade (which was a REPUBLICAN proposal). We might even have gotten a similar health bill (remember, the individual mandate was a Republican proposal going back to Nixon).

We wouldn't have gotten the stimulus, but the stimulus Obama negotiated us down to was too small to do much good.

I'm still happy that we put Obama in office instead almost entirely because I don't want Palin that close to the White House. But he needs to give us some of the change we voted for.

And "the other guys suck more than us" is not a valid reason to vote for anyone.

[emulatorloo]

112. Since 2008, several states have legal same sex marriages. Republicans are fighting against that,

Democrats are not. In my state, Iowa, Democrats in the legislature successfully stopped Republicans from introducing legislation to outlaw same sex marriage here. If Republicans are in charge, they wont' be stopped. McCain Palin would have fought states with same sex marriage tooth and nail

[Pab Sungenis]

117. Here in New Jersey it was the Democrats who blocked gay marriage.

Specifically, six Democratic State Senators, one of which was mine.

[emulatorloo]

118. Let me suggest then that you can't generalize your experience to everybody out there.

I can clearly see why you lack enthusiasm if the Jersey Dems are that way. That sounds awful

In our US congressional election we have a choice between a good progressive (the incumbent) and a hardcore teabag candidate. The progressive is being hit by tons of Attack Ads funded by "outside money" - innocuously named groups that aren't in the state. Perhaps you can understand my enthusiasm about voting and GOTV.

I wish you had that choice.

[DesertFlower]

120. we'd probably be at war with iran.

did you forget that obama cut your taxes? it wasn't a lot. hubby got $72 more a month in his paycheck. that's $864 a year -- pays our homeowner's insurance. i got $250 in my social security -- not a lot -- but better than nothing.

we got health care -- not great, but hopefully it will be improved in the next few years.

[femrap]

104. I didn't expect much

from Obama. I remember telling a group of college students who were gaga over Obama before the Election, 'He's going to break your heart.'

It's good they learned early in life. No one is going to change the world except for We, The People. But these 2010 elections are very local....some are voting for Governor and other state-wide candidates. I have already voted absentee and did an entire Dem ticket.

The Judges are very important....the repugnants have taken over the judicial branch. We had a local campaign in Ohio....'Vote for the Judges First.' There is NO party affiliation on our Judgeship ticket and the repugnants have taken advantage of that.

Obama is not on the ticket, is he? I don't want a repugnant representing me in Congress, do you?

[Pab Sungenis]

111. Either way I vote, I get a Republican in Congress.

The Democratic candidate is a former Republican, and a right-winger at that. He tried running on the Constitution Party ticket but failed, and because the corrupt party leadership in our district didn't put up a candidate of our own, he won the primary.

And the Democrats in my district in other offices are as bad as, or even worse than, the Republicans on most of my core issues.

[femrap]

163. The entire country has shifted to

right...maybe a reaction to the big move to the Left in the '60's and '70's. The Peace, Love and Rock n' Roll crowd scared the crap out of the Establishment...people like Rove, Cheney, etc. Then those silly Falwell 'Moral Majority' got a hold of people who didn't like using their brains....and here we are.

What a mess.

I do have a decent Dem running for Congress, but Tiberi has held this district for quite a while so I'm not optimistic.

In all truthfulness, I believe the US is headed downward and no one can save us. The politicians are simply minions of TPTB. The system is rotten to the core.

It's as if we need to be destroyed so we can build something decent again.

Maybe Mother Nature will shake us to the core...volcanoes and earthquakes that result in land mass changes...I don't know. As I learned in Physical Science 101, the Earth rotates on its axis every 26,000 years. All I know is that this paradigm of greed has gone about as far as it can.

I just want to move to a more rural area and :hide: for I fear the worst is yet to come.

I read something the other day: It's not Left vs. Right. It's you vs. the Corporation! I tend to agree.

These Elections are just Circuses to distract us from the core problem.

I wish I were in France!

