DrTorch Wrote:Instead of looking for a demon behind every door, why not simply apply Occum's Razor: The Democratic Platform is not popular w/ the majority of Americans.
Because the presidential election was very, very close.
I know conservatives want so desperately to believe the 2004 elections represented a final, permanent, generational repudiation of what Democrats stand for.
But they reach that conclusion at their own peril.
The Bush administration is now earnestly spinning its tight victory into a mandate for its domestic agenda, and nothing could be further from the truth. Very little of the presidential election was about domestic issues. Most of what Bush stands for on domestic issues is unpopular with the American public -- and will become much more so as it is better understood.
Over the past 35 years, the GOP has very successfully stiched together conservative Christian social stances with Wall Street laisse faire ideology and a heavy dollop of anti-establishment populism.
But the rubber is starting to meet the road. The GOP
is the establishment now, meaning the populist rhetoric will inevitably be ceded back to the Democratic Party (where, frankly, it belongs, as any student of American history should understand).
Almost as inevitable is that the GOP will start carrying Wall Street's water. That's what this Social Security privatization is about. That's what tax cuts for the wealthy are about.
But they will do so at their own peril. It will forge a larger Democratic coalition, as increasing numbers of disillusioned middle-class voters abandon the Republican Party.
The third thing I foresee is by no means inevitable, but I think it will start happening: A concerted effort by Democrats to reclaim the language of faith and values.
Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. But he said a great deal about compassion for the poor and reaching out to the least among us.
He also road a donkey into Jerusalem (not an elephant).
Quote:Quote:One crude example was this flyer...
... that was mailed to certain homes in Arkansas proclaiming that liberals will ban Bibles (a similar flier was mailed to homes in West Virginia).
This isn't a message that can be used broadly. Hand these things out in downtown Pittsburgh, and people will just laugh at you because its so absurd.
Maybe you'd do better if you came in w/ less bias. This should be absurd, I agree. But, it isn't.
The idea that a Kerry administration would ban the Bible is completely absurd. Period.
Quote:Quote:If Ohio didn't have a proposal on gay marriage on the ballot, it is quite possible Bush's 112,000-vote margin would have evaporated. (It was clearly put there to motivate Christian conservatives to get out and vote, and it seemed to work).
Who's spinning now?
Why is it that is just put there to get "conservatives to get out and vote"? Why is it so hard to believe that some people have a concern about some issues?
These ideas aren't mutually exclusive. Of course it was popular. But it was also put on ballots in a very calculated effort to motivate conservative Christian voters.
First of all, the constitutional amendment was mostly redundant. The state legislature had already passed a Defense of Marriage Act -- and its lead sponsor, Representative Bill Seitz, had said the constitutional amendment was unnecessary.
Also, where the constitutional amendment wasn't redundant, it was overkill. It looks like state universities may be barred from offering domestic parter benefits, a proposal that would not have been as popular standing on its own. Also, it appears that Ohioans may start using the constitutional amendment to escape domestic violence prosecution for beating their unmarried partners.
Second: Secretary of State Ken Blackwell led the effort to amend Ohio's constitution at the request of the Bush campaign.
<a href='http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories04/04sep24.htm#story5' target='_blank'>http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories...ep24.htm#story5</a>
Third: Consider how quickly Bush dropped the idea of a federal constitutional amendment on marriage once he had won the election.
The bottom line: The enormous force with which the gay marriage issue swamped the United States last year was primarily tactical. It was about re-electing Bush.