Only ONE Senate Candidate Campaigned With Obama &...

[kpete]

:large
https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/530408979453976576

[MoonRiver]

1. Lesson learned?

I seriously doubt it.

[FBaggins]

2. That's because there is no lesson to learn there

The candidates who avoided the President werethe ones in close races where polling showed that he was a drag.

That race was never close to competitive - so it can hardly be used as evidence for this position.

OTOH, Brown lost in MD despite campaign visits by both Obamas and both Clintons.

[HERVEPA]

3. Are you kidding don't you realize anecdotal evidence is always better than logic?

[FBaggins]

6. I'm sure this is how the tea party souded a few years ago

They they started to primary existig legislators who were (in their minds) too moderate.

It wasn't long before those more-acceptable-to-the-base candidates started winning nominations... and losing elections (even in otherwise-red states).

[biglib63]

7. Maybe the lesson is

If you try to play a "poll, then give the people what they think they want" game, you will lose a close election in a red leaning state. The way Obama won a few red states with coattails in 2008 was by inspiring high turnout among the democrats and pulling the middle a little bit to our side. The campaigns run by Grimes and Begich where they tried to hide the fact that they were democrats instead of making a case for a slight more progressive government were doomed to fail. The voters know you're a democrat - that big D on the ballot next to your name is a dead give away. You'd better make that D stand for something they want or they will vote their fears and go for the R.

[cilla4progress]

39. Welcome to DU!

I totally agree with you. How stupid of Grimes to play coy about who she voted for in 2012. Why not just answer, "I'm a Dem. Who do you THINK I voted for?"

I would have run my campaign entirely differently. I would have grabbed Mr. President by the arm and said, please come with me and let's talk to my constitutents about all the hard work your admin has done on the economy, keeping terrorism at bay, keeping us safe from Ebola, protecting national lands, provide us with some measure of health care security. No scandal. No stupidity. How there's more, oh SO MUCH MORE to be done, and we're the party to do it.

You've got to play with big balls/ovaries in this game. I'll give the Republicans that. And Mr. O. He's a very courageous man and will be viewed by history as one of our great Presidents.

[vlyons]

44. Grimes should have said

"I voted for the WINNER, Barack Obama. The worst repudiated Dem to me was Martha Coakley. How in the world can a Dem lose Mass? Just incredible! And she lost last time too! Man we just gotta start purging the Dem party of these feckless, useless, cowardly DINOS.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

55. +1 Arkansas lost (finally) two DINOS

I held my breath for one but I refused to vote for BlueDog Ross.

[Blanks]

78. After Ross bragged (on a commercial) that he voted against Obamacare...

He needed his ass kicked to the curb. He's still better than Asa, but I'm not surprised he lost.

He was a poor democratic choice for governor. Especially after Beebe has been so popular. Since Ross is anti-Obamacare would that mean he would rid Arkansas of the Medicaid expansion?

And Pryor should have embraced Obamacare instead of trying to hide from it. Especially since it saved his life (according to his own commercial).

We need democratic candidates with a set of cajones not weasels.

[vlyons]

134. how dare you insult weasels!

[Thor_MN]

140. I dare say that any candidate with a set of weasels is not likely to win.

[A Simple Game]

54. You at least have to make the D stand for something more than

"I wish I was a Republican." If she wasn't proud to be the Democratic candidate why would anyone want to vote for the Democratic candidate? This was a race with much national attention, it's hard to say how much damage she did to other candidates with her denying who she voted for. I live in New York and probably saw her deny voting for the President replayed dozens of times, it got a lot of national play.

[marions ghost]

77. ^^^^^

True IMO

[blackspade]

119. +1000

[HoosierRadical]

11. But it turned out, those races weren't close at all, except for

North Carolina.

[MoonRiver]

14. And that worked out so well for them.

[FBaggins]

25. Missing from that claim is any evidence that it would have been better

given a different strategy.

Every single one of those losing candidates was tied to an unpopular president by their opponent (just as with most 6th-year campaigns). Arguing that candidates should have made that easier for the opposition makes little sense - and violates the "all politics is local" rule.

Here in NC, Hagan was clearly ahead when she was slamming Tillis for his actions in the legislature (education spending, etc)... and only started to stumble as ads tying her to the President took hold.

"Yep! I voted for that stuff and would do it again. I know it's unpopular here, but let me tell you why you should be happy about it" was not the way to go.

[MoonRiver]

38. Well the results could not have been worse.

How about trying a different strategy next time, i.e. not pretending to not be a Democrat!

[hfojvt]

40. Maybe Obama is NOT the only Democrat in the world

So that "not cheering for Obama" is not the same thing as "pretending to not be a Democrat".

Grimes, for example, never claimed to not be a Democrat. When asked if she voted for Obama, she said something like "I think everybody knows I am a supporter of Hillary ..."

[MoonRiver]

46. She made a horrible mistake and lost, imo, because of it.

I don't like DINOs.

