Michael Dukakis says if Democrats want to win the White House next year, they need to organize in every precinct in America, all 185,000 of them. He told the New York Observer: “We’re not going to outspend the other guys. We’re probably not going to outstrategize them. And some crazy guy will blow up a building with three weeks to go, you know, and then we’ll be back in Bush-land again.” Dukakis, the governor of Massachusetts when he lost the presidential race to George H.W. Bush in 1988, now teaches at Northeastern University in Boston.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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30 Comments
Yup, the dems need to take advise from dukakis. In fact, that loser reminds me of osama obama.
It worked for the religious conservatives. They took over at the precinct levels and built from there. You’d be surprised at how many positions go unchallenged on the lower end of the scale.
We certainly do not need any advice from this idiot. He is absolutely the worst presidential candidate we ever nominated. So bad that even I had to vote for a Republican that year. And thngs have to be REALLY bad for me to do that. Secondly, while I agree that precinct level is important (Richard J Daley anyone?), we certainly do not need to work all 185,000 of them. Because of the Electorial College, we need only work the close precincts in the close states. So if you have a precinct that you lost or won by less than 10% in a state you won or lost by less than 5%, that is where you want to put money and boots on the ground. But don’t waste time and effort in either hopeless states (Kansas) or in states that are already pretty much in the basket (New York).
Ahh, Du-cock-kiss. We hardly knew ye.
Naturally, the liberals will take Kev’s position and ignore what he says.
=)
Sounds like Chairman Dean’s 50-state strategy. Ground war vs. air war. It also sounds like the right way to go, because demographics are on the Democratic side.
Selective strategies of targeting and triangulation serve a minority party on the defensive. Going to ground in every precinct when YOU have a nationwide demographic edge will win you some elections now, and build the party for the future.
That’s one of the things wrong with Bill Clinton: the Democratic Party didn’t go to ground nearly enough, and the party infrastructure was not well-maintained.
Oh, and KSGolfnut (how’s that “choice” of heterosexuality workin’ for ya, pal?): You called me a liar yesterday and said that I ‘make up facts.’
Prove it. Or retract it. Either way is fine by me. But don’t try to call CF2K a name and then run away like a little bitch.
hee hee hee CF. That “run away like a little bitch” is the go to strategy for cowards like the nutty one.
Democrats…organize? Never. Organization takes hard work. The demos keep losing because they are dreamers; not practical people. They dream of a woman, a part black man. They need a common kind of a guy. Yeah, like Bill.
thinkfirst,
That’s a fine word salad you’re serving up today.
Who won the 2006 midterm elections? Oh, right–DEMOCRATS. And we did so through organizing.
The best advertising Democrats have this time around is the slim pickings of the Republican presidential candidates, coupled with the total lack of moral leadership of the Bush Administration.
Bush promised honesty and integrity and what we got was lies, more lies and a senseless war that has cost us billions of dollars.
Bush is the poster boy for the Democrats. Keep his smug face and arrogant attitude in front of the American people and even Dukakis might win this one (and I didn’t like Dukakis either).
The Bush in the flight suit photo will be shown over and over and over again in 2008.
The Republican candidates won’t be able to run away from Bush fast enough.
Even if they are as fast as Tyson Gay.
Amazing,
The Democrats still think they are running against George Bush in the next election.
Amazing stuff.
Amazing.
The Republicans still think that “everything is Bill Clinton’s fault.”
Amazing stuff.
“The Democrats still think they are running against George Bush in the next election.
Posted by: Kansas | August 27, 2007 at 11:30 AM ”
In a way, they are running against Bush.The Dems will try to paint every Repub as close to Bush as possible. Accordingly, the Repubs will try to paint every Dem as close to Clinton as possible.
That is how it works. Marketing is what wins elections. Marketing.
And that’s the problem with Congress. No man has been their own man. And no woman has been their own woman.
Partisan. Partisan. Partisan.
Instead of standing up and doing the right thing for their own home district and for the country as a whole – the Congressmen follow the party line.
And the party line of both party’s has been PORK, PORK, PORK.
Had they done the right thing, they wouldn’t have to stand behind their President or hide from him, when the next election came around.
It looks like WSClark enjoys plagiarizing what I write.
“It looks like WSClark enjoys plagiarizing what I write.”
