New poll paints ugly picture for Dems in 2010

[Danascot]

The reasons for the lack of base enthusiasm are pretty clear: Democrats haven’t delivered on many of their promises. There’s no climate bill or finalized healthcare bill, and yet Democrats managed to pull off the none too easy feat of pissing off both gays and women with their respective sluggishness on repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and allowing the Stupak Amendment to slip into the House’s version of the healthcare bill.

People are losing their jobs and their homes, and all the while they see Washington working tirelessly to protect the bonuses of Wall Street executives who helped tank the economy. Credit card and insurance companies continue to exploit the suffering majority. US troops are still occupying Iraq, President Obama has decided to surge in Afghanistan, and the only thing worse than two wars is three wars, which appears to be the direction we’re heading.

Voters wanted change and hope, and all they’ve gotten is more of the same Bush era policies. Who wants to vote to uphold that kind of sick system?

Despite what some village relics argue, President Obama’s election was a liberal mandate. Voters wanted an anti-Bush administration. There was enormous momentum for change in this country, which is why Democrats won overwhelming victories in both houses.

http://trueslant.com/allisonkilkenny/2009/11/29/new-poll-paints-ugly-2010-picture/

[DainBramaged]

1. The problem is if they don't come out and vote, we are screwed again

Staying home enables the Reich-wing pigs even more. So, we reap what we sow.


Maybe I'll move to England...............

[get the red out]

2. If people let Republicans win they are IDIOTS

No matter what the Democrats do or don't do, allowing the Republicans to win is just like asking for the country to go to completely to hell with no return. I think some Democrats would rather be bitching in absolute hell on earth than to try to keep working with the (even lame) democrats we have to try to gradually accomplish something. Bitching and moaning provide people with some kind of instant gratification I guess, and that's what it's all about in this country anyway.

[Fumesucker]

3. I suspect a lot of people are like me..

Utterly fed up with voting for the lesser of two evils.

Keep in mind that the lesser of two evils is still evil.

It seems we have been doing that since 1980, that's very nearly thirty years, half my lifetime.

I would really like to have a party and a candidate to vote *for* rather than having to vote against the bad guys, time after time after time.

[get the red out]

5. We don't have choices, we have two parties

And given that choice, I would rather not vote for our country to become the Theocratic States of Amurika.

[Fumesucker]

12. How can you work up enthusiasm for the lesser of two evils?

I'm not being sarcastic, that's an honest question.

My enthusiasm level for politicians has reached a nadir where the light from discouraged will take ten billion years to reach me.

I fully expect anyone I might cast my vote for to turn around and screw me before the voting machines have cooled off.

[get the red out]

17. I cannot bear the Religious right and their lust for power

My enthusiasm is HUGE for the Democratic Party in all things, it is driven by my fear and disgust with the religious right and knowing that things could be so much worse.

People who would let them win are selfish. Things will never be all that great in this country, like liberals would like, due to our economic and religious constraints, and we can't do much about that very quickly. We play the cards we are dealt. But they can be so much worse that I am INCREDIBLY ENTHUSIASTIC TO VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS!

The hideous agenda of big religion in this country is beyond description, they cannot be permitted to own the electorate and make the laws. I live in the would-be "Confederate States of Amurika" and I see what these religious nut Republicans (the only damned kind) are all about every day. My home state didn't succeed during the Civil War, but if given a vote, they probably would now because of big religion and it's lies and manipulation. Republican = Corporate = Theocracy. Try a Christian Iran with bigger bombs and more wars, with the added benefit of allowing our own citizens to starve and die and that's why I will always be very enthusiastic to vote for democrats.

[Fumesucker]

21. I don't like 'em either..

Which is why Obama's choice to give the invocation at his inauguration is continuing to make me retch bile.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7114761

Hey, it was only five minutes, right?

Edited to add: And I guess you missed the fact that during the 2008 DNC the Democratic party specifically wooed evangelicals and fundies?

I had an OP about it at the time.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3896421

[get the red out]

24. Just posted that on my FB page - and still support the President

The President did what he felt like he had to do to try to make peace with these people. I still support the President. All he did was try to hold out an "olive branch", while they call for people's deaths. Which one should I support? The decision is clear for me. The decision is between someone like Barack Obama and someone like Rick Warren and his Ugandan buddies, it makes it more clear than ever.