[hfojvt]

49. neither do I

but in my mind, one of the biggest DINOs in the world - is Obama. He ain't no Jesse Jackson. More like a Colin Powell.

And I don't think that kerfluffle cost her the election. It was delusionally optimistic to think we were going to win in Kentucky in an election when we couldn't even win in Colorado, or Illinois.

[ReRe]

114. The fact that PO is a DINO...

... should NOT be an issue during election season. The Democratic Party needs to circle the wagons (I know, a worn out cliche, but so apropos in this instance) and stand united against the opposition during elections.

[cilla4progress]

41. Exactly!

They went down anyway, looking like bloopers. Fat lot of good it did them to run away from their party! It appears they have no integrity.

[hfojvt]

51. yeah sure, Grimes lost 56% to 41%

Boy, if only she had tied herself to Obama, who lost Kentucky in 2012 by 60.5% to 38% and lost in 2008 at the height of his popularity by 57% to 41%.

No doubt it would be more satisfying to lose with integrity by 65% to 35%.

[cilla4progress]

60. Yep.

That's what I'M sayin'!

[JonLP24]

101. Her strategy was based on coal country's anger towards Obama

That is where McConnell made his biggest gains. The 8 counties he had the most improvement from the last Senate election were all coal counties so she lost them anyways.

Louisville and a few other place were where she drew he support.

[FBaggins]

73. Of course it could have been worse.n/t

[ReRe]

112. A different strategy...

... like the truth.

[kelliekat44]

57. Yes, but the base was not inspired to vote for candidates trashing their own President. nt

[FBaggins]

72. And there's no evidence of that

They don't appear to have been inspired to vote for Democrats in general (at all elected levels).

[Qutzupalotl]

74. Well, there is this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025782545

[ReRe]

113. Rick Berman, whose strategy is/was...

... "Win ugly, or lose pretty." The guy is Lee Attwater, incarnate.

[FBaggins]

118. You haven't seen that before?

When a strategist tells the other party what they should have done... he's really telling them what he wishes they would do going forward.

Probably not the wisest course of action.

[Qutzupalotl]

124. Your comment makes no sense here.

The link I posted has him saying, "they became Republican lite." Wouldn't a GOP strategist want that? Not only so he could win more often, but to lessen the consequences of losing?

[FBaggins]

125. Then you missed the point

The link I posted has him saying, "they became Republican lite." Wouldn't a GOP strategist want that?

A republican strategist would very much like the base to think that the party's candidates had become "republican lite".

There's little that they would like to see more than to have us develop our own tea party problems (picking candidates in primaries who cannot win in general elections).

[Qutzupalotl]

126. before the election maybe, but not after.

After the election, we would AVOID Republican-lite candidates in the next cycle, if we listen to him, which we should in this case.

So your comment is still illogical.

[FBaggins]

128. It's *always* before an election

After the election, we would AVOID Republican-lite candidates in the next cycle,

Which is just what he's hoping for. That we'll avoid electable candidates in moderate districts... leaving the field wide open for his candidates.

if we listen to him, which we should in this case.

Again... you're actually assuming that he actually believes what he was saying.

That's highly unlikely. His comments were for your consumption and you're eating them up.

[Qutzupalotl]

131. You're assuming only Republican-lite candidates can win in moderate districts.

But we know people will choose the real Republican over the fake one every time.

A Democrat willing to raise his voice and take on the debate gives people something to look up to rather than be uninspired about, and that brings them to the polls. I'm not advocating extremism, just articulation.

Framing the debate is how you change a moderate district into a solid D.

[marions ghost]

79. Other factors in NC

must be considered when the margin is close.

But she didnt do a great job on it--give ya that. I just dont think you can say that's WHY she lost.

Too murky in NC.

[lexington filly]

98. Not convinced "all politics are local" still applies

because syndicated talk radio and Fox news poisons perceptions so thoroughly now. People aren't reading local newspapers like in times past. Our president and his policies are distorted then on a national level all year long by extreme right wing pundits and bloggers so the Republican candidates just have to plug in their Superpacs and overwhelm the local airwaves near the election. The Republican politicians work the news shows all year long--weekends included. I used to wonder what the Democrats were doing with their time instead of being the counterforce they should be. And yeah, I think one should run on their votes: I voted for this and here's how this policy benefits/would benefit you and yours.

[PatrynXX]

20. clintons would be the drag

as they are seen as Conservative. so basically canceled each other out. think the electorate have gotten smart and tired of Conservative with the names Democrat on them. Those that actually did vote dumber than a doornail. Which includes me. Only 2012 did I straight party vote. been voting since able in 1996. I'm still young was able in 1993 late. so can't remember if I voted in 1993 X_X oops. but at some point I began to vote in the off years.

[FBaggins]

29. Lol... and there's the problem with this line of argument

What we're clearly dealing with here is the left's version of the Tea Party.

And that worked out so well for them.

