Warner Voices Frustration With Democrats

[Perky]

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Mark Warner, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, voiced growing concern Tuesday with his party's electoral strategy, arguing that Democrats' willingness to write off sections of the country could make it nearly impossible to win the White House.

"I got pretty frustrated after 2004," said the former Virginia governor. "We are making a mistake if we put up candidates that are only competitive in 16 states and then we roll the dice and hope we win Ohio or Florida."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Warner insisted he wasn't being critical of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, whom he called "a very strong candidate." But Warner said Democrats must stop conceding entire regions of the country.

"We do our party and the country a disservice if we're not competitive in the South and the balance of the Midwest," Warner said. "I'm disappointed in campaigns that write off the South and leave behind wide swaths of our country."

"We've got to have candidates who can campaign not only in Ames, but at NASCAR races, candidates who can campaign in the barrio and changing communities," Warner said. "We've got to have a message that's more focused on solutions than simply focused on criticism."

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_WARNER?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-08-29-23-33-41

[Dover]

1. "not competitive in the South"

Kind of creating an argument for his own candidacy isn't he?

[FSogol]

2. Why not? Warner makes a good candidate. n/t

[Clark2008]

5. Because of the corporate ties.

I'd rather Warner be there than McCain, but, honestly, I'm so tired of both parties kissing corporate ass.

[liberaldemocrat7]

7. Governor Warner, the South appears filled with unreconstructed confederate

Governor Warner, the South appears filled with unreconstructed confederate dumfucks.

They hate the poor, blacks, unions, disabled people, people getting TANF'ed. They side with the republicans even though they don't earn much more than middle class or lower middle class incomes.

They may have the votes but we can whack the Republicans corporate donors figuratively in the shins with consumer boycotts and actually drive the legislation process even if the Republicans take the presidency again.

[Perky]

8. I smell stereotyping...in stereo no less

That include our last three Four Democratic Presidents?

LBJ Carter, Clinton and Gore?

[liberaldemocrat7]

16. No, there exist plenty of good white Southern people.

I'm talking about the ones who vote REPUBLIKLAN.

[Perky]

17. Just remember they user to be our idiots and we should want them back

[Perky]

3. Oh he definitely is going to run as the Southern candidate

The interesting thing to me is how similar his comments are to Howard Dean's in 2004

He mentioned NASCAR, but never mentioned Dixie Decals on pick-up trucks.

Saying that The Bubba vote is important for any candidate to mention.

[HereSince1628]

9. I'd say. If you look at regionalism, it's a two sided coin...

Looking at our losses vs our wins since 1968 you might just as easily get the impression southern Democrats are more southern than Democratic and rather less inclined to vote for someone from a certain 16 northern states.

Frankly, I think this is well worn DLC talking point. It's somewhat important to consider in this analysis that the DLC was in large part organized as an alternative good old boy system to the party bosses from those 16 northern states.

Elite democratic good old boy systems more interested in incumbency than productivity, wherever the hell they come from, are just what progressives don't want anymore. We've had plenty of that since 1994 and support for rule by self-proclaimed leaders who can't even mount opposition let alone get anything done has reached a low ebb.

Since I can't recall any candidate actually writing off the south in 2000 or 2004 in my book I score Warner's comments as minus 10 to House Hufflepuff for the use of a straw man against other Democrats.

[Surya Gayatri]

12. Yeah, not just a slight bit self serving? n/t

[Clark2008]

4. I have a better Southern candidate in mind

One that won't be considered by "the Bubbas" as a wimp.

[Perky]

6. Gee I wonder who? :)

I am completely ambivalent about your guy. I honestly do not think he would win unless we are attacked again. Not because he is not right on the issues. I just think there is going to be a hugern Iraq fatigue in 2008 and the nation is oing to want to domesttic issues.

Wes has got fine credentials for a wartime president, but I am not sure he can run on failure in Iraq.

Now having said that...how about an Obama-Clark ticket?

[Clark2008]

10. I think Clark as VP would be an incredible waste of his creds.

If he's not president, then he should be secretary of state.

(He can't be Def. Sec. He has to be out of active-duty service for 10 years to do that and, in 2008, it will only be eight years out. It's federal law.)

[Perky]

11. Nah My guy for state is Bill Ruchardson

[truebrit71]

19. Clark - Obama more like....

....but I think sadly that the colour of Obama's skin would outweigh any 'southern' votes the General would garner...

[Perky]

24. I think you are wrong about Obama on two counts

First. The SOuth is used to African-American leadership particularly in the big cities. They have been electing blylacks to Mayors for years. And bluntly none are as articulate and charismatic as Obama. I suspect he will be viewd with more suspeicion from the black power structure in the south than from White Suburbanites.

The other thing is that Obama is Waaaaay to charismatic to play second fiddle. Its not about his ego as much as it is about the top of the ticket being outshone by his 100 watt personality and intellect.

[truebrit71]

25. You may be right....But Obama needs to earn his bones first...

...and he's made far too many centrist noises for my liking....

[Perky]

26. He has great political instincts...but you are right he is too green f

for 2008.

[Surya Gayatri]

13. He appears to have overlooked

Dean's 50-state strategy in his calculations. SG

[Perky]

14. He did not say he was going to ignore blue states.

He simply said that we can't subcribe to an electoral calculus the says the Repukes win 32 states we get 16 and we hope things vbreak our way in Ohio or Florida.

[Surya Gayatri]

22. My point was simply that ,

no matter who ends up as the Dem Pres candidate in '08, there will be a 50-state wide effort to get him/her elected thanks to Dean's strategy.

[mmonk]

15. Warner needs to learn that southern democrats

aren't southern republicans. No, don't forsake the south, but don't treat southern dems as if they have to be appeased or talked to as southern republicans. That has been the problem the whole time with a DLC approach to the south. Nearly all the old dixiecrats made the switch to the republican party a long time ago and it was more or less finalized through Reagan. Southern dems aren't different from dems elsewhere and you're not going to get fundamentalist republicans to vote for democrats. You need to solidfy the base and appeal to independents with good reasoning and ideas.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. That Is A Most Cogent Point

I think there is actually a myth that there are southern democrats voting for republicans. The people voting for republicans in the south are just as much republicans as those who voted for Keyes or Silverspoon here in Illinois.

They're NOT democrats voting against their own interests because dems don't resonate. They are REPUBLICANS! Quit worrying about getting republicans to vote for democrats and just focus on standing for issues of interest to liberal leaning indepenents and dems.
The Professor

[Frances]

18. Good post and good replies thus far

Thanks for the interesting read

[WI_DEM]

20. Warner is absolutely right and others have been saying this too

[mitchtv]

27. Oh God another MOR Dem about to ignore my state

worth more than most of the southern states. Time to take the Western states for granted... again.
Ps... Keep California a late primary so they don't get a say, only a "verify"

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Another voice from the "not as bad" wing of the party.