A new Web site is aimed at helping Democrats resolve policy differences and develop new ideas. The motivation behind it and other new publications, The Washington Post reported, is the belief that Republicans have been winning the battle of ideas (and elections) in part because conservatives invested in organizations that produced ideas, thinkers, publications, strategists and politicians. One consultant recalled that after asking a focus group of Democrats to list what Democratic accomplishments they were most proud of, “we all realized there was nothing there within the past 30 years.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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38 Comments
“the belief that Republicans have been winning the battle of ideas (and elections) in part because conservatives invested in organizations that produced ideas, thinkers, publications, strategists and politicians.”
Good point. Republicans invest in politics at the bush league. Democrats don’t. It’s not going to be good enough for Democrats to be “not Bush”. If Democrats don’t get on the stick soon, once again they’ll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Without a theme that catches the minds and imagination of voters, plan on spending more time in the swamp.
I’m not real confident.
LMAO. All the Republicans have to do is keep supplying them with rope.
The ideas are out there: Iraq, health care, the job drain caused by NAFTA, immigration and border security among others. The democrats have to get off their blame-game crap and start doing what they used to do best: come up with ideas, So far it appears there’s a fat chance in hell of them doing that.
That is why I’m not impressed with the Democrat Party and usually don’t vote for them.
All they do is complain and talk the good “doom”. The country is going to hell. People need our help. We can help you. We can make it better. Believe in us. Rely on us.
The Democrats have no plan, because they aren’t planners. They only react. What do you expect from the party of the Donkey, KKK and Fred Phelps.
Joe,You forgot “unions and dope smokers” – your rhetoric is failing you today?
And Joe, you’re not keeping up with Ann Coulter unless you tie democrats to pedophiles. Get with the program, boy.
DD thanks for your comments. You, as a leftist Democrat, just proved my point.
Actually Joe, I am an unaffiliated voter. Your sweeping generalizations based solely on your fantasies prove my point. Thank you very much.
DD,
Are you really an “unaffliated voter?”
In my studies in politics, we learned that most of the people who claim to be “independents” or “unaffliated” happen to vote for a particular party over 80% of the time.
I am sure you probably consider yourself to be “unaffliated” but seeing as you seem to never have a good thing to say about Republicans, it is safe to bet that you do support the Democrats and their policies over 80% of the time.
Of course this is all assumption, but based on your posting here I would say it is pretty close.
Of course you could just tell us who you vote for and how many were democrats vs. republican.
The dems have plenty of ideas but most of those are lousy! The repukes, before the zionist takeover had no ideas, they merely went around trying to undo all the stupidity that them dems tried to undertake. Now, both parties are almost indentical and differ only on the periphery.
The FBI, in 1999 put out a white paper in which they predicted, with near certainty that there would be race/civil war within 7-15 years. I for one fell that the FBI’s prognostication will come to pass but I don’t fear it, I welcome it! There is no non-violent solution to our problems and the scum will have to removed from power by force.
Viva La raza Blanco!!!Viva La Revolucion Blanco!!!
See there you go Nathan.
You make the jump that as an “unafilliated voter” DD or me is required to cite just how many Republicans we have voted for. I’ll answer the question as appplies to me. NONE. I am not afilliated with the DNC because they have become GOP lite, not because I embrace anything GOP. In a hopelessly GOP state like Kansas, I am more inclined to vote Green party on most issues.
Democrats need to return to their core ideas. Enough with the pandering to the squishy middle. Too they need to quit letting the right define them. When the right questions Dem patriotism, the DNC needs to say back “Yeah? You love the troops? What is putting them in harms way and getting them killed , “tough love”?” When the right calls Dems Godless or Christian bashers, the DNC needs to remind citizens that as the party of environmental protection,and helping the downtrodden Dems are better examples of stewards for the Earth and keepers of their fellow man. When the GOP calls Dems the party of “no ideas”, the Dems need to respond with their core ideas and quite rightly note that the GOP is the party of bad and failed ideas.
In short, the Dems need to take off the gloves and loudly tell people “Look around! Had enough?”