[hfojvt]

42. yeah I don't get the line of reasoning

"voters are tired of conservatives with the name Democratic"

so those voters voted for conservative Republicans? Because they really wanted a liberal?

(Bracing for sixty year old Truman quote in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, )

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

61. Given how most of the world acts based on quotes that are thousands of years old

are you suggesting Truman needs to wait another couple thousand years to be taken seriously? At a measly sixty years, we can't yet begin to recognize his wisdom?

[hfojvt]

70. Truman was speaking in a day

when there were still millions of socialist voters. When there were Eisenhower and Rockefeller Republicans.

Okay, Norman Thomas only got .23% of the vote in 1940 and about that in 1948, but former Veep Henry Wallace of the Progressive Party got 2.4% of the vote, including 8% of the vote in New York. He was almost the Ralph Nader of his day, giving the state of New York, at least, to Dewey.

Yeah, he was speaking in a different time, and I think it is absurd to say that voters are electing conservative Republicans in conservatives states, but that they would rally around a liberal. Maybe a populist, but not a liberal. People who talk that way just don't know Kansas, Kentucky or South Dakota.

[spooky3]

90. There were a lot of TV ads with B. Clinton as well. Your point is very good one.

The cause-effect relationships may be very different from the ones people have been discussing.

However, I do think the Dems generally have done a terrible job of (1) articulating the strengths of the records, and (2) taking stands that would be popular with the people though unpopular with big money donors.

[zonkers]

32. Ask Al Gore.

[deurbano]

52. That's what I was thinking.

And picking a "Democrat" like Lieberman, who went on to say it wasn't necessary to make sure all the military votes in Florida were legitimate! (Add to that Lieberman's charismatic personality...)

[Wabbajack_]

37. The Regpig in Michigan

ran an awful campaign, I don't think it mattered what Peters did, he won by default just by not fucking up.

[navarth]

84. Is that true?

I didn't watch any of the commercials. The only time I'm on commercial tv is for Lions games, and there were a lot of mudslingers, but I just hit the mute button and switch to TCM until it stops. Were Land's commercials that bad? Curiosity.

[Dopers_Greed]

58. Probably not

Politicians.
Learning lessons from election outcomes.

Pick one.

[Cha]

4. Funny that.. Thanks for the Graphic, kpete.. I mentioned Gary Peters in a post earlier as one who

the President campaigned with and did win!

I know Michelle campaigned with Bruce Braley.

[lunasun]

21. Durbin in IL

[B Calm]

5. We had a good chance at getting rid of McConnell, but Grimes gave the middle finger to her base.

[Capt. Obvious]

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[Calista241]

99. She was never going to win Kentucky

The Coal lobby was just too strong. And it's not like it's some secret that Obama and the Democratic party hate coal. And admit it or not, but everyone knows that when push comes to shove, an individual senator is going to vote with the President when he calls and asks. There were even rumors / ads / reports that Grimes was telling potential voters one thing about coal, and contributors something else.

McConnell is a douchebag, one of the most uncharismatic politicians i've laid eyes on, and he is wildly unpopular in Kentucky; yet we still lost by an astronomically wide margin.

[B Calm]

116. She lost because she ran as a right-wing gun totin conservative who never voted for Obama.

[MFrohike]

122. That's one idea

Of course, one wonders how campaigning with a president who lost Kentucky by an average of almost 20 points would have helped her in the least.

[B Calm]

135. She lost by 20 points because she ran as an Obama hating republican!

[MFrohike]

137. Ok

Obama lost Kentucky by 16 in 2008 and 23 in 2012. Please explain how she was going to beat Mitch by jumping on the Obama bandwagon. I am most curious.

[B Calm]

141. Please explain to me how she was going to win over the racist white voters

by pretending to be a gun toting conservative, while at the same time alienating thousands of Kentucky democratic voters who voted for Obama!

She lost because she abandoned her party!

[MFrohike]

142. You're a hoot

It might seem bright to parrot my style while changing the content, but sometimes imitation is just a lack of thought not flattery. I am amused, though, that you make the blanket claim that all whites in Kentucky are racist, then make the contradictory claim that she lost because she didn't embrace the black man who is the face of her party. Hell of a paradox, one would think. Old Zeno would be proud.

[B Calm]

144. .

[MFrohike]

149. !

,./;'

[ReRe]

8. K&R

Rather than this, all that will be remembered about this midterm election is the fool Alison Grimes made out of herself. If she had actually debated McConnell instead of just sitting there and almost denying that she was a Democrat, had she allowed PO to come and campaign with her all over the state, had she said "Hell yes, I voted for Barack Obama!" and mentioned all the things he did manage to accomplish in spite of Mitch McConnell's obstructionism, she would be on her way to the US Senate right now.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

9. yep.

[ReRe]

15. She not only let her state down...

... she let her country down. If KyNect(ACA) goes down, she'll have blood on her hands from the lives that will be lost because of it's absence, not to mention the 9.5 million other Americans it will knock out of insurance. The repercussions from her cowardice will be repeated many, many times over in a dozen other policies that will be overturned or passed.