[Fumesucker]

30. So, did Obama's "making peace" with the fundies work?

Seems to me he's being attacked by the fundies every bit as much as he was before Warren took the stage at the inauguration.

There isn't a damn thing that any Democrat can do to make the fundies like them, it isn't going to happen and trying only encourages them.

Edited becuz mah speling iz atrochus tooday.

[get the red out]

34. And letting them win through inaction will work?

He tried, it didn't work, so what? Letting THEM win due to our inaction will be so helpful for this nation, I just can't wait to let the fundies start that Xtian rule like Fat Ricky wants, that'll show 'em, I mean us.......:sarcasm:

We can't have what we want, the country won't let it happen. We have to keep the absolute wretchedness out of power. The President understood that in attempting to make some kind of peace with them. He took the high road, they NEVER will.

[Fumesucker]

Eh, I'm pointing out that the Dems are moving in the same direction..

As the Repubs..

And you tell me voting for the Dems is necessary to keep the Repubs from winning.

When it gets to the point there is essentially no difference between the Dems and the Reps, who do we vote for then?

As long as we keep voting for the Dems while they move to the right there is no reason for them mot to move that way.

Apparently their time in the electoral desert was insufficient to show them the error of their ways.

[Bluenorthwest]

45. His 'high road' involved the glorification of a bigot

that is not the high road. It is in fact, the glorification of a bigot, for no reason but to glorify the bigotry that both men share against millions of Americans. Obama currently refuses to speak out against Warren's support of a 'death to all gays' law in Uganda. The high road of mass murder and hate? Sorry, Obama stood with Warren, prayed with him, and what he called Warren his friend. Defended the man's bigotry and slander against good people. It is what it is. You can twist all day to try to excuse it, but there was and is no excuse for that sort of divisive theology at any time, but especially on a day that should have been for all Americans.

[MindPilot]

23. Democrats live at C street too.

[get the red out]

26. So that means we let the C-Street favs win?

Not a good choice. Of course we have bad Democrats, the number of which is completely overwhelmed by the abundance of bad Republicans.

[MindPilot]

33. Of course not. But that is just another way of saying "lesser of two evils"

A bad Democrat is still better than a good republican. Got it.

I'm one of those who feels like I've been locked out of the process. My rep is very liberal, two Dem senators, one liberal, one not so much, yet no matter how much I vote for Democrats, I see very little aggregate opposition to letting the Bush policies continue on.

Yet the solution to this is keep voting for Democrats; doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

After forty some-odd years of this shit I'm getting real tired of my vote being cast based on the other guy will be so much worse.

[get the red out]

35. I always get Republicans

I have virtually no voice, or hope of one, in my state. I would love to have at least a Blue Dog Senator who could potentially be reasoned with to some extent. I have two of the worst Republican thugs known to humanity as my Senators (I live in Kentucky). Something would be so much better than the nothing we get due to the religious right. My state is impoverished, uneducated, and desperate and a lot of that has to do people them being controlled to vote against their own interests due to the Republican's unholy alliance with the religious right. To give the religious right one ounce more of power would be insane in my view.

[laughingliberal]

42. It is arguable whether the Blue Dogs can be reasoned with nt

[RedstDem]

62. Because The Lesser Of Two Evils Is Still Evil

But, It is Lesser!
that's it...

[Bitwit1234]

11. People are idiots....they let bush skate along for eight years

and expect Obama and the Democrats to clean it up in 10 months. Course they are egged along by the LIBURAL media. You know those corporate republican owned media outlets.

[MindPilot]

22. That "you want a pony" crap is so worn out.

I don't expect it all be cleaned up in 10 months--or a year. But is it too much to ask that they at least stop doing what the last administration was doing? At this point, doing nothing would be an improvement. In my perfect world, the democrats would at least pretend to act like an opposition party that just got returned to power. But they can't even seem to get the opposition part; hell they can barely get the party part.

[natrat]

14. they don't come out because we already are screwed by these thugs

[kenny blankenship]

57. And if they do come out and vote, elected "Democrats" will conclude what?

Keep going right?

[h9socialist]

4. I love President Obama, but . . .

. . . I will not be happy with him if he plunges the US into another stupid quagmire in Afghanistan. He needs to think jobs, healthcare and environment. I will stick with this President, but these will be trying times.

[Fumesucker]

44. Hey, dodging bullets in Afghanistan is a "job"..

And look at all the money the private contractors are raking in.