Yes, the dems need to return to their anti-White, uber high taxation, anti gun policies of the past. the dems can appease the ragheads and invite every filthy third worlder who isn’t getting enough to eat and provide them wwith welfare, public housing and affimative action.
What is the difference between a liberal and a leftist?
V.L.R.B!!
I support Democrat positions and candidates, but 80% would be a stretch. If for no other reason than there are so few Democratic candidates running in Kansas. I send money to and support my moderate Republican state representative. I vote against certain candidates in the Republican primaries — where most of the real decisions are made in Kansas. Hope that clarifies it for you, Nathan.
Actually most people who claimed to be an unaffilated voter are people who don’t care or just not informed about politics.
I’m going to actually call you out DD and say that you probably have never send money to a candidate and voted in a primary. You have to registar yourself as a Republican to vote in the Republican Primaries. We don’t have an open primary in Kansas.
Ian
Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value.[1] Broadly speaking, liberalism seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of minorities are protected
Leftism – refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. [1] As an economic system, Leftist is usually associated with state or collective ownership of the means of production. This control, according to Leftist, may be either direct, exercised through popular collectives such as workers’ councils, or it may be indirect, exercised on behalf of the people by the state.
Joe, actually Liberals are leftists but not all leftists are liberals.
Joe,
Again you are just wrong in your unfounded suppositions.
Voting in the Republican primary as an unaffiliated voter is very simple, but it does take a little bit of effort. Let me walk you through it. To vote in the Republican primary, I have to declare myself as a Republican. I go to the Courthouse and do that. I then get a ballot, vote and go home. The day after I vote, I go back to the court house and re-register as an unaffiliated voter.
I have given money to both Republican and Democratic candidates. I don’t know how to prove that to you and frankly your opinions about what I do could matter less to me.
It is too bad the Democratic party is not stronger in Kansas. If it were, perhaps the Repubs would be more inclined to field better and more moderate candidates.
Are we in this together or should we go it alone? This is question that Democrats need to be asking.
It’s unfortunate to read the previous postings. One would think that a thread on the new ideals of a major political party would produce a thoughtful discussion on the issues facing our country today. Instead, all I read is nonsense put forward by idealogues hiding behind usernames. Politics should look more like a conversation, not a boxing match.
As for me, I believe that the common good is the single greatest concept that can lead the Democratic party back to majority status. For too long our country has been consumed by self interest and greed at the expense of our greater common purpose. I describe this as the common good, a moral concept rooted in all religious traditions.
The central question of politics should not be, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” It should be, “How can ‘we’ -all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable – be better off in the years ahead. (Catholic Bishops)
This is the central idea of the common good and it’s gaining traction. I welcome the debate.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=67574
“LMAO. All the Republicans have to do is keep supplying them with rope.”
Well, JackStraw, I’d say it’s the Republicans who have become pros at hanging themselves. Checked any polls lately?
Good concept, FTCG. Let’s hope you get some honest dialogue going here.
The Democrats have their slate, so to speak. It’s answering the “how’s” that they need to focus on. Just wanting to do something and knowing it needs to be done, doesn’t make it happen.
The Dems need to come out swinging (not slinging, like the Reps.), and I’ll continue to say that until they do it.
Long nic ya got there For.Or maybe we will call ya FTCG. Or maybe “good”.
Uh …….Welcome to the forum? Making your very first post an attack on other posters is not the best way to introduce yourself!
“idealogues hiding behind usernames”…….
I take it “For the” is your given and “Common Good ” your surname then?No? J R are my intials by the way.Politics is not a boxing match. It has devolved to all out war. What is debatable is whether whether both sides are getting in the required shots. Republicans are going to have trouble debating “the common good”. They really do not care about that.
I agree with your sentiments and I do welcome you to the forum. Just needed to take ya to task for a few inconsistencies there.
We have a poster named Nathan here. He often asks me where my morality comes from.
Hey Nathan this guys nic explains it.
It will be interesting to see your future posts For.