[onenote]

83. What does Grimes defeat for Senate have to do with KyNect

which was created by the state, not the federal government? Or are you saying that if Grimes had won, so that the Republican majority in the Senate would be 54/46 (instead of 55/45, which is what it will be if Landrieu loses), the future of the ACA would be more secure?

Just trying to follow the logic of claiming Grimes will "have blood on her hands" for losing a race she probably couldn't have won no matter what she did.

[ReRe]

87. How does her defeat affect KyNect/ACA?

First, had she stood up with a strong Democratic backbone against Mitch McConnell, she would have beat him. No, it wouldn't have been a landslide, but she would have won. Alison was ahead up until the debate, and then her numbers went down and never rose again. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025769753

KyNect IS the ACA. All states were given the opportunity to administer their version of the ACA and to expand Medicaid. Ky did both. And they named their branch of the ACA as "KyNect". More states than not (red states) chose NOT to administer the ACA and left it up to the Fed government to register their citizens who wanted it.

Now, as for why she will have blood on her hands... maybe she won't. But how trustful are you of Mitch McConnell and John Boehner? They voted to abolish the ACA over 50 times in the House in the past year (about all they did do, as a matter of fact) and the whole "hate Obama" meme was driven for 6 years by Mitch McConnell. If the ACA is indeed repealed or abolished, Grimes will definitely have bloody hands. Because she was running against God Himself, Mitch McConnell. Now he's going to be the Majority Leader in the Senate!

And the ONLY thing that can stop them from abolishing the ACA is a veto by PO. Will he do it? Maybe, but maybe not, if the majorities and DINOs in the House and Senate will override it.

Now do you understand?

[onenote]

103. Your passion is admirable. But you don't make a lot of sense

First, I don't trust McConnell and Boehner. I also don't trust Senators Cornyn or Cruz, who would be the most likely candidates to become Senate Majority Leader had McConnell lost. All peas from the same pod as far as I'm concerned. If you have some factual basis for why I should be more concerned with McConnell as majority leader than any of the likely replacements, I'd be interested in knowing what it is. Absent any such evidence, the notion that Grimes failure to unseat McConnell puts the ACA at significantly greater risk (so much so that she can be said to have "blood on her hands" for losing) seems rather ridiculous.

Second, one fewer Republican vote would mean that the Republicans would have to get 14 Democratic senators to vote to override a Presidential veto rather than 13 Democratic Senators. I'm curious who the 13 "DINOs" that you believe would vote to override the President are. Care to name them?

Finally, as others have pointed out, the notion that Grimes would have defeated McConnell in the face of the 2014 repub "wave" had she embraced Obama rather than run away from his is simply ludicrous. McConnell got more votes in an off-year election for Senate than Obama got in Kentucky in either 2012 or 2010. That alone should be enough to put the fantasy of an Obama-fueled Grimes victory to bed once and for all.

Grimes ran a lousy campaign. A better campaign might have closed the margin a bit, but there isn't a scenario where she wins. And there isn't a scenario where she can be justly accused of "having blood on her hands" for something that, if it does happen, would have happened whether or not she managed to win.

[ReRe]

105. Thank you for your opinion...

... I respectfully and totally disagree.

[onenote]

106. You're opinion might carry some more weight if was backed up by any facts

but you're entitled to it whether it is connected to reality or not.

[ReRe]

110. Do YOU live in KY?

I do. And I have a very personal dislike of Mitch McConnell. Maybe that is what is distorting my facts? Please tell me where my reality is off-kilt. And what facts are you disputing?

[onenote]

121. I don't. But I have a personal dislike for McConnell too.

But that dislike doesn't change the fundamental facts.

McConnell got more votes in 2016 than Obama himself got in KY in 2008 or 2012. So the reality is that Grimes' running away from Obama didn't cost her the election. She had no chance from the start unless a couple of hundred thousand repubs, thinking that McConnell was too moderate, stayed home. The McConnell crowd wasn't going to switch their support to Grimes if she associated herself with Obama. Period. So there was no path to victory for her unless they stayed home. And sadly, even if every Obama voter from 2008 had showed up and cast a vote for Grimes, she still would have lost.

Your emotion has led you to accuse Grimes with having 'blood on her hands'. I find that sort of treatment of a Democratic candidate offensive. She ran. She lost. It was pretty much preordained that would happen unless McConnell imploded. If anyone has "blood on their hands" (and let me emphasize I don't think anyone does) it would be the Democratic voters who stayed home because she ran away from Obama.

[HoosierRadical]

13. Yep.

[LondonReign2]

28. Agreed

It is less about actually having Obama come and campaign with you than about actually standing up for Democratic ideals.

You're spot on in saying Grimes basically denied she was a Democrat. Instead she tried to portray herself as gun shootin' yahoo in order to peel off a few moderate conservative votes while alienating her base. Dumb.

