Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

More explanation on the election.

From Maddowblog

The good news for Democrats: younger voters are still siding with the party by a sizable margin.

The bad news for Democrats: younger voters didn't show up this year ... unlike a certain other age group.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Whoa, Part Deux.

The disparity between the under-30 and over-60 was the widest it's been in a decade, those polls found. The seniors comprised 37 percent of the electorate; young people made up 12 percent.

To put that 25-point gap in perspective, in 2008 the gap was 5 points.

 

[Handyman]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Flattered but I always thought politically the stupidest thing Obama did early on was turfing Howard Dean because Rahm Emmanuel and some other dinosaurs didn't get along with him. Dean invented the small donor/register new voters instead of competing for the same old one strategy that Obama rode to two victories, but he also knew how to compete state by state. That got lost along the way in mid-terms and in lower level races like state legislatures but they need to return to it.

Bingo...terrible strategy.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

I think the Democrats ****ed up big time. They had the young vote and an amazingly enthusiastic base. They completely turned their collective backs on the young people. Now the young people are disenfranchised and betrayed. This could be a massive mistake for Democrats. They better hope they didn't lose an entire generation of voters in six short years.

 

[rufus]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

That's quite a reach IMHO by blaming Reps for them going after Obama. Don't mess up the situation so badly and that gives them nothing to talk about. This whole election was pretty pathetic because the campaign was the Reps pointing at Dems and saying "we're not them so elect us." Pretty sad state for the Dems that it worked quite well.

What has he messed up so badly? Economy-50+ straight months of positive job growth, including the last eight over 200,000. Ebola, you had one African die on US soil, and it's not like there's a wave of it spreading through the country. ISIS is an issue, but doesn't directly affect the US, unless you believe Republican fearmongering about them raising their flag over the White House. If Bush hadn't stirred up that hornet's nest there, you'd never be hearing of them.

It's a fact that Obama can have done things better. But his is not the incompetent, ineffective, blundering administration that the right wing noise machine makes it out to be. But they've been drumming that message into voter's heads since Obama was sworn in; it's their primary tactic. No matter what he does, Repubs will be screaming about how it doesn't go far enough, won't be effective, costs too much, or whatever their message of the day will be.

 

[rufus]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Flattered but I always thought politically the stupidest thing Obama did early on was turfing Howard Dean because Rahm Emmanuel and some other dinosaurs didn't get along with him. Dean invented the small donor/register new voters instead of competing for the same old one strategy that Obama rode to two victories, but he also knew how to compete state by state. That got lost along the way in mid-terms and in lower level races like state legislatures but they need to return to it.

Read something today how Dean got the money raised, but then got it funnelled out of Washington and into the state and local levels quickly, so the folks on the ground who knew the races had the means to compete. But now it's concentrated in Washington, so the usual powerbrokers call the shots. Whether they know what they're doing or not.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2014/11/the-50-state-strategy.html

One thing that I think people tend to forget is that Howard Dean's 50 state strategy wasn't simply about fighting everywhere, it was about shoveling money out of DC before the vultures there could get their hands on it. It was about the idea that people who run campaigns out of Washington don't know what the hell they're doing, but that as long as the money was sitting there, candidates didn't have much choice but to deal with them.

 

[joecct]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

The real question is why would any same sex couple want to live in Alabama. Why would anybody with a functioning cerebral cortex want to live in Alabama?

Football! What else?

 

[Kepler]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Yesterday in herpa-derp.

Yes, there was stiff competition, but you be the judge.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Yesterday in herpa-derp.

Yes, there was stiff competition, but you be the judge.

"The people have spoken--the bastiches."

No amount of twirling around in your favorite party dress to impress us with your thighs can change the fact you and your pals got your a*ses kicked yesterday.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

I think the Democrats ****ed up big time. They had the young vote and an amazingly enthusiastic base. They completely turned their collective backs on the young people. Now the young people are disenfranchised and betrayed. This could be a massive mistake for Democrats. They better hope they didn't lose an entire generation of voters in six short years.

The only reason they won't, is that the Republicans have yet to offer any reasonable alternatives, and don't seem to display much interest in dropping or even toning down the social conservative derp that the majority of the under-35 crowd is no longer buying.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Doesn't matter if the U35 crowd doesn't agree if they are so scorned and disenfranchised that they won't vote.

 

[Handyman]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

They/we always come back...

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

What has he messed up so badly? Economy-50+ straight months of positive job growth, including the last eight over 200,000. Ebola, you had one African die on US soil, and it's not like there's a wave of it spreading through the country. ISIS is an issue, but doesn't directly affect the US, unless you believe Republican fearmongering about them raising their flag over the White House. If Bush hadn't stirred up that hornet's nest there, you'd never be hearing of them.

It's a fact that Obama can have done things better. But his is not the incompetent, ineffective, blundering administration that the right wing noise machine makes it out to be. But they've been drumming that message into voter's heads since Obama was sworn in; it's their primary tactic. No matter what he does, Repubs will be screaming about how it doesn't go far enough, won't be effective, costs too much, or whatever their message of the day will be.

Sure he is. Record budget deficits (which would be much higher if the House wasn't constantly reeling him back in), making major policy moves via executive order (a very bad precedent regardless of political affiliation), lack of any coherent foreign policy (especially in the Middle East), appointing cronies in record numbers to ambassadorships, failing to enforce federal law when it doesn't suit his policy purposes (border, drugs, etc.) and it goes on.

 

[LynahFan]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Doesn't matter if the U35 crowd doesn't agree if they are so scorned and disenfranchised that they won't vote.