I really hope I don't need a sarcasm tag on this one.. :hi:

[h9socialist]

48. I am glad that you emphasized "sarcasm" . . .

. . . because when I saw the title ofd your post, I was about to reply "bullshit!" Of course, American history is scarred with periods of war as antidote to unemployment.

[Gman]

6. I'm flabbergasted at the circular firing squad mentality here at DU

if the Dems don't do what I want to the degree I want and when I want then I won't vote for them. This thinking will elect Republicans. Then within 2 years we're back to where we were for the last 8 years.

How fucking mind-numbing stupid can that possibly be?

[Toots]

15. The mind numbing stupidity is from the Democrats that take the base for granted

They feel they don't have to do a single thing the base wants because they have no where else to go..I am an Independent and will never vote for a Republican but if Republicanism is all the Democrats are willing to give us there is no point in voting for more of the same..Oh I get it now, we all vote for the Zell Millers on the ticket because they have a D behind their name..Boy will that make america great.

[L0oniX]

36. +1

...and good luck getting the progressive vote ever again.

[derby378]

16. It's not "what I want," it's "what America needs"

If the needs of the American public are not addressed by the Democrats, then the Democrats will be in trouble come next election. That's all there is to it. The best possibly defense is to nominate Democrats who have the same charisma and gift of speech that Obama does, only with more of a mandate for setting a Democratic agenda for our nation. Our current Democratic frontrunner for TX-32 has told me he's rather favorable towards single-payer, so if that's what it takes, I say go for it.

[Gman]

55. The question becomes

would you then stay home and let a Republican win just to teach the Democrats a lesson?

[derby378]

63. The best approach would be to sort it out in the Democratic primaries

Ditch the dead weight at the primaries, and then we strengthen long-term Democratic goals.

[Gman]

64. Thank you. Exactly.

You go after them in the primary. If you don't beat them in the primary, you can just hold your nose when you vote for 'em in November, then try again in the primary in 2 years. But you support the Democrat.

[MindPilot]

19. More troops to Afghanistan, corporate-produced healthcare bill

bankster bailout, renewed patriot act...Hell, the democrats we want could be an improvement over the democrats we got by simply doing nothing.

[get the red out]

27. Bitching is instant gratification

That's all anyone cares about anyway.

[Fumesucker]

31. I bet you never "bitched" about Bushie, eh?

Right.. :eyes:

[get the red out]

39. Do we grow or stay in that?

We can abdicate anything but bitching and let Republicans win so we can have the joy of being down-trodden or we can work with the Democrats we have. Our choice. I think a lot of liberals would rather just bitch and have Republicans.

[Fumesucker]

43. Liberals are going to be down-trodden anyway..

It's somewhat less irksome when it's the *other* guys kicking sand in your face than when it's the ones supposedly on your side.

[Dragonfli]

47. A lot of liberals just want Democrats.

Not con men that claim to be Democrats yet vote for republican policies and "values".

A gullible man will give thousands of dollars to a con man that claims to be a contractor that can fix his roof.

After your roof isn't fixed and your money is gone you would continue to hire more con men. You are begging for your down-trodden status by the stupidity of your actions. Me - I will only hire contractors that are qualified and Democrats that vote like Democrats, sell your snake oil false flag republicans to some one else please.

If you are angry at the reality - blame the party that lets in republicans and gives them the D for cover. In other words , blame people like Rahm Emmanuel not the people that don't want to be conned.

[CrispyQ]

51. "I think a lot of liberals would rather just bitch and have Republicans."

Oh give me a fucking break! That's just not true & I'm sick & fucking tired of DUers spouting that crap. We don't want republicans - we want democrats who stand up for democratic values & don't vote like republicans. The party you have so much enthusiasm for is looking more & more like the party you abhor, albeit a slightly kinder, gentler demeanor. If we continue to vote for the 'lessor of two evils,' how is the Democratic party ever going to get the message that we don't want them to move to the right?

We're going over a cliff one way or the other, it's just a matter of speed. It doesn't matter if you go over the cliff at 100 mph or if you slowly approach the edge & walk off. The descent is the same.

[Gman]

56. I'm pretty convinced, at least around DU, that is how it is

pretty immature perspective. And also pretty messed up if they really just want to be able to bitch and moan.