[dotymed]

68. I agree (in theory) with what you are saying.

However, "our" Democratic party is not the FDR Democratic party. We have gotten a bad name because we are no longer "the party of the people." IMO, we need to fix that ASAP. Get real people like Bernie running on our side and publicly denounce centrists...tell the people that we are returning to the fair deal platform, and do it.
That is what the majority of the people want and that may make them decide to actually vote.
Currently (which is not entirely true) people are not seeing much difference between parties.
WE WANT REAL, MEANINGFUL CHANGE, IF we can prove that we are that party (by actions), IMO we will be unbeatable.

[SomethingFishy]

123. Like Dukakis and the Tank...

Or Kerry and the Windsurfer...


We are good at looking stupid.

[ReRe]

130. Gawd, I miss Molly Ivans. n/t

[allan01]

10. hem

he gave us 2 stunning victories and this is the thanks we get . we reap what we sew. the majority turns their back on him. what a sorry state .be creful what you wish for.

[ReRe]

16. Who gave who 2 stunning victories? n/t

[ieoeja]

22. Obama gave us two stunning victories in 2008 and 2012 by winning a few Red states.

Prior to that Blue leaning states were the battleground in presidential elections.

[ReRe]

69. Uhhhh...

.... he didn't give us victories. We gave him victories!

[jtuck004]

109. This. n/t

[TRoN33]

18. Oh get this...

This very same Democrat candidate who won also told Koch Brothers that they have his notice. He's going to be their biggest opponent, even bigger than Reid, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. Love the last two senators. Reid? Fire his old hag ass out.

[George II]

24. He wasn't a "Democrat" candidate, he was a Democrat-IC candidate!!!!!

[FarPoint]

127. Thank you for pointing out the Limbaughism.

I would want to believe it was an error....but the, ya never know.

[George II]

133. It's actually a McCarthyism, but it was also used as far back as the 1930s. It's like nails...

...on a blackboard to me!

[FarPoint]

138. It makes me cringe too..

That's probably why they do it. Didn't realize the taunt came from an old playbook.

[Old Nick]

19. Shazam!

DURec

[George II]

23. Michelle AND Barack Obama were in Connecticut last month....

....I believe Michelle was here twice.

Going into the last weekend before the election Malloy and Foley were dead even.

Malloy won by more than 2% - 29,000 votes vs. about 5,000 four years ago.

By the way, Christie was in Connecticut five times....hahahaha!!

[Cha]

63. "By the way, Christie was in Connecticut five times....hahahaha!!" Brwawawaaaaa Christie was

in PA, too. talking about how unpopular Pres Obama is.


My niece lives in Connecticut.. Congrats to all you people who wanted Gov Malloy

[George II]

75. I actually think that Connecticut is the bluest of all the states (or close to it)...

For the last four years we've had Democrats in the following offices:

Governor
Lt. Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of the State
Treasurer
Controller

And all of our Congressmen and both Senators are Democrats along with relatively large Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

[Cha]

92. Good on Conn, George! Blue Hawaii.. I didn't realize our gov race was this close..

but, Kauai had record turnout this year

snip//

"Outside groups like the Republican Governors Association swooped in to influence the election, running negative ads against Ige as they deemed the seat up for grabs without the incumbent in the race.

Republicans tried to capitalize on Abercrombie's unpopularity by comparing Ige to the outgoing governor.

But Ige prevailed, casting himself as a gentler candidate than his predecessor and emphasizing his experience and willingness listen to constituents.

snip//

David Ige D 181065 49
Duke Aiona R 135742 37
Mufi Hannemann I 42925 12

Read more: http://www.kitv.com/politics/ige-takes-early-lead-in-hawaii-governors-race/29545058#ixzz3IQiwwbKO

Our new Gov prevailed against the gop and the dem turned Indie!

[George II]

96. Nice - the RGA dumped tens of millions in states around the country.....

....I think they spent more in CT than the Republican candidate did.

But, Connecticut is an odd state - even though we've had Democratic majorities in both houses for years and all of the lower state-wide offices have been held by Democrats for years, in 2011 Malloy became the first Democratic governor since 1991.

[Cha]

97. I know that is odd.. Was Conn ready to get rid of the last gop when Dan Malloy came along?

[George II]

100. The last republican governer decided not to run again....it was a very strange turn of events....

We had a surprisingly popular (snake oil salesman) republican governor who was elected to his third term several years ago. Shortly after the election his opponent said that not only wouldn't John Rowland finish his third term in office, but "he wouldn't finish his third term at large", meaning he was corrupt and would wind up in jail.

Sure enough, a year or so later he resigned, was indicted, convicted, and spent a year in jail, essentially summer camp.

His Lieutenant Governor became governor, and she was re-elected seemingly out of sympathy. She was a nice woman, but NOT governor material. She then decided to not run again. Turns out she was spending less than 8 hours a MONTH working.