[Name removed]

110. Deleted message

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[Pab Sungenis]

115. I voted for Obama in 2008

in both the primary and the general. Look back at my history on here from the election.

I voted against Frank Lautenberg in both the primary, and then the general, and I don't apologize for that.

I voted for and worked for the local Democratic campaigns in every election since 1994 through 2009 when the local Assembly candidates BRAGGED ABOUT blocking the gay marriage bill in robocalls and literature. I wrote in my own name that election and will work against the two of them next year very aggressively in the primary. If they win the primary I don't know yet what I will do.

Oh, and I was a Democratic Committeeman from 2002 until 2009. So I'd dare say that I've worked harder to elect Democrats than you have.

So don't kick us and then wonder why we won't love you any more.

[DeSwiss]

114. K&R

- Mine is more like a "enthusiasm canyon."

[rainlillie]

119. Governor Paladino.. No thank you. I think I'll get out there and vote.

[bos1]

130. Exactly. nt

[DeSwiss]

131. So am I, Half-Govenor Palin.

One good slur deserves another. ;)

[crim son]

122. K&R n/t

[LiberalArkie]

124. That is why I am not enthused.. I find it hard to get revved up for conservatives of either party

[bos1]

145. rev up for the cause in general. Progressive politics are winning, historically

so c'mon along

[treestar]

125. Democrats are always like this

It's a matter of GOTV always. Repukes never have that problem. That's why the media is running with it.

As for hypersensitive people who can criticize others but not take any, they are never enthused for anything and are a tiny minority. No, Obama's too smart. If he is insulting them, it shows he knows that they are not significant in number, but that people who see him as standing up to them are.

[underpants]

127. When the other side owns all the information (TV) it is hard to garn enthusiasm

escpecially when the mix Democrat with Liberal and make them one in the same. Okay so even if they it is tough when the masses don't get to actually see or hear from a group of people who they are told about on a regular basis.

[yodermon]

128. The Average Voter thinks Obama is too *LIBERAL*.

True it's because they've been propagandized by fux news for years on end, but it's the pool Obama has to swim in.

He insulted the left of the Base in order to burnish his "Centrist" creds with the mushy-middle voters, of whom there are a hell of a lot more than us plugged-in political activist types (DU).

[donco6]

142. Then he's even less principled than I thought. N/t

[liberal N proud]

133. I hope you are happy when the GOP destroys the government

As they will do to everything but the military.

If you like the bu$h years, you should love it when the GOP takes over Congress.

[Jester Messiah]

134. So when the country goes to the repubs, you'll cross your arms and say "That'll fix 'em."

"Maybe next time they'll take me seriously when I tell them it's time to kiss my ass and tell me I'm pretty."

[AtomicKitten]

146. you see clearly, grasshopper

[Lilith Velkor]

150. Who knows, maybe they will.

It's even possible that, during a future election year, someone at the DNC will figure out that "Fuck you, vote for us" DOESN'T WORK.

[donco6]

153. Judging by the fanboi's here - I kinda doubt it. n/t

[Lilith Velkor]

154. That would be why I said "in the future."

And "someone at the DNC."

The fanbase will go along with anything, so they don't really count.

[donco6]

168. Ah, yes - I see. You're absolutely right. n/t

[SanchoPanza]

148. Then don't vote.

If you're dead set on believing that Democrats are no better then Republicans, or not better enough to inspire you to take an hour every two years to vote, then it is likely that no one will be able to convince you otherwise. I won't bother bringing up the consequences of a GOP win, because you likely know them. If those consequences are meaningless you you, then don't vote. No one is putting a gun to your head.

If you want the party to change, then complaining on the internet is likely the least effective way to go about that process. Join your local party if you haven't already. Become a precinct captain if you aren't already. Run for office yourself if you expect candidates to perfectly match your political preferences (because the only person who will do that 100% of the time is you). But if you just want to piss and moan, you really shouldn't expect anyone to take you seriously. Especially anyone in elected office. If they can't place you in any kind of viable, cohesive political constituency that has influence within their own district/state, they won't bother with you.

