Why is Joe Scarborough one of the only people asking...

[Dawgs]

(paraphrasing) 'Why aren't the Democrat leaders listening to their base?', in reference to how they voted on the Democratic plans for troop withdrawal.

I heard him ask the question twice in the past two days, and I only watched half of two segments.

[LaurenG]

1. That is a great question

Why aren't the democrats listening to their base? I've asked it here many times and most of those I've gotten a good flaming but no good answers.

[TayTay]

4. They don't trust their base

They like to issue orders and expect people to fall in line with those orders. Actually listening to their base would mean and expenditure of people and resources on people that might disagree with them.

The Dems are afraid their base might be liberal and it would be hard to get elected as a 'liberal' This is, of course, non-sense and a self-fulfilling prophecy all at the same time.

Dumb people.

[papau]

2. Perhaps it's because the GOP intern killer defines "base" as far left - &

wants the Dems to go so far left that a GOP win is easily obtained?

[rainy]

3. because their base is LIBERAL and we all know liberals are BAD.

[Minnesota Libra]

5. There's one thing to keep in mind about Liberals, they rarely.............

.....have a unified message.

Be it right or wrong, neocons get together and decide what the message will be and then spend four to eight years repeating that message.

Liberals on the other hand, rarely if ever have a unified message about anything. So how are Democratic Leaders or any Liberal Leaders supposed to please the "Liberal Base" when the liberal base can't decide on what it wants????

Before anyone flames me, stop and think about the infighting that goes on right here at DU over some issues and then multiply that to cover all liberals.

It's no wonder we wonder what our Liberal Leaders are thinking because they are no doubt wondering the same thing about us.:shrug:

[rainy]

11. the real conflict lies in the true LIBERAL message that most

liberals could agree on vs. the corporate democratic issues that are out of line with the real liberal agenda. The neocons, conservatives are mostly all on the corporate page.

[endarkenment]

6. The Democratic Leadership would like to kill their base.

Face it: they hate and despise us. They have hated and despised us since they goofed up in '72 and ran open primaries and we nominated McGovern. They really hate us now because the southern white bigots have all bailed, the union voters all had their jobs outsourced to asia, and we are all that they have left.

They would prefer to run as the tweedledee part of the corporate 'two party' shell game. When the voters get fed up with moronic Republican idiocy, they get the same shit sandwich served to them, with a slightly moderate veneer by the slightly less dim Democratic party.

[livvy]

7. I guess it depends on which "base" you're talking about....

the money base, or the people base?
Reps can't represent the people and ignore where a large part of their campaign money comes from, even in a non-election cycle. Another great reason for campaign finance reform. Representatives freed from the responsibility of raising money can better represent the people, as they would owe their postion to no one but them.

[Cassandra]

8. Much of the Democratic leadership yearn to be...

Republicans but more competent. They've thoroughly absorbed the RW message about liberals and think they could do the Republican version of government but better. Not much to aspire to, is it?

[livvy]

9. No, not at all.

[seabeyond]

10. joe is using this to divide. dems are listening to base.

both plans support withdrawal. it was on technique. how to. the democratic choice to be more in line with casey worked out well as republican yell cut and run dems can confidently and accurately point ot casey and say, ...... say what?

neither were going to go thru, both where the same plan, one more fine tuned. both were good to put out. both suported base. i think dems played this well

but..... what we can do is continue to bash dems giving repugs exactly what they need since they ave absolutely not a leg to stand on

or we can as a group, mob yell bullshit joe. dems are kickin your ass and yawl are going to lose in nov