Tim Kaine says Creigh Deeds lost for failing to energize his base.

madfloridian

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Tue Nov-24-09 07:53 PM
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Tim Kaine says Creigh Deeds lost for failing to energize his base.

I was interested in this post because it is a situation that is repeating itself throughout our party all too often.

Centrist Tim Kaine who is anti-abortion, anti-civil unions, and whose DNC refused to stand up against the Maine anti-gay amendment is blaming Creigh Deeds for not standing with his base.

Howard Dean's DNC donated $25,000 to the coalition fighting Prop 8 in California. Tim Kaine's DNC was specifically asked to donate to "No on 1" in Maine as well. They refused.

I think the DNC owes our community an explanation as to why Organizing for America didn't lift a finger (and President Obama barely did anything) to help defeat the anti-gay referendum in Maine today.

A little irony there.

Here is more from Down With Tyranny:

Tim Kaine Explains Why The Creigh Deeds Strategy Failed

Generally speaking, the outgoing governor of Virginia represents the Establishment or, in Paul Krugman's words about his kind of Democrats, "corporate tools, defending special interests." What he has in common with Dean, though, is that he's smart and he likes to win. There aren't many people better positioned to analyze the spectacular defeat earlier this month of conservative Democrat Creigh Deeds to succeed him in the governor's mansion. Deeds turned Obama's startling 6-point win in Virginia last year into an 18-point ass-whooping this year. How did he do what Republicans haven't been able to accomplish?

Kaine admitted Deeds was "unable to energize his base, falling into a Republican trap that led him to shrink from the president and his policies," exactly what Blue Dogs and cowardly conservative Democrats are doing across the country, where quasi-Democrats like John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA), Parker Griffith (Blue Dog-AL), Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS), Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA), Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL), Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) and John Adler (D-NJ) are preparing to cede their seats to Republicans by re-enacting Deeds' catastrophic campaign strategy.

In a meeting with editors and reporters of the Washington Post, Kaine (D) said Deeds squandered the opportunity to sell his own appealing life story as a guy who had overcome long odds and economic disadvantage. Instead, the rural state senator took the advice of campaign consultants who wrongly assumed Deeds's Democratic support was solid and believed he should instead focus on wooing independents by attacking Republican Robert F. McDonnell.

"After the June primary was done, his advisers basically said, distance yourself from the president. We think we have our base locked down, we've got to win independents. And we're going to win by being negative about McDonnell," Kaine said. "That was the basic strategy they pursued, despite some significant urging to the contrary."

So actually Kaine is right...and his advice should be heeded by the others who are running and ignoring their Democratic base.

DWT continues with his own comment:

When Deeds declared he would opt out of the public option-- the public option being a winner nationally and an overwhelming winner among Democrats-- he opted out of any chance for a victory. What Deeds did was completely de-incentivize the Democratic base to turn out-- why bother if he's just going to be the same piece of crap as the Republican?-- and not only doomed his own chances but killed Democrats in state legislative races where a strong turnout from the base was essential.