Joe – some of us find ourselves ‘unaffiliated’ because we don’t agree totally with either party. I have worked on campaigns for both Dems and Reps; including the freshman campaign of the man who is now speaker of the House (Hastert R-IL)
Great minds think alike RD.
I was typing mine while you were posting. FTCG it is then.
Ya gotta watch out for Joe Williams FTCG. He takes some pretty gymnastic leaps sometimes.
He asserts that unaffiliated voters are mostly uninterested and uninformed about politics. Hogwash. Any moron can affiliate themselves with a party and vote a straight ticket. Kansas has no shortage of them (mostly voting GOP by the way). Those who get outside the parties are the really interested and informed folks. I myself jumped the DNC ship over immigration.
I see room for the DNC to go left. I see nothing of interest in the GOP at all.
Democrats can’t think of any accomplishments??!! How about a balanced budget for one thing, Mr. Brownlee? Not only that, how about a SURPLUS which Bush has squandered. Jeez!
The Republicans? They’ve simply lied and pulled the wool over the voters’ minds. As Newt Gingrich and Henry Hyde were harping against Clinton, for example, they were off with their own young things. It’s like Hitler taking the Rhine without a fight–it worked once, hey, let’s try it again.
Actually JR. It is the other way around. Democrats vote straight ticket. Republicans don’t! That is why Sebelius got elected.
And DD, so you do the ol’ switch-a-roo on your affliation. Glad to see you be a Republican from time to time.
JR! My stance on unaffliated voters stand. Most of them are not interested. Sweeping generality is the truth. I’m not tagging all, but most.
I’m about as informed as anybody on here. I vote for good candidates, not party affliation. In this election, I too am working on both a Republican campaign and a Democrat one. But the sweeping generalization of Republicans are so wrong, just reteric coming from this blog.
DD, I appolgize. I had to call you out, but I believe you.
“Democrats need to come up with new ideas”
Or phrased another way, “when are democrats going to stop beating their wives?”
Maybe for instance a former Democratic Vice-President could tour the country warning of global warming and have it turned into a barn-burning documentary?
Or maybe a 37 year veteran of the Marine Corps and US Senator John Murtha could demand that Bush set a time table for withdrawl from the war without end in Iraq?
Or maybe Dem leaders like Howard Dean and Kucinich could get some media time on their nationalized health care proposals?
No ideas . . . or is it that the media (NY Times) will run a front page article on the state of the Clinton’s marriage and ignore the ideas coming from the Democratic Party?
The ideas are there. The people paying attention hear them.
Corporate media makes sure the sheeple get nothing.
Good points DemsRising. There is a lot oging on; the media just isn’t interested. One problem is that REAL issues are not amenable to the one-syllable soundbites the media like.
Yup, the Democratic Party is the home of all the deep thinkers.
And they freely admit they are bereft of ideas and accomplishments. I’m sure the message will resonate with voters in November.
“And they freely admit they are bereft of ideas and accomplishments.” – WRONG!
“And DD, so you do the ol’ switch-a-roo on your affliation. Glad to see you be a Republican from time to time.”
I can stand being a Republican for a day. I told a friend that my Republican day is one where I take a lot of showers. As unaffiliated voter, I don’t have to declare a party to vote in the general election.
“It is too bad the Democratic party is not stronger in Kansas. If it were, perhaps the Repubs would be more inclined to field better and more moderate candidates”
I agree with RD that they should come out swinging. I see how this “nice guy” stuff is causing them to finish last. They are being oh so polite as they march off in lock step to their collective political graves.
If they dont take off the gloves and fight like they mean it… then they need to lay up on the porch and whine with the little dogs.
They also need to quit being republican lite. Tom Sawyer said years ago that given the choice between a real republican and a fake one, the public will chose the real one every time.
Could they, in kansas especially, actually BE A REAL SOMETHING instead of a fake republican? I think william jefferson sebelius is the only one who can pull that off in this state.
And we all know how well she does party building….
