HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
June 13, 2006 In just under five months, voters will weigh a war in its junior year, ethics scandals, lobbyists and an increasingly unpopular president as they cast their votes for congresspersons and senators. Democrats are confident that the public's vocal distaste of 'business as usual' will translate into their own advancement, much like 1994, when Republicans swept Democrats out of control of the House amid similar scandals. That rosy evaluation, however, may turn out to be woefully premature. Competitive races like those in Ohio, where veteran Congressperson Sherrod Brown will face down Republican Senator Mike DeWine; and Democrat Claire McCaskill's dead heat with popular Missouri Republican Sen. Jim Talent have stoked Democratic hopes that the imposing machine of Republican politics may finally be grinding down its gears. Once a pipe dream, the capture of the House of Representatives - a Herculean feat requiring the switching of at least 15 seats - finally seems within reach. Democrats struggle with a unified message, however, in a way that Republicans under New Gingrich's 1994 "Contract with America" never did. State party platforms from conservative Indiana, which boasts two competitive house races, to California and embattled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, lack specific Democratic stands and talking points. The fear among state and national Democrats seems to be that publishing specifics too early might invite criticism from Republicans. This criticism may tilt close races like Indiana's Hill-Sodrel rematch. Hill, the Democrat, lost re-election in 2004 by under 200 votes. He is now slightly ahead of Republican Mike Sodrel. That lack of a specific message - an attempt to please as many voter demographics as possible - may turn out to be the Democrats' unintentional undoing. Democrats are successfully lampooned by opponents as a party that stands for nothing, fecklessly chasing its own tail. In an electorate filled with unrest and prepared to dump unpopular Republicans in favor of any candidate with an new idea, the Democrats' desire to please everyone ends up satisfying no one. Democratic candidates like McCaskill, a moderate who narrowly lost her bid for governor in 2004, are decidedly in the minority. McCaskill has stuck to a message slim on social issues and heavy on what voters are listening to: the War in Iraq, ethics in Washington, and cleaning house. McCaskill declined to have John Kerry or Hillary Clinton campaign for her because she felt it brought into question her moderate message. Voters like her. They connect to her. They admire her persistence and may end up rewarding McCaskill with Sen. Talent's plum seat. Democrats would be wise to follow the lead of moderates like McCaskill: find a message, stick to it, and defend it. Don't be vague - believe what you stand for. Don't try to please everyone - stick to common sense. Don't be afraid to buck the national leadership if state politics runs a different route. Standing up for something may make all the difference come November. ------------ About the author: Max Burns is a 19-year-old moderate Democrat from Indianapolis. He has been moved from the Hoosier Heartland to the moral void that is Washington D.C. to study Government & International Politics at George Mason University. He is also the author of the fantasy novel Alcardia. Email: mburns6@gmu.edu Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