Say what?
Right on Max,Can I get an Amen on that?
CF2K’s hat is off. When Max is right, he’s right.
CF2K, however, will still argue that GOP has done more damage, given their proclivity for grandiose schemes and reality denial.
I’m independent, not bragging about either party.
Conservative, in case you didn’t notice.
Mad as H for all the spending increases passed by Congress going back several years, but especially during the last 6 years.
Congress is out of control, certainly not accoutable to the People, and we need to Vote Out Every Incumbent in 2008!
Max I am with you – independant and anti-incumbent.
Lets start fresh with no political parties.
Dukkais made the mistake that every Democratic candidate has made since then.
Not responding to the right-wing hate and smear machine.
Willie Horton sunk Dukkais, just like “inventing the internet” sunk Gore, and Swiftboat Liars sunk Kerry.
What Dems need is to go on the attack just as viciously as they do.
And best of all, we don’t even need to lie about it:
War without end in Iraq.Falling home values.Anemic stock market.Historic high gas and oil.Historic high national debt.Historic high trade deficits.Job loss.Middle class earning less.A broken military.More Americans without health insurance.No progress with alternative fuels.Iraq worse than when we invaded.
“Sounds like Chairman Dean’s 50-state strategy. Ground war vs. air war. It also sounds like the right way to go, because demographics are on the Democratic side.”
I disagree. What Dukakis said was if we Democrats “want to win the White House”. Winning the White House involves winning the Electorial College- not the popular vote. I am not saying that we should not organize in all places- for local, state and Congressional elections. But when it comes to the White House, you do not waste time and money in states where you either have no prayer of winning or in states where winning is pretty much assured. You put your attention in states that you either barely won or barely lost last time. Dean and Dukakis are wrong to suggest that the Democratic nominee spend time and money in places like Alabama where he/she has no chance of winning or in places like New York where a Democratic win is pretty much a sure bet. On the other hand, Kerry invited disaster by being too narrow and putting all his money and effort into one state- Ohio- that he lost. He could have won states like Wisconsin, Florida, Missouri, New Mexico and Colorado if he had put the time, effort and organization there to win them. But the people running his effort were idiots.
Dean
EEEAAAYAHHHH!
:)
“Dukkais made the mistake that every Democratic candidate has made since then.
Not responding to the right-wing hate and smear machine.
Willie Horton sunk Dukkais, just like “inventing the internet” sunk Gore, and Swiftboat Liars sunk Kerry.”
No, Willie Horton did not sink Dukakis. What sunk him was the fact that he was an inept candidate and he came off as a total fake and phony. What really did it for me was his “tank ride”. If you served in the armed forces and were honourably discharged, then you can do such things. If you didn’t then stay the hell out of military uniforms and apparatus. That is what really turned me off about him. That would be like somebody that didn’t serve in Veitnam buying a uniform and marching in a Veitnam Veteran parade.
“Willie Horton sunk Dukkais, just like “inventing the internet” sunk Gore, and Swiftboat Liars sunk Kerry.”
What sunk Gore was 2 things neither one of which was the internet remark. The first and foremost thing that sunk Gore was Janet Reno- Bill Clinton’s Attorney General. Her handling of the Elian fiasco- which was pretty much like her Waco fiasco- was what sunk Gore. That picture of the storm troopers with the machine gun in the face of that kid inflammed the Cubans in Miami. They then went out and put several thousand new Republican voters on the rolls in Florida that cost Gore (and Kerry) that states Electorial College prize. The other thing that sunk Gore was Ralph Nader who took just enough votes away in key states that Gore lost them.
“”The Democrats still think they are running against George Bush in the next election.”
And the Republicans are still running against Bill Clinton!
Typical of leading Democrats. Dukakis sees blowing up a building in political terms only; doesn’t really seem to care if the people in the building would be dead. Representative James Clyburn (D. S.C.) is worried that if the war in Iraq turns favorable to the U.S., that will be a big problem.
And Bush seems to think sacrificing our soldiers for oil in Iraq is a a good political move. I noticed his own two daughters are not in the fight!
Rhonda, didn’t you vote for this moron in ‘88? I’m sure you’re listening to him, fantasizing about a world with President Obama.
CF: your name – “irrelevant”