That opened it up for new candidates - Malloy for the Democrats and Foley for the republicans. Malloy won by about 5000 votes (it took a week for the final decision, and ruined our election night celebration) This week he was re-elected in favor of the same opponent, but by almost 30,000 votes.

As a footnote - earlier this year Rowland was again indicted for campaign finance fraud and other infractions, and last month was convicted again. He's due to be sentenced in January, probably going away for at least 5 years, maybe lots more.

Sordid, huh?

[Cha]

107. Yeah, you'd think Connecticut would be at least weary of snake oil, er I mean republicons as their

Govs. And, I'm sure a lot of them see what the other repubs are doing in the rest of the states.

"That opened it up for new candidates - Malloy for the Democrats and Foley for the republicans. Malloy won by about 5000 votes (it took a week for the final decision, and ruined our election night celebration) This week he was re-elected in favor of the same opponent, but by almost 30,000 votes."

"30,000"... I made a post about it on Election night!

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy declared victory early today in his bitter rematch with Republican Tom Foley, not waiting for his challenger to concede what Democrats described as an unexpectedly comfortable victory.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025763707

A poster from Connecticut wrote that night...

bigwillq (63,257 posts)

9. In his speech just a bit ago, Malloy said he didn't run away from Obama

(paraphrasing) and he thanked the President and the First Lady for their recent visits, and that he would welcome them again.

[LovingA2andMI]

26. This Meme.....

Does not tell all the story, as they USUALLY don't.

First, Senator-Elect Gary Peters ran a GREAT campaign.

Second, Peters was well known in the S.E. Michigan region as a two-term Congressman elected to TWO different districts after a 2012 re-districting (thanks to the GOP in the House) that caused Peters to run and win in a HIGHLY COMPETITIVE race.

Third, Peters challenger former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land was a laughing stock that ran a HORRIBLE campaign. That helped Peters for sure.

Four - Michigan is a SPLIT TICKET State. Thus, although Senator-Elect Peters won, Democrats in Michigan got their reems kicked on the statewide level losing the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Senate and State House. In fact, Michigan Democrats LOST four additional seats in the State House. Peters won because from Oakland County, he knew full well how to appeal to those "Reagan Democrats" STATEWIDE and they split their tickets to vote for HIM.

That's the COMPLETE Michigan story. Yes, President Obama coming into town might have helped Senator-Elect Peters vote in S.E. Michigan -- however it was the Peters Campaign that excelled in many other areas of the state for the win.

Independent Underground News & Talk

[Capt. Obvious]

27. Can your response fit onto an

addtext generated image?

[LovingA2andMI]

33. I wish...

It's a bit detailed because one must understand how Michigan is mostly RED or PURPLE in density or medium populated counties AND BLUE/PURPLE-BLUEST in highly populated counties.

Yes, Michigan is MOSTLY a Blue and more like PURPLE state however, we have plenty of "Reagan Democrats", Independents, Republicans that MIGHT vote for One or Two Democrats (and that's about it) and straight Republicans in this state.

Peters knew how to appeal to the "Reagan Democrats, Independents, and the 10-15% of Republicans willing to Split their tickets to vote for him --- even if they did not vote for ONE other Democrat Statewide or Locality.

[Cha]

64. Of course he ran a great campaign and he didn't run away from the President or Obamacare.

It certainly didn't hurt him.

[LovingA2andMI]

80. No, it did not hurt however....

Michigan is a Split Ticket voter state.

"Michigan is a Purple State full of split ticket voters. In a say it loud from the rooftop scenario again: Michigan is a Purple State fill of split ticket voters.

For a Statewide or Federal candidate to win during a general election, the potential office holder must appeal broadly to Michigan's deeply blue, light blue, purple, purple-red and deeply red counties. Senator-Elect Gary Peters knew full well how to ride the five colors in the Crayola crayon box called Michigan, and won."

Read more: http://www.reachoutjobsearch.com/2014/11/why-senator-elect-gary-peters-won.html#ixzz3IPxU2Pq5

[Barack_America]

104. Michigan also has not forgotten what Obama did for Detroit.

[Cha]

108. Oh, yeah! How nice.. those who appreciate! Mahalo, B_A

[George II]

136. What do you mean by a "split ticket" state?

[LovingA2andMI]

150. Do you know what SPLITTING a BALLOT

Means?

[world wide wally]

30. Udall in Colorado belongs right up there with Grimes when it comes to stupid and cowardly.

When Obama came to Colorado fund raise for Udall, he left the state like a scared little child. Then in one of his last ads before election day, he took a jab at Obama about the NSA. Never once did he talk about what had been accomplished in spite of Republican sabotage or consequences of a Republican controlled Senate.

[Cha]

65. Oh wow! Sad pathetic.. thanks for that, www.. Damn! Who's bright idea was that? Can

you imagine what might have happened if those Dems ran a campaign based on the reality of what's been accomplished? As opposed to letting the repubs control the narrative?

Darn Hard lessons to learn the Hard way.

