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Nov. 4, 2004 The Democratic Party has lost the 2004 election by a stunning margin. Popularly, it was slim, at 51% to 49%. However, when it is calculated in that the Republican Party swept seats up through the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the toll becomes higher. Note also the loss of my boss, Democratic Governor Joe Kernan, and the loss of many state-level Democratic positions, and you begin to see what is going on. In short, the Democratic Party as it stands right now is in a state of bloodletting. Many staffers and strategists will be let go, and James Carville will again be leading the fray by slicing into people like Bob Shrum and the various remaining Gore advisers. D emocrats must realize that we will never be able to win an election if we follow in the path we are going on right now. We cannot win without the south - or at least the midwest - and we cannot win if the Republican Party continues to trump us on national security and moral values. The ghost of Bill Clinton will fade, and by 2008, when the unique and uncanny magic of George W. Bush's connection to the people is gone, the two challengers for the White House will have an even race ahead of them. The list of candidates on both sides is equally large: Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, Condi Rice, among others. All of these candidates have positive and negative factors, but it is the Democrats who must work the hardest to correct the massive steering errors that have been allowed to kill us slowly for so long. We must not allow social and ethical issues to trump us. The top voting issue in the 2004 election was "Moral Values." When a campaign is waged on the moral grounds, George W. Bush will always win. His personal appeal is something unseen in a Republican since Reagan, and the nominee in 2008 will have very large shoes to fill. Republicans should not go into it expecting automatic reception as they can with George W. Bush. Democrats must focus on honing national security, coming to a moderate but acceptable view on social issues, and must not allow themselves to be cast as irreligious any longer. John Kerry's fundamental failure was that he did not connect with voters on a personal level, as Bill Clinton did, and as George W. Bush does. John Kerry dove into a negative message before gaining the trust of the people, and the backlash in Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico and Florida proved that. It was proven in the Kernan v. Daniels campaign I took part in: Mitch Daniels spent 18 months on the road, introducing himself to voters. Joe Kernan spent 7 months attacking Daniels. The result? 54 - 45 Daniels, and a GOP pickup of Indiana's Statehouse. This sudden tide of Republicanism will fade, as all things in politics eventually do. However, we must now accept that we have been crushed, routed, and battered. We must spend the next four years honing our points, striving for a unified, positive message, and not allowing negative campaigning to make the bulk of our candidates' agenda. Evan Bayh, a possible Presidential candidate and Senator from my home of Indiana, is among the most looked at for 2008. He supplies the moderation that is necessary in a rejuvenated Democratic Party. It is advice that should be heeded. ------------ About the author: Max Burns is a 17-year-old Democrat with moderate, centrist ideals. He blames John Kerry's 2004 loss on John Kerry, and is authoring a pamphlet on how to refine the Democratic Party for Victory in 2008 and beyond. For more information, check out The New Democrat. Read the fantasy-fiction novel "Alcardia". Email: DeMBurns@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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