[Hubert Flottz]

7. The people figured out that the country needed some changes...

The politicians haven't figured that out yet. Those shadowy voices that the paranoid people in Washington hear in their confused heads, belong to the same corporate crew that held the BushCo puppet strings, instead of the voices of the electing, taxpaying public.

Greed Still Rules. The "Transparency" and "Changes" are so far not evident. The holdovers from Bush's gang still hold too many high positions in the US government to let any Transparency or Change blossom and bear fruit. The poison is still in our system.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. They'd better get crackin' or they'll be on the outside looking in.

[AllentownJake]

9. Turnout in my last Municipal election was

30% GOP turnout
18% DNC turnout
7% Independent turn out

Before people jump that doesn't equal 100% that is the turnout of registered voters amongst the parties

In 2005 turnout was

30% GOP turnout
30% DNC turnout
7% Independent turnout

Guess what happened to democratic party candidates in 2009. When I brought this up, I was an asshole and a doom an gloomer at the beginning of the month.

[cowcommander]

10. If Democrats could summon the same kind of enthusiam that Obama's voters had

They'd never lose power in the government again, EVER.

[natrat]

13. change you can believe in

fucking crooks

[rucky]

18. This is not how I'm reading it.

The GOP is in the toilet, too. I think the midterms show dissatisfaction with both Dems and Republicans. Incumbents of both parties are not safe - and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sure we'll get some teabaggers filling a few seats, but we should also get some real people on our end to replace some of the corporate whores.

There will be even fiercer partisan struggles, but the corporatist stance will be weaker on balance. It'll be years before the dust settles, and as more people identify themselves as independents, we'll be stuck with two corporate parties, and everyone else in the wilderness.

[leveymg]

20. LESSON FROM VIRGINIA: the base wins the election - the center-right loses elections

Craig Deeds, the Democratic candidate for Governor, was so far right he vowed to Opt-Out if HCR contained a public option. He ran to the right of Obama - he lost by 60/40, a near-historical margin.

Take your triangulation and shove it.

[WI_DEM]

32. Yes, if he had embraced Obama he might have done much better, though doubt he would have won

[leveymg]

40. That landslide has me worried that the Dems may've already lost the base and "non-traditional" voter

There's also a great deal of evidence of that here and on other progressive boards, as well. If the DC Party elites and BlueDogs don't wake up to this, they're gonna be out of power along with the Democratic Party. I shiver to think what's gonna take over when they're gone.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PADemD]

28. "Republicans sweep Northampton County Council race"

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_3council-32.70757282nov04,0,7268593.story

It happened in our county. The turnout for Democrats was 10 per cent.

[AllentownJake]

37. On the plus side

You should be getting new leadership next year.

[BolivarianHero]

29. It goes back to Truman...

Given a choice between a real and a wannabe-Republican, people will choose the real one.

[Echo In Light]

38. Gotta keep that two Name Brand ruse alive & well

[ShortnFiery]

41. And if Obama escalates the troops in Afghanistan, we'll leave in droves...

and no intimidation or thug tactics will bring us back to anyone other than fellow LIBERAL democrats.

[laughingliberal]

46. We can argue about this on DU til the cows come home and it changes nothing

Most of us here will probably go out, hold our noses, and vote for the (D) on the ticket because we hope they will be, at least, a little better than the (R). The problem here is we are not the average voter. The average voter is not that well informed and does not spend a lot of time in thought about their choices. They catch a little news before dinner and change the channel to whatever favorite program is on tonight. It takes a lot to get these people's attention. And it will take some real change to get them excited enough to get out there and vote in a midterm election. Midterms are almost always a losing game for the party in power. Holding those seats requires a real sense that the party in power is doing a good job for us and needs to return to finish the job. If the American people don't see their lives getting better in some measurable way by the midterms, we're sunk. Explaining the leading indicators in the economy is not going to get the working guy whose pay has been cut and whose home is in foreclosure out on election day when he could sleep in before his swing shift starts. So, we can flame each other forever here and it's not going to make one whit of difference. There needs to be change the average voter can see and we're not them.

[Skip Intro]

49. A year is forever in politics. That said, the repuke attack machine should never have been allowed

to churn out the hits unchallenged for so long. Take the health care reform effort. I mean, you had the pukes screaming "death panels" at every turn while we were talking about "the doughnut hole." I still don't know wtf the doughnut hole is, and I'm sure millions are clueless as well. Yes, Obama finally had the joint address of Congress to fight the bs, but by that time it came across as an almost desperate attempt to salvage the entire effort. Our message was muddled from the beginning, and we were slow to respond to the attacks, allowing the repukes the time they needed to sow fear and doubt, demonize Democrats, and whip up opposition to any effort by our party. It should never have gotten to that point.

