July 9, 2006
HATING GEORGE BUSH IS NOT A POLITICAL PLATFORM:
Democrats' Fundraising Letter Is Bankrupt on Ideas (Steve Lopez, July 9, 2006, LA Times)
It's not often that I reach into my mailbox at home and find a letter from Ted Kennedy, so I was eager to see what was on the mind of the saber-rattling senator from the great state of Massachusetts. [...]In anticipation of my generosity, Kennedy enclosed a complimentary bumper sticker:
HAD ENOUGH?
Vote Democrat in '06
As a matter of fact, I do share Kennedy's concern about the Bush administration, and so I was eager to read the four-page letter and other enclosed materials to find out more about the alternative vision being offered up by the Democratic Party.
Page 1, however, contained no such clues. It just fired more bazooka shots at the president and his "extreme right-wing allies," so I figured the fresh ideas from the Dems had to be on Page 2.
Wrong again. Page 2 was nothing but groveling for money for contested races in Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Minnesota. ("It's urgent for each of us to do as much as possible as soon as possible!")
Page 3 suggested the Republicans will burn in hell for sins against humanity ("They've poisoned our air and water"), and Page 4 warned, "They'll never stop unless we stop them. They're shameless!"
That's quite a cavalry call, but it seems to me the Democrats are once again rushing to the front lines with empty muskets.
I'm not asking for the Democratic equivalent of a 10-point Contract With America, having lowered my expectations while on the campaign trail with Al Gore and bearing witness to his nationally televised identity crisis.
I'd settle for a five-point "Contract With Western Blue States." Heck, I'd be happy with a warmed-over crumb of an idea or two.
Instead all we get from the Democrats is the reminder that they stand for … wait, let's see, where was that platform draft?
Oh, yeah. They're anti-Iraq war, or at least they are now that it's turned out so miserably.
And they're passionately … hold on a second. What else was there?
Anti-Republican. That's it.
They're the Seinfeld party, about nothing. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 9, 2006 9:17 PM
Just as many establishement Democrats in 1972 didn't see the Nixon landslide coming because they only talked to their own kind at cocktail parties and none of them could even think of voting Republican, if the Democrats are mailing out fundraising letters based on what they've been reading (and writing) in Daily Kos chatrooms and on other like-minded websites, they don't think they have to do anything else to win the fall election but send out missives saying "We hate George W. Bush", because everybody who's not a racist/sexist/homophobe/warmonger/Christian fanatic is already on their side.
Posted by: John at July 9, 2006 10:21 PMI always liked Lopez when he was writing for the Philly Inquirer. He's no Republican, but he's no fan of doofuses either.
Posted by: Pete at July 9, 2006 10:28 PMThe funniest thing about the upcoming election is that because the Democrats have sued to keep Tom DeLay on the ballot in Texas, he may just run again (if the Texas court rules that his name must remain on the ballot).
The Dems don't seem to know which way to turn. They sued to get Torricelli's name OFF the ballot in 2002, and now they're suing to keep Tom DeLay's ON. I would love to hear Carville spin that one.
Posted by: jim hamlen at July 9, 2006 10:31 PMIt's not a bad plan in the end. If they could keep their pie-holes shut until November, they'll take both houses. Of course, they won't stay quiet that long.
Posted by: Pepys at July 10, 2006 12:16 AM