Its amazing how the Republicans and Bush completely dominate and dominated these 3 areas. Its no coincidence that these are the areas with people in America who are the most concerned with morals and values so why would they vote for a liberal democrat. The democrats need to find some way to get stronger in these regions.
I'm currently on the road in Arkansas today, and being a "coast guy" most my of my life, I too am a bit fixed, staring at the map. I'm watching Imus on MSNBC right, and they were taking about Kerry, "knowing nothing about Red State America." Perhaps overstatement, but if that's what these folks believe...that's all that matters. And talking to some people down here, "I'm for Bush 'cause he's a good Christian man, with strong values,"...by now I listen and nod politely, but it's hard with my Blue State bias, to listen to that without rolling my eyes-which probably sums up this divide in a kind of symbolic/shorthand way. But it's there, and these folks say it without the any irony. Very down today-wish I was home.
Acceptance. Good. It's the first step towards change. Maybe now we can have hope for a viable opposition. The Dems have set the bar too low for too long. They are about to lose the black vote and may already have lost the Hispanic vote over "values", or as I call it, religion. I wonder if they can do it though without alienating their secular base.
It's also no coincidence that they have the least education and are the least informed about current affairs.
Religion has no place in American politics. Or at least that used to be the case in the America I grew up in.
The Democrats always do better with the least educated. That is a fact. We can't dismiss the cultural conservatives and expect to win many elections. We also can't nominate anyone from the Northeast. We just can't afford to do that again.
Was this place dark, hollow, and kind of creepy... kind of like a cave? I gotta give you the benefit of the doubt and believe this is you in mourning. Religion - no place in American politics? Ha! Tell that to the pilgrims. They'd think this joke was a RIOT!
Not to mention a senator from the northeast with 20 years of voting record to tear down. Stupid stupid stupid.
I think when it comes to cultural values, the democrats are the future. Society seems to be evolving in their direction. Issues like gay marriage will probably not even be issues in 20 years time. But the liberals overplayed their cards and tried to effect changes too fast, by using activist judges, and it backfired in the short term because many people weren't quite ready for it yet.
We're talking about American politics here. Those British ex-pats will be surprised to find themselves in a discussion of American politics. Have you considered, say, the Founding Fathers?
A big problem for the Dems is the way that the media portray the minority of Americans from "the Heartland" as good, normal, decent Americans, and their (bigmedia) neighbors on the coasts as not real Americans. There were tons of examples of that kind of reporting in the last few months...probably earlier, but once I noticed it, I started looking for it, and it became very obvious.
Why the hell would we want to put someone in office who knows what they're doing that doesn't make any sense at all. George W. Bush: he may have driven 5 businesses and a country into the ground, but John Kerry has only been serving the constituents of his state for 20 years. Pretty obvious choice. John.
The democrats' biggest problem is that they're p ussies. Seriously - there's not a more honest way to put it. To do the things that democrats really want to do would require some uncomfortable change in America, and eventually one of their candidates will have to let their balls drop just low enough to say so. For example: "We know you love your SUV's, but protecting our environment is much more important than you compensating for your short dick, or lack of one altogether, so we propose legislation that makes purchasing and owning SUV's prohibitively expensive." "We know that stem-cell research can potentially alleviate or even cure some of the worst epidemics of our time. Guess what? That means we're killing more babies. May God have mercy on our soul." "We believe that every American has the right to health care, which means we will take steps to move towards a socialized system. This means more of your tax dollars will be taken from you, but this is a cause that is worth it." I don't have time to go over every talking point on the DNC agenda this morning, but you should get the point. What you guys talk about in the liberal circle jerk that is the BS politics forum is not what Kerry talked about in his campaign. You want to win voters - be a little more genuine in your message. And yeah - don't be dillweeds and nominate a frickin' Senator the next time around. They don't win in America. One last thing before I forget, even being honest about your message may not work. A lot of people just disagree with you.
There will always be two parties, to oppose each other if nothing else. I just don't see that much difference between them. A pox on both their houses I say. I even vote Libertarian occassionally, though I didn't this time.
And study after study shows these same people to be more misinformed and ignorant than the average voter about the world they live in. This the reality the Democrats have to learn to address.
This part, I agree with. But just to nitpick... Bush succeeded in painting Kerry's healthcare plan as socialized medicine, which was far from the case. It was a single-buyer insurance plan that would reduce the premium for most Americans. Sure, the setup would have cost money (though no more than Bush's social security privatization), but it would have ultimately reduced the cost to small businesses of offering health benefits and reduced taxpayer burden for unpaid hospital bills of uninsured patients. Your point still stands though - even if there was a good idea, Democrats have abolutely no idea how to articulate it to the average American. And it should be pointed out that the Democratic Party is not the American Liberal Party. It's a center/left party that tries to reach both the left and center/right. It wants to be liberal, but they're too afraid to appear weak on crime, weak on drugs and weak on security. In other words, weak.
How's the smarter-than-you-are water today? Cold? It should be. Maybe it will wake you and your party up, or better yet, since you never got to follow through on your-pre-ejaculation thread, maybe it will help the, uh, blueness. Speaking of "misinformed and ignorant," tell me more about your election predictions, and how they worked out for you... AVATAR.
What was that big blot of land those British ex-pats were travelling to again? What did they call that place? Escapes me at the moment... And as for the Founding Fathers, do you mean... these guys? Ben Franklin: “In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers. Sir. were heard and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor. . . . And have we now forgotten this powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: ‘that God governs in the affairs of man.’ And if a sparrow cannot fail to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial local interest; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or conquest. “I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.” Benjamin Franklin then proposed that the Congress adjourn for two days to seek divine guidance. When they returned they began each of their sessions with prayer. Or maybe you were talking about George Washington, who wrote this before he believed he was going to die at Valley Forge: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God and those who have the superintendence of them into His holy keeping." Godless heathens! Yes, Religion, faith, values, and whatever else you want to call the belief in a higher power have never ever played a part in American Politics. You win.
Maybe that's true about the South. But you have a link about us here in Ted Kaczynski Land (the Intermountain West) not being educated? I think you need a Master's degree to get in the door at the McDonald's in Boulder & Park City.
Oh my. Here's a recipe for 40 years in the wilderness eating manna ... if the W's of the world choose to spread any. Snowball's chance of that.
Boulder is overwhelmingly Democratic. Colorado goes to the Republicans because of Douglas and El Paso Counties which is a special brand of Hell called Highlands Ranch and the religious fanatics that have taken over Colorado Springs. I live in Colorado and work in the south. The Democrats should not try to appeal to the current 'red' voters from those states. The answers to the issues facing the the US will not be answered by these partisan mouth breathers (Hey I know, now that we are in power let's redistrict, so there aren't any more contested races!! That'll be good for the nation!!). How many of Newt Gingrich's 'hundred points of light' or whatever it was have been adressed. I really hope this is the low water mark for the US politically.
A hell of a lot of the country is anti-minority issues, anti-gay, pro-church, pro-gun. In the south, the great plains, and the rocky mountains. I've been to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, S Carolina, and it seems to me they'll vote on those issues alone.