I think a HCR bill that gets signed into law will boost enthusiasm among the base, but the right is full of hate and fired up. It could be a bad year for Dems next year. Or not. Politically, it is just too early to tell.

[bvar22]

50. Lets do a quick review:

*The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party SHUT OUT of the Obama Administration....Mission Accomplished!

*WARS fully funded and EXPANDING. Bill sent to our children....Mission Accomplished !

*Trillion Dollars given to friends and campaign contributors on Wall Street. No Strings Attached....Mission Accomplished!

*Military Spending INCREASED....Mission Accomplished!

*Trillion+ Dollars given to the Health Insurance Industry. Token, easily avoidable, symbolic only strings attached....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Kill the possibility for a REAL "Public Option" or REAL Universal Health Care for at least another generation....Mission almost Accomplished!

*Block ANY re-regulation of BIG BANKS and Credit Cards....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the Bush War Criminals and Torturers from JUSTICE....Mission Accomplished.

*Throw the Dirty Hippie Peaceniks, Liberals, and GBLT under the bus....Mission Accomplished!

*Reinforce the worst Police State provisions of the Patriot Act....Mission Accomplished!

*Protect the very richest. Tell the Working Class that they CAN will be forced to compete with 3rd World Slave Labor.....Mission Accomplished!

*EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) killed in the crib....Mission Accomplished!

*More Anti-LABOR "Free Trade"....Mission almost Accomplished!


Oh YES!
I can't wait to vote for MORE of THIS!


I think the REALITY is far worse than any polls show.
I am STILL giving Obama & The Democrats the highest marks possible in every poll,
but privately and on DU I am beyond disgusted.
I am highly unlikely to vote FOR anyone who is working AGAINST my own economic interests (Working Class)ever again.
I will be forced to take a longer view.



"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[laughingliberal]

52. I'm right there with you. nt

[Dragonfli]

53. Good list of the New Democratic Party's accomplishments.

I live and work with regular people that are wise to the scam without any prompting from me.

Many are losing ground in jobs that used to support them.
Many have lost their jobs, among them two friends that moved out of state to live with family and look for better prospects (neither have found work as yet - even after relocating).

Most of the people that surround me in the trades are Democrats but they no longer trust the party (they don't get the republican policies of the DLC, don't even understand who or what the DLC are for the most part, and are blaming ALL DEMOCRATS).

Some of the people I know are Republicans and distrust all politicians now and are reverting to a sort of tribal populism based on nonsense, they scare me a little.

They all see what is going on and want it to change. They know the fix is in and those that once trusted the Democrats to act like the party of FDR feel they were scammed and blame the Dems. The republicans have become crazy and blame the Dems.

Everyone blames the Dems.

The little Coup that the DLC pulled when the took control of the party after an election sold as a change in direction has harmed the Democratic brand too much to recover with scraps and words.

The Fascists hate us even more and we the working people no longer see them as having our backs, but rather as those helping to sell us out to the corporatocracy.

The only hope the Democrats have now is to remember and return to their roots and choose the workers and the oppressed over the extreme wealthy.
I do not think they have either the time or the inclination to do so by 2010.

You can't sell sunshine and deliver more of the same with 10% less calories than the original Republicans. If the people wanted that, they would have voted for the full flavor version not the lite.

Why do we let the infiltrating right (DLC) destroy the party over and over and over again?
It is insane and destructive to the party as well as the people the party used to represent.

[Individualist]

58. +1

Everyone needs to know about DLC and their neocon enabling goals.

[Echo In Light]

54. Wish it weren't so, but nicely, succinctly done

[yurbud]

59. Democrats need to take RADICAL action or they will be replaced, not because of enthusiasm for GOP...

but by disillusioning their base and not offering enough of a difference for independents to think it matters which party is in power.

[Nikki Stone1]

60. This is the problem of only having two viable parties.

Sigh.

[yurbud]

61. Democrats are choking on the vomit of their own corruption. Their plan was to become the new...

corporate water boy and think it would work because people had no other choice but to vote for them.

[TexasObserver]

65. Recommend.