Because you don't matter to them.

If that offends you, good. Do something about it.

[Quixote1818]

151. I think the Tea Party and Glenn Beck's rally closed a lot of the enthusiasm gap

There is no way I am going to let those ass holes in charge. Un-Recommended.

[Evasporque]

157. Yup....the crazies think they can win. And posts like the op agree.

[Evasporque]

156. SO You let the Tea party and Media circus win then to prove a point?

brilliant.

I think it takes time to move the damage of Bush....and stop the juggernaut of right wing HATE....and BIGOTRY....

I am investing....I always invest in Democrats,

BECAUSE I KNOW THE GOP IS NO SAVIOR.

[JoePhilly]

159. Take a Deep breath, hold it. hold it. hold it.

Then blame your parents when you pass out.

[existentialist]

165. I may not be enthusiastic

But I am definitely going to vote for my blue dog democratic congress critter as against the wing not tea bagger who is running against her.

I'm mad as the Democratic establishment.

But I find the alternative beyond words--incomprehensibly bad.

And enthusiastic or not, I will do everything that I can this year.

[VPStoltz]

167. And all this worse than having the Republicons take over the government?

Not even close!

[Name removed]

169. Deleted message

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[Shining Jack]

183. WARNING! WARNING!

Palin and Stump will win in 2012!1!!

[Name removed]

201. Deleted message

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[Blue_In_AK]

170. I'm voting and working hard for Alaska's Democratic candidates

this fall, but more in spite of rather than because of anything Obama has done. I was never a big "hope and changer," but I did expect a little more effect than what we've seen. I think even the Republicans would have had more respect for him if he hadn't been so friggin' conciliatory.

[pnwmom]

172. I totally understand. I also totally remember that the most recent

enthusiasm gap brought us George Bush, courtesy of 95,000 enthusiastic Nader voters in Florida. (And before you tell me there were other factors too, yes, I know. But none came close to affecting 95,000 votes.)

A previous enthusiasm gap brought us Richard Nixon over Hubert Humphrey. We all know how that worked out.

I've never seen a case where we ended up with a better President because of our enthusiasm gap. But it has brought us two of our worst.

[unkachuck]

174. K&R....n/t

[compassion now]

178. Hmm...

I think Obama is a really nice guy! And he's sooo cool! Its the congress persons, blocking change, and thereby blocking hope.

[Canuckistanian]

179. Not that hard for me to understand

No action on warrantless wiretapping. No action on Don Siegelman's case. No investigation into the cause of the Iraq war.

No repeal of DADT. No meaningful health CARE reform. No further regulation of Wall Street. No more funding for PUBLIC education.

No more real causes for progressives to get behind. And nothing promised for the future.

The driving force for the Obama Administration seems to be.... "Status Quo at all costs".

[johnnyplankton]

182. God Knows things would be so much better under McCain...

I'm phone banking for people running in states I don't live in, because if we can stem the tide for one additional fucking second, I don't care, at least I can say I tried. I'm not going down to the Third Reich Republicans without a fight. At least fucking vote, piss later.

[Shining Jack]

185. McCain...

And Albert Palin. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn. So tired of this old joke.

[Bluebear]

202. "Yay, we're better than McCain!" ...what a legacy

[Democat]

209. It means we are moving forward instead of backwards

We can argue about the speed of progress, but at least it's progress.

I am not happy with everything Obama has done, but compared to another right wing president he sounds pretty good.

[johnnyplankton]

184. Tough shit

I didn't get a pony when I was a kid. I don't need a lollipop
now to do the right thing. At least vote.

[Bluebear]

207. Wow, a pony post! How...2008!

:crazy:

[mzmolly]

195. I'm enthused.

I never expected perfection. I knew I'd find at least ONE reason to be disappointed.

[Name removed]

203. Deleted message

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[meowomon]

208. My feelings exactly, but I will still vote because the alternative is scary

[on point]

211. I am not gay, tortured, a student, the climate etc, but I DO care

I do not have to be one of he many people who are suffering abuse at the hands of the government to care about what is being done to them. There is a lack of enthusiasm because there is a lack of genuine effort to do what is right for the people for the country, the environment and the law.

