Despite the CW that the nation is so polarized, I still think there were swing voters in this election. After all, how else could the Republicans have gained such a bounce after their convention? The Democrats, meanwhile, did not experience such a bounce.
I think the main reason the Democrats lost the election is because there were Democrats who voted for Bush. Why would they vote for Bush? Because of the war on terror.
Moral issues did not decide this election. See The Gay Marriage Myth. Terror did.
One reason I thought Cheney won the VP debate was because his closing statements focused on the war on terror and homeland security. Edwards gave this folksy populous message that did not appeal to me, at all. It sounded like very pre-Sept. 11 politicking.
Democrats, if you want to win, you have to convince the general American public that you understand that radical Islam (called Islamofascism in some circles) is a threat to America, and the world. And it’s not restricted to simply Osama bin Laden. Although I agree that we should not have invaded Iraq, I’m still aware that this threat is bigger than bin Laden. Why didn’t we try to secure democracy and stability in Afghanistan first? That should be what should be asked, not a question about Osama bin Laden.
About the get out the vote effort… Youth did not quite turn out in record numbers, at least in proportionate to the rest of the electorate. Advice: Reject the Hollywood bunch. Okay, these guys can say what they want, but maybe, just maybe, people don’t trust actors to make their political decisions for them. I don’t think some Democrats understand that. Maybe, just maybe, the youth are a little smarter than voting because of idol worship. Don’t rely on Hollywood to energize your base.
After the convention, some of the advice was for Kerry to focus only on domestic issues. That would’ve lost him the election for sure. Don’t revert to that thinking in ’08. I know I won’t vote for Edwards in ’08, if he runs. Maybe he’ll fight for me on some level, but I have no assurance that he will fight the terrorists for me.
The problem with Kerry was Kerry. I remember reading a news article in the San Jose Mercury News (or was it the Chronicle), that was so obviously biased towards Kerry. It presented him as one who defies definitions. Yet, at the same time, it was mentioning how he was such a political opportunist. They were trying to spin his shifting with the political winds as defying his party. Face it, Kerry was a bad candidate. I was only barely Kerry because of the SCOTUS, the fact that he would set up a Republican win in ’08, and to punish Bush for some of the bad decisions he has made. Of course, none of these reasons were really reasons to vote for Kerry, they were still anti-Bush (on a different level than the “anybody but Bush”-ers, though). Face it, Kerry was a bad candidate. But I guess Kerry lost because he couldn’t fundamentally show that regarding the war on terror, he gets it.
Anyway, don’t latch on this morality and faith thing. Don’t try to become the Republican party. Keep your positions, but show us that you understand the threat of terrorism. Only then can you swing back the Democrats who voted for Bush.
Excellent and lucid commentary, Shawn. I’ve read much of the same spirit of your analysis by various professional, trusted commentators (either partisan or not) and it’s definitely on the mark.
My take on the Democratic Party: ugh. It’s clear they’re on the precipice of collapse, and in my mind are a lost cause. I’m pinning my hopes much more on the libertarians, independents, and grassroots progressives who came out in droves this time around — a fact not very much dwelt upon in the mainstream media. Although doing so (going libertarian/progressive) is probably a Quixotic quest, as the 2-party system is going to be around for some time yet, I’m sure.
Problem is, one of the parties is decrepit and can’t win an election even when it’s virtually handed to them as far as objective context is concerned (the disastrous war in Iraq, the nightmarish budget deficit and consequent economic crisis, theocrats on the march, etc.). God help us if an effectively one-party system emerges; that would be courting fascism at home, given a world dangerously destabilized by other fundamentalisms (primarily Islamic, but also including the bizarre and dangerous North Korean strain, and–you first heard it here–the looming Putinist/ayatollah nexus).