Well, not for serious, deliberative statesmen, anyway. For rock stars? Heck, yeah!

A deeply liberal (a lawyer for the ACLU) friend of mine posted this article: Ted Nugent is fine and so are you.

I think the author is trying a little too hard to attribute cause to random events, though. As progressives like to point out, there is an inexorable march in this country to the left: slavery and segregation ended, Social Security and the EPA started, the minimum wage was enacted, Obamacare happened, same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization are coming, etc. In a "two-party democracy," neither party can rule forever, because there will always be people who are dissatisfied, looking for change and progress. We see the pendulum swing and look for systemic, underlying causes, when the truth is that it is just the metronome beating out an inevitable, predictable rhythm. The key is not in which party holds power - that will swing back and forth and there is literally nothing that your preferred party should be doing better (embrace THIS, communicate THAT) that could prevent it. Instead, the key is the issues - where that dividing line happens to be at this point in time. This is why Democrats are scratching their heads, "how did we lose when people are voting for marijuana and minimum wages, and against corporate malfeasance?" You lost the *election* simply because it was your turn to lose, while you won the *issues* because that is the direction the country is heading. We'd probably all be better off if we took a step back, stopped worrying so much about elections, and focused on the issues which are ultimately all that really matter.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Sure he is. Record budget deficits (which would be much higher if the House wasn't constantly reeling him back in), making major policy moves via executive order (a very bad precedent regardless of political affiliation), lack of any coherent foreign policy (especially in the Middle East), appointing cronies in record numbers to ambassadorships, failing to enforce federal law when it doesn't suit his policy purposes (border, drugs, etc.) and it goes on.

LOL. Bull.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

LOL. Bull.

Says one of Obama's most knee-jerk defenders around. I know I'm on the mark when you disagree.

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

Well, not for serious, deliberative statesmen, anyway. For rock stars? Heck, yeah!

A deeply liberal (a lawyer for the ACLU) friend of mine posted this article: Ted Nugent is fine and so are you.

I think the author is trying a little too hard to attribute cause to random events, though. As progressives like to point out, there is an inexorable march in this country to the left: slavery and segregation ended, Social Security and the EPA started, the minimum wage was enacted, Obamacare happened, same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization are coming, etc. In a "two-party democracy," neither party can rule forever, because there will always be people who are dissatisfied, looking for change and progress. We see the pendulum swing and look for systemic, underlying causes, when the truth is that it is just the metronome beating out an inevitable, predictable rhythm. The key is not in which party holds power - that will swing back and forth and there is literally nothing that your preferred party should be doing better (embrace THIS, communicate THAT) that could prevent it. Instead, the key is the issues - where that dividing line happens to be at this point in time. This is why Democrats are scratching their heads, "how did we lose when people are voting for marijuana and minimum wages, and against corporate malfeasance?" You lost the *election* simply because it was your turn to lose, while you won the *issues* because that is the direction the country is heading. We'd probably all be better off if we took a step back, stopped worrying so much about elections, and focused on the issues which are ultimately all that really matter.

Well said.

 

[Tiggsy]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

What has he messed up so badly? Economy-50+ straight months of positive job growth, including the last eight over 200,000. Ebola, you had one African die on US soil, and it's not like there's a wave of it spreading through the country. ISIS is an issue, but doesn't directly affect the US, unless you believe Republican fearmongering about them raising their flag over the White House. If Bush hadn't stirred up that hornet's nest there, you'd never be hearing of them.

It's a fact that Obama can have done things better. But his is not the incompetent, ineffective, blundering administration that the right wing noise machine makes it out to be. But they've been drumming that message into voter's heads since Obama was sworn in; it's their primary tactic. No matter what he does, Repubs will be screaming about how it doesn't go far enough, won't be effective, costs too much, or whatever their message of the day will be.

Gee, if this was actually true then the election results nation wide would not have turned out like they did. And this wasn't a close election. If you think it was strictly due to turnout, why didn't the lefties turn out to support candidates who align with this president? Simple... he is not worth supporting anymore and things aren't as good as you try to make them out to be.

 

[trixR4kids]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

The thing is the economy has rebounded and if that was the only thing I cared about, I'd be happy with Obama's performance thus far. But the problem is he never prosecuted any of the people who caused a global financial crisis, money in politics is bigger than ever, corporate tax loopholes are still very much a thing, income inequality hasn't gotten any better, and it doesn't seem like he's done anything to actually fix the root problems of our economy because he constantly bows down to the interests of the wealthy. Obviously nothing is going to get done now with the results of the recent elections but it's not like he never had a chance to accomplish these things.

Which is why it's hilarious when people call him a socialist or what have you, it couldn't be any further from the truth.

In the end maybe his initial goals were unrealistic, but a lot of people were hoping that he would address these issues and he just left a lot of young voters feeling cynical is my guess.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Campaign 2014: The Epic Struggle To Win The Senate And Change Nothing

The thing is the economy has rebounded and if that was the only thing I cared about, I'd be happy with Obama's performance thus far. But the problem is he never prosecuted any of the people who caused a global financial crisis, money in politics is bigger than ever, corporate tax loopholes are still very much a thing, income inequality hasn't gotten any better, and it doesn't seem like he's done anything to actually fix the root problems of our economy because he constantly bows down to the interests of the wealthy. Obviously nothing is going to get done now with the results of the recent elections but it's not like he never had a chance to accomplish these things.

Which is why it's hilarious when people call him a socialist or what have you, it couldn't be any further from the truth.

This sums up my opinion of Obama exactly.