Well now, this good ole boy from Alabama is one Dem that has ideas, and some real good ones at that! rotflmosrfao
Holocaust denier draws 160,000 votesFriday, June 09, 2006By TAYLOR BRIGHTTimes Montgomery Bureau tbright@htimes.comDemocrats call AG candidate’s strong showing ‘embarrassing’
MONTGOMERY – Larry Darby believes that Jews exaggerated the Holocaust, that the country should be all-white and that illegal immigrants should be shot on sight.
In Madison County, Darby received more votes Tuesday than his opponent for attorney general in the Democratic primary, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr.
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Huntsville wasn’t alone. Darby received more votes statewide than former Chief Justice Roy Moore did in the Republican primary for governor.
Darby, a Montgomery lawyer, had 52 percent of the county’s votes to Tyson’s 48 percent, though Tyson won the Democratic primary. In fact, Huntsville was the only major metropolitan area that voted for Darby. And he got more votes in Madison County, the third-largest county in Alabama, than former Gov. Don Siegelman, who was running in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
State Rep. Randy Hinshaw, D-Meridianville, calls the Darby vote totals “embarrassing.”
Republicans are gloating.
“I think it is noteworthy that the Democratic Party had an atheist candidate and avowed Holocaust denier get so many votes in their primary,” said Tim Howe, executive director of the Alabama Republican Party.
Why did Madison County vote for Darby?
“I had a message,” Darby said. “John Tyson Jr. had no message.”
CONTINUED 1 | 2 | 3 Nexthttp://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1149844720319270.xml&coll=1
Viva La Raza Blanco!!!
ALABAMA . . . Neil Young was right . . .
Anyway, to find out what Dems believe, the Eagle could have simply gone to their website. What a concept!
A Strong Economy
If you want job creation, a strong economy, and a fiscally responsible federal government, there’s only one choice: vote for Democrats. History has proven that Democrats know what it takes to keep our economy growing.
Expanding economic opportunity.
Democrats believe that the most effective means of increasing opportunity for our families is a high quality, good paying job. We are committed to expanding economic opportunity to all Americans and creating the new jobs of the future.
Fiscal responsibility.
The Democratic Party believes in balanced budgets and paying down our national debt, while Republicans continue to put huge burdens on future generations by borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars from foreign nations.
Fair trade.
Creating jobs at home means opening markets abroad. The Democratic Party supports fair trade agreements that raise standards for workers abroad while making American business more competitive. We will also fight for stronger enforcement of our existing trade agreements.
Education
Democrats know that the key to expanding opportunity is to provide every child with a world-class education. We want to meet our responsibilities to America’s children by ensuring that our schools have the resources they need to help our kids meet high standards.
Democrats will also help expand educational opportunities for college by providing relief from skyrocketing college tuition, increasing the size and access to Pell Grants and supporting proven programs that encourage more young people to attend and succeed in college. Read more about this topic…
Retirement Security
Democrats believe that after a life of hard work, you earn a secure retirement. Our commitment to protecting the promise of Social Security is absolute. We will not allow anyone to endanger Social Security or take even a single step toward dismantling it. We are open to any and all ideas that ensure that the current and future generations of retirees receive the benefits they were promised without heaping trillions onto our national debt.
Democrats also recognize that Americans rely on more than just Social Security for a secure retirement. Democrats will continue to fight for genuine pension reform that protects working families from future Enron-style abuse. We also want to work on new ways to help hard-working Americans create retirement savings. Read more about this topic…
Affordable Health Care
In the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth, no one should have to choose between taking their child to a doctor or paying the rent. Democrats are committed to making sure every single American has access to affordable, effective health care coverage.
We can make sure every American has that access while preserving the high quality of our health care and keeping the choices that we enjoy. We can leave decisions about health care to patients and doctors, keeping the government and insurance companies out.
Democrats will not stop fighting this battle until every single American has access to the health care they need. Read more about this topic…
Honest Government
The Democratic Party is committed to genuine reform that protects our rights and ensures that elected officials act ethically — not just within the law, but within the spirit of the law.