[JoePhilly]

31. But isn't Obama a 3rd way, DLC, Republican-lite?

I'm so confused.

Dems got their assess kicked because they and Obama weren't liberal enough ... but this guy won because he's a real liberal who campaigned with Obama.

That makes no sense.

[LovingA2andMI]

35. Umm....

Senator Elect Gary Peters is a Progressive Moderate --- and the People of Michigan voted him into office knowing that. Peters know how to appeal to "Reagan Democrats" and pull over the 10-15% of self-described Republicans who MIGHT be willing to split a ballot to vote for one or two Democrats.

[JoePhilly]

36. What's a Progressive Moderate?

Sounds like a jumbo shrimp.

On DU, progressives are not "moderate", and "moderates" are not to be trusted.

Every other thread on DU is screaming about how being a "moderate" candidate is a losing strategy for any Democrat.

You saying that's not true?

[LovingA2andMI]

56. Joe PHILLY....

Do you live in MICHIGAN or PENNSYLVANIA? What we are talking about is how Senator-Elect Gary Peters WON. Running as a Progressive Moderate is how he WON in Michigan. Michigan is a PURPLE State. Michigan has RED Counties. Some of Michigan's many RED Counties split their ticket to vote for Gary Peters. As a result, Peters won.

That's Michigan. That's how it works in Michigan. The Governor who was "re-elected" Rick Snyder won his FIRST campaign in 2010 NEVER BEING ELECTED TO ANY STATEWIDE OFFICE -- campaigning as a Moderate Republican/Compassive Conservative. Many DEMOCRATS (like it or not) Split their tickets to vote for Rick Snyder in 2010 . This TRUTH might hurt your feelings, but it is the truth and any true Michigander knows this happened in 2010.

Again -- MICHIGAN IS A PURPLE STATE.

And there are more PURPLE - Independent Minded, Flip-Flop, Split Ticket voters in MICHIGAN than Republican or Democrat!

Gary Peters is a great example of how to WIN in MICHIGAN. Run any other way then as a Progressive-Moderate-Democrat statewide....the candidate will likely lose!

[JoePhilly]

59. Agree completely.

I'm commenting on how DU views the election.

Common wisdom on DU is that moderate Dems got killed because they are too moderate, even if they were running in purple states ... like say NC, where I live.

I disagree with them, as do you, from what I see.

Some how ... a moderate Dem won in a purple state, and he used Obama's help. Moderate Dems who did not use Obama, lost.

And Obama is seen, around here, as too moderate. But he helped a moderate win in MI.

This outcome does not follow the DU common wisdom.

[LovingA2andMI]

81. Got it....and yes....

We are in the same page .

[ReRe]

111. On the other hand...

... this is the first time I've ever heard of a "Moderate Progressive." It sounds like a bogus term, created to confuse someone. Have you met someone here on DU who hails as a "Moderate Progressive?"

[LovingA2andMI]

120. On the Other Hand....

Read a dictionary:

"avoiding extremes of behavior or expression : observing reasonable limits" or "professing or characterized by political or social beliefs that are not extreme: ---- MODERATE: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moderate

" making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities" ---- PROGRESSIVE: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progressive?show=0&t=1415480649

So are you saying one cannot avoid extremes in behavior or expression socially and have interest in new ideas?

[ReRe]

129. I'm sorry...

I guess I hit a nerve. Didn't mean to. I know the definition of the words. At the time I read your post, I didn't know the definition of the political entity or group called "Moderate Progressive." In the mean time, I went looking for an answer. I found an article by Will Marshall, President of the Progressive Policy Institute over at Politico.com from back on 10-10-2014 entitled: How To Save the Democratic Party from Itself. It's a pretty long article, but I did stay with it till the end. I'm pretty sure that is the definition of "Moderate Progressivism."

[LovingA2andMI]

132. No Re Re

You did not hit a nerve as first, you would have to know one on a personal level first and why oh why would we ever want or desire to do that?

Meanwhile, back to Michigan. The State we know like the back of our hand. The State that is mostly Red Counties with less in Population in Blue Urban Counties. The state that DEMOCRATS split their tickets to vote for the REPUBLICAN governor that signed Right to Work for Less and laughed about it (not before ordering the State Police to pepper-spray folks first) in 2012.

Again, back to the point since ---- you can't argue the point of this thread we see as --- PETERS WON BECAUSE VOTERS IN MICHIGAN WHO ARE SPLIT TICKET PURPLE FLIP-FLOP VOTERS.....Split their tickets to vote for a Moderate Progressive Democrat named Gary Peters.

Next, as I have no time to waste the day further to folks like yourself RERE who have no idea what they are babbling about when it comes to MICHIGAN and our VOTERS.

