posted on August 8, 2005 09:13:21 PM new
For the democrats who hold the opinion that things will change in 2006.....
Democrats pursue unity even as party divisions deepen
By Donald Lambro
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 8, 2005
The Democrats' political divisions could be worse than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said they were when she called last month for a cease-fire among the party's warring factions and a renewed focus on beating Republicans in the next election.
Her call for unity came at a time when a major sector of the party's working-class base appeared to be splitting apart, a key Senate Democrat was criticizing his party's credibility on national security and new polling data showed that a majority of the nation's working class has turned against unions, one of the party's most loyal allies.
These developments within the past two weeks have Democrats re-examining their future political strategies:
Two of the country's biggest and most influential labor organizations, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, have left the AFL-CIO, taking $20 million in dues money from the powerful labor federation, which is one of the Democrats' chief donors. Their main complaint: The AFL-CIO spends too much money on election campaigns and not enough on union organizing.
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, former chairman of the centrist-leaning Democratic Leadership Council, which has entered into a strategic political partnership with Mrs. Clinton, said many Americans don't think Democrats "have the backbone" to protect the nation.
"Many Americans wonder if we're willing to use force to defend the country even under the most compelling circumstances," Mr. Bayh told the Associated Press last week.
In another setback for unions, who have long been a pivotal voter constituency for the Democrats, a national survey of nonunion workers by independent pollster John Zogby found that only one-third of workers want to unionize their workplace, while a 56 percent majority do not.
With union membership in the midst of a sharp downturn, "these survey results seem to indicate that, under present circumstances, no amount of organizing effort would be able to turn around the decline," said David Denholm, president of the Public Service Research Foundation, which funded the poll.
Democratic strategists acknowledge that their party is undergoing a sometimes divisive debate about the party's direction after last year's election losses, but view this as a natural process of recovery.
"I think it's normal for a party to go through what the Democratic Party is going through after a loss. People are looking to see what we need to do differently that will put us back into the majority," said Maria Cardona of the New Democrat Network.
Mrs. Cardona says it is "too early to tell what kind of effect [the AFL-CIO's breakup] will have" on the party, but agreed with Mr. Bayh "that we need to formulate a message of confidence that we are willing to use force to secure this nation."
Meantime, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean has announced that he has put or is in the process of putting dozens of paid party organizers in 25 states as part of his drive to rebuild the party's grass-roots campaign apparatus.
"Nearly 90 [regional organizers] have been recruited so far, and more come on every day," the DNC said in a memo to its members.
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So....no wonder the democratic party is not able to do much of anything besides complain about what IS being done. They can't decide if they want to present themselves as the far left deanites...the angry dems from moveon.org....or side with hillary on a more centeralist party platform, like hillary's pretending to represent. LOL
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"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
[ edited by Linda_K on Aug 8, 2005 09:19 PM ]
posted on August 9, 2005 06:00:22 AM new
I don't think they will reach a consensus on what they are and what they represent. They can't seem to come up with any type of platform, they start fighting amongst themselves and implode.
We saw a version of that yesterday on the Daily Kos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline
posted on August 9, 2005 07:40:42 AM new
No, you got a view of linda's propensity to distort. She tried to represent a parody of Republican tactics as Democratic tactics.
posted on August 9, 2005 07:49:33 AM new
And Helen starts her 1st brain washing session of the post...
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Dean Says Democrats Must Take Offensive
By CHRISTOPHER GRAFF
Associated Press Writer
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Howard Dean gives Republicans credit for one thing: They have put the Democrats on the defensive and forced them to fight on their turf. That, he said, is about to change.
"What the propagandists on the right have done is make people afraid to say they are Democrats," Dean told a gathering of Vermont Democrats. "We have to be out there. We have to be vocal. We have to be pushing our version of the facts because their version of the facts is very unfactual."
After visiting 30 states in the first six months as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Dean said Monday he has found "There are Democrats everywhere."
The key to success is making those Democrats proud of their party, Dean said, by taking the offensive and fighting on Democratic turf.
"We need a message. It has to be clear," he said. "The framing of the debate determines who wins the debate.
"Running away from issues is how you lose elections," said Dean, a former Vermont governor.
"We need to position ourselves as the party of change," he said. "I think we have learned that when big changes happen in the House and Senate, they happen because one party nationalizes the race and becomes the change agent."
Dean detailed his 50-state strategy to hire and finance from national coffers organizers in every state, saying that the party is on track to have organizers in every state by the end of the year.
"Vote by vote, precinct by precinct, door by door, year by year and election by election, we will take this country back for the people who built it," he said.
In his speech Dean talked about the growing diversity in America and how well that diversity meshes with the message and membership of the Democratic Party.
"The face of the Democratic Party is such that it looks like all of America will look in 2050," said Dean.
Dean's speech Monday night came at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee.
Among those attending were U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Jim Jeffords, as well as U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, who is seeking Jeffords' seat in the Senate. Both Jeffords and Sanders are independents but both caucus in Washington with the Democrats.
State Sen. Peter Welch, a candidate for Sanders' House seat, spoke at the reception, as did Scudder Parker, who is challenging the re-election next year of Gov. Jim Douglas.
"Why, it appears that we appointed all of our worst generals to command the armies and we appointed all of our best generals to edit the newspapers. I mean, I found by reading a newspaper that these editor generals saw all of the defects plainly from the start but didn't tell me until it was too late. I'm willing to yield my place to these best generals and I'll do my best for the cause by editing a newspaper." --Robert E. Lee
[ edited by Bear1949 on Aug 9, 2005 07:52 AM ]
posted on August 9, 2005 09:18:31 AM new
No, crowfarm/mg, the Republicans are Elephants....big and strong...with excellent memories. Democrats are well....some call them donkeys...others use different names for them.
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Yes, bear, you have to love a party leader that after almost FIVE years is still repeating the same old line, "We need a message. It has to be clear," he said.
Think they'd have one after all this time.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on August 9, 2005 10:28:42 AM newthe Republicans are Elephants....big and strong...with excellent memories
Hopefully the Elephants will take a cue from their friends the Woolly Mammoth and become extinct.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
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President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
posted on August 9, 2005 12:39:25 PM new
The demomorons will continue to implode as long as they get more pleasure from saying 'I told you so' rather than 'welcome aboard'.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
__________
The Islamofascist fig-puckers are fighting to spread their culture and religion, and to destroy ours
posted on August 9, 2005 01:04:43 PM new
Since the beginning...does anyone know which party has held office the most? I tried to google it and can't find an answer.
Thanks Maggie
posted on August 9, 2005 04:37:44 PM newDo you know what that black stuff is between elephants toes?
And here I thought it was their own dung that they like to play in.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
----------------------------------
President George Bush: "Over time the truth will come out."
President George Bush: "Our people are going to find out the truth, and the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind."
Bush was right. The truth did come out and the facts are he misled Congress and the American people about the reasons we should go to war in Iraq.
They can't decide if they want to present themselves as the far left deanites...the angry dems from moveon.org....or side with hillary on a more centeralist party platform, like hillary's pretending to represent. LOL
Caroline 