Time and time again, people have written to the whtehouse, letters to the editor, here; have taken to the streets, called their officials and what not to say - This is what we want. If we don't get it, then don't expect our support any longer. They ignored those messages, so now they are wondering why there is no enthusiasm for their election????

Work for the people instead of he corps, or get lost I say. We are done with the sell outs.

[Sancho]

212. I would add to your list...

supporting drilling in the Gulf which led to the inevitable disaster that we all knew was going to happen.

no action on immigration reform after two years.

no legal reforms that would go after the wall street crooks. Who has been prosecuted?

"Better than Bush" is not good enough for me! I absolutely have lost enthusiasm for this wishy-washy administration; and you can add Arnie Duncan to the insulting idiots floating around Washington.

:dem:

[readmoreoften]

214. And now "taking tips from the Bush Admin"

[quaker bill]

213. I am fired up

to get out and vote against tea party lunatics. I feel no lack of motivation in this regard.

[mmonk]

215. There is a gap in my enthusiasm but that doesn't mean

I won't vote. I always do. Has anyone actually answered your question?

[readmoreoften]

216. I've been told by Obama and his club that I'm irrelevant for about 2 years now.

I've got one Democrat that I think I'm voting for. There is a Democrat who I'd be happy to vote for in a race that matters but it's out of my zip code.

Other than than that, I'm voting according to actual political agenda--which rules out all Republicans and most Democrats. But as a teacher, a "gay", a retarded liberal, and a professional leftist they're not really interested in my vote anyway. In fact, I'm pretty sure they despise me. I'm from a small irrelevant minority and they've made it quite clear that they're not interested in my business. So this time I'm going to vote for someone who supports me--hell, ANYONE who supports me as a constituent will do. Which means I may be involved with a write-in campaign.

I'm more likely to vote for local Dems than Obama, though. If Obama is primaried, I'll vote for a Democrat. As long as its not someone even more right-wing.

[SemperEadem]

218. While I agree with your sentiment on your points

they are not enough, however, to keep me from going and voting.

When I consider the alternative--having a very vivid and recent memory of how the rethugliCONS drove this country into a ditch and then called us all bitches for complaining--I cannot live with myself and sit my ass at home, gnashing my teeth, on 11/2/10 and subjecting myself to rethugliCON rule for the next two years.

No. I will not take my dissatisfaction quite that far.

[KossackRealityCheck]

220. 99.9% of Dem base voters don't care about your list

Almost no one outside of a few blogs has ever heard of Axelrod's or Emmanual's comments, and probably about 90% of voters don't even know exactly who they are.

Base voters being union members, minorities, women, middle and lower working class, etc.

This is also true of the surge of young voters who put Obama over the top. There was this great post on DK the other day by a middle aged woman who asked her college age kid and his friends, who went all out in 08, about Jane Hamsher's crits of the administration and the response was something like, "who's she?", and the only person who finally remembered who she was said, "oh yeah, her, what's her problem?"

The so called enthusiasm gap is simply the normal mid term lack of vigilance by the people who won last time.

Also, as I see it from my little corner of the woods in Brooklyn, many of us won't vote because we are in 90%+ Democratic districts. There is zero chance my Rep is going to lose. In fact my guess is the rethugs aren't even running anyone.

But the left blogosphere is an echo chamber in which every tiny little play of inside baseball becomes a gigantic affront that is going to "turn off the base."

[creon]

223. Basically, you got it.

It comes down to turnout.
The turnout is especially important in marginal districts that Democrats won in 2006 & 2008. And, a 40% turnout in a midterm election is a high turnout.

The enthusiasm gap is, as you say, a lack of vigilance.

Very few people pay as much attention to politics, political science and curret events as I do. That has been true for 40 o so years.