An honest and ethical government requires constant vigilance and a continuous dedication to reform. Democrats support reform principles that preserve the people’s trust in government.
It was overwhelming support from Democrats that allowed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform to pass. Democrats continue to making protecting and promoting our right to vote a top priority. And Democrats in Congress are leading the fight for a meaningful ethics process that holds everyone — including the leadership — responsible for their actions.
Election Reform
A fundamental tenet of our democracy is our right to vote and to have that vote counted. But we must be vigilant in protecting those rights and ensuring that our voting system works for every American.
Democrats are determined to reforming the voting system in this country to create federal standards for our elections. Our voting system must include verification, accountability, and accuracy. Democrats want to increase access to polls with Election Day registration, shorter lines, and early voting. We also want to modernize election equipment and increase impartiality.
Protecting Our Environment
The Democratic Party believes that it is our responsibility to protect America’s extraordinary natural resources. The health of our families, the strength of our economy, and the fate of our world all depend on our stewardship of the environment.
We reject the false choice between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. We know instead that farming, fishing, tourism, and other industries require a healthy environment. We know new technologies that protect the environment can create new high-paying jobs. We know a cleaner environment means a stronger economy.
Far too many Americans live with unhealthy air or water quality. Democrats will fight to strengthen the laws that ensure we have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. And Democrats will make sure these laws our enforced. Rising rates of asthma and mercury poisoning are just two of the dire consequences of ignoring environmental problems.
Democrats know that a sensible energy policy is key to a strong economy, our national security, and a clean environment. Democrats are committed to the next generation of affordable and renewable energy for the 21st center and to conservation measures — like increased CAFE standards — that will immediately reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Kinda impossible to miss the utter lack of a foreign policy plank in _that_ wan watery soup of Democrat platitudes thinly disguised as a platform. For example, what about Iraq? Iran? Syria? Israel? North Korea? Russia? Taiwan? Venezuela? Cuba? France? UN corruption?
*yawn*
A fatal ommission, unfortunately. If that’s the Democrat platform, then once again the elections would appear to be the Republicans to lose.
Where are the ideas?
$0.02
I suspect that if you look you will find ideas in foreign policy as well. Not the kind of simplistic mono-syallabic talking points the drug-addled Ditto-heads like nor the “America conquers the world” of PNAC. And DEFINITELY not “continue the same failed policies” the BushBots offer!
Well, Duuuh!
“I suspect that if you look you will find ideas in foreign policy as well.”Posted by: Ben Huie | July 03, 2006 at 09:25 PM
I think you’ll have to look pretty hard to find a Democrat idea beyond the grassroots idea of “get out” (unless you count “get out now”).
This is not good for the Democrats. And it’s a direct result of the party’s vigorous attempt to stick it’s head in the sand, whenever Iraq comes up, rather than come up with A Position. For instance, John Murtha has proposed redeployment, but you never hear the Democrat party say this. It’s not a plank – yet. See the front page NYT analysis below for an example of just how this may cost the Democrats at the polls.
The Democrats ooze indecision when it comes to foreign policy. In these times a voter shouldn’t have to “look hard” to see where they stand.
————————————-
Senator’s Plan B Creates Quandary for Democrats
By PATRICK HEALY and JENNIFER MEDINAPublished: July 4, 2006
…Leaders of the national Democratic Party, like Mr. Dean, the chairman, and Charles S. Schumer, who is leading the effort to regain control of the Senate, may have to choose between Mr. Lieberman and an antiwar Democrat in the fall, when they had hoped to make Iraq squarely the president’s problem.
…Yet with Iraq a dominant issue this summer, Republican leaders could not be happier to see a Democratic incumbent, even a sometime ally of theirs, hoisted on that one issue. Nothing would delight Republicans more than having Lieberman and Lamont candidacies split the Democratic vote this fall and possibly help Republicans cement their control of the Senate — although polls show the Republican candidate for the Connecticut seat, Alan Schlesinger, far behind.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/nyregion/04antiwar.html?hp&ex=1152072000&en=efcfdbe9cbb5021d&ei=5094&partner=homepage