[bos1]

236. Thanks for putting it so well. That's why I don't lack enthusiasm at all

I hope the OP enjoyed the attention his malicious post got, though 99.9% of us are moving on

[bvar22]

243. Union Members don't know that the Obama administration:

*Threw EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) in the trash can on Day One after campaigning on supporting it?

*Lied about renegotiating NAFTA during the campaign?

*Supported the Cadillac Tax (Anti-Union) in the HCR after campaigning AGAINST it?

*Demanded major wage & benefits concessions from Unions before giving the Auto Industry a "loan" after bailing out Wall Street Billionaires with No Strings Attached?
Also demanded that Unions NOT oppose the Auto Makers opening NEW NON-UNION plants?

*Actively campaigned FOR virulently Anti-LABOR Blanche Lincoln, devoting Party Money to the Anti-Union/Anti-Public Option candidate in the Democratic Primary in Arkansas, when there was a Pro-LABOR Democratic candidate with Union support available? The White House actively FOUGHT AGAINST the Union endorsed and supported candidate in the Arkansas Primary, and then mocked and ridiculed Organized LABOR from the White House after the Anti-LABOR candidate won?

You don't think UNION members know about these things?

[sabrina 1]

244. And that's why an idiot like Brown won Ted Kennedy's seat in

Mass?they

Daily Kos??? Lol! If that's where you get your news, no wonder you are wearing those rose colored glasses.

You assume that if someone is not on a blog they do not know what is going on. You are so wrong, in fact, most of MY friends do not participate on political forums and yet, they too are very disappointed in this administration. They will most likely vote for a Dem, assuming it is a good progressive Dem, but they are not enthusiastic about it.

No one outside of their small membership at DK, knows who they are. They are more likely to know who Hamsher is since she is often seen on TV and is far more interesting and informed than Kos, who knows so little about issues I do not know why he is even invited to these shows. This was evident when he allowed the rightwinger to dominate the Bill Maher Show this week, making erroneous statements about economics which he could not respond to because he lacks the knowledge to do so.

People are angry. That is one reason why Ted Kennedy's seat went to a Republican. But rather than get the message that sent, the party attempted to dismiss it and blame it on the voters. Let them keep blaming voters rather than fixing the problems they have the power to fix. Eventually voters will go elsewhere, as they did in MA and elsewhere. And for that I place the blame fully on the leadership of the Dem. Party.

If Republicans win a majority again, I will be so angry, as will most people, at the Democratic Leadership. Because it will they, and no one else, who are responsible.

[Name removed]

221. Deleted message

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[creon]

222. Turnout

Turnout is what it comes down to. The turnout in mid term elections is low; a 40& turnout is high.

If the people who vote Democratic, get and vote, the result will be OK.

If not, we will have gridlock. gridlock on steroids.

[Carolina]

224. K&R K&R K&R K&R K&R!

[meow mix]

226. no one wants to admit this, i watch them squirm to avoid saying it every night

they just want to pretend we dont exist kept locked away in the attic

[DWinNJ]

228. “Our only hope is to control the vote.” - Medgar Evers

“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”
- George Jean Nathan (American Journalist, 1882-1958)

[tomp]

233. frankly, i think nathan was wrong on this one.

bad officials are elected all the time by well-meaning but politically naive democratic voters, essentially because the choice is severely limited.

i can agree with controlling the vote but not in the way the democratic party leadership thinks of controlling the vote.

[tiredtoo]

234. amen

They are getting just what they asked for. Too bad we have to suffer the consequences !

[tomp]

235. there is only one essential fact of american politics

both parties work for our rich masters.

dems are allowed to come to power to offer bones and crumbs at critical moments
when things would otherwise rouse the masses and enable the progessive left, and
even those bones and crumbs may end up costing us more than they're worth, or
may be taken away at a moment's notice.

we have been trained to defend our bones and crumbs and accept unnecessary compromises.

[Greyhound]

237. "America has one political party with two right wings."

Which goes a long way in explaining this insanity.

Change is coming, that is the only certainty. I currently see only one group attempting to get ahead of it, and it's the wrong group.