[corkhead]

34. maybe Obama didn't want to be seen with a bunch of losers

But seriously, that is a great point. It's hard not to imagine that those who were to cowardly to campaign with the President were viewed as weak and feckless by the electorate.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

43. The only non-Dickless H. Chickenshit that ran. nt

[ProSense]

45. Michigan Democrat taking Koch brothers head on over Obamacare

Michigan Democrat taking Koch brothers head on over Obamacare
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/27/1280890/-Michigan-Democrat-taking-Koch-brothers-head-on-over-Obamacare?

Glad he won.

[Cha]

66. I like this guy.. thanks ProSense! Wow, a staunch defender of Obamacare and he won!

[ErikJ]

47. Republicans hit Senators voting for Obamacare as the big sin.

He didnt get clobbered for voting for Obamacare like the others did.

29 senators who voted for Obamacare and won't be part of new Senate
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/26-senators-who-voted-for-obamacare-wont-be-part-of-new-senate/article/2555721?custom_click=rss

[Kaleva]

48. Despite a F rating from the NRA, he won big in a gun friendly state.

[etherealtruth]

62. Both Stabenaw and Levin have F ratings from the NRA

Michigan's RED areas are gun friendly

[Kaleva]

85. But Peter's did well in Michigan's red counties.

He won a few and polled well in others. He lost a few badly.

A good article about Peter's win:

http://www.reachoutjobsearch.com/2014/11/why-senator-elect-gary-peters-won.html#ixzz3IPxU2Pq5

[etherealtruth]

86. He did better than Schauer did

...however; (I don't want to diminish Peter's victory and have refrained from posting this, but ....) Terry Lynn Land was a horrible republican candidate that appealed to the very right wing only ... noting the RNC abandoned her weeks before the election as she had little chance of winning (noting ,she was given an A rating by the NRA and rated highly by the other right wing political groups)

[Kaleva]

89. Yes, Terry Lynn Land was a bad candidate.

Too rigidly conservative to attract enough independent moderates and cross over votes to have a chance at winning.

[Cha]

67. That boggles the mind and I'm betting makes the NRAers queasy

Some people just got it.

[True Blue Door]

50. Democrats in general still don't get it: Obama = victory.

And apparently some folks here on DU don't get it either, judging by some of the delusional ODS posts trying to blame him for the election loss.

[Rex]

53. It is sad watching people blame Obama for the results on the 4th.

Poor guy, dammed if he does - dammed if he doesn't. He's got to be so tired of all the bullshit.

[Dawson Leery]

71. Gary Peters is not a friend of the gun voters (a large block in the state).

Michigan is a true swing state in off year elections, yet he won in a landslide (13%).

Running from Obama was a massive mistake. The country is in a much better position than it was 8 years ago.

[randys1]

76. Infuriating the way they ran from him...

They were projecting their own racism (remember, all white people are racist even if just to the degree that they accept white privilege without doing much about it) onto their voters assuming that everybody distrusts or dislikes the Black guy

[Doctor_J]

102. all white people are racist

I wonder why we're losing...

[randys1]

117. We are losing because people dont care about midterms, not because one white guy on the internet

has the guts to tell the truth about white people in america

nobody is listening to me, especially since what i said is undeniably true

i include myself in that by the way

and like i said we are racist even if it is just to the extent that we continue to accept privilege

[Bluenorthwest]

148. Oregon is almost all white, just gave you one of your few Senate victories 4 Reps and a Governor

we also gave Barack Obama his largest crowds of the 08 campaign and all of our electoral votes. Our election turnout this week was just under 70%. Our Statehouse got more blue than it already was, we put an Equal Rights Amendment into our Constitution and legalized cannabis among other things.
You post is racist and really shitty. Repeat, racist and really shitty.
No wonder you lose elections that we win with ease.....

[Harriety]

82. I commented on this on Twitter and...

on election day received a firestorm of hatred from the right. So be it....

[marlene.elyse]

88. I can think of 3 dem incumbents that won

including my senator Tom Udall (NM), Alan Grayson and Al Franken. They are progressives though. I think democrats should stop "straddling the fence" - the people will listen if you show some empathy for their suffering.

"Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." (attributed to Lincoln)

[Bluenorthwest]

146. Grayson is a Rep, lots of Democratic Reps won. My Democratic Senator won by 20 points but

people ignore that in order to make points about a politician that can no longer run for any office.

[Reter]

91. Unrec for not saying who it is

No idea who he is. Not even a hint of what state he's in, come on.

[Cha]

93. "Unrec" haha.. We political heads keep up.. and there's the link provided in the OP.. thanks for

Kickin', though.

[hopemountain]

94. hehe...

nice kick!

[Cha]

95. Backatcha, hopemountain!

[oberliner]

115. He was a very heavy favorite

I don't think this really means anything.

[Kaleva]

139. Early in the campaign, Land lead Peters in the polls.

[oberliner]

143. That flipped in May/June

By September, Peters had a substantial lead.

Obama campaigned with him in October-November.

[Kaleva]

145. But Peters was vocal about his support of Obama's policies long before that

Especially ACA.

[oberliner]

147. Good point

My claim is that Peters would have won the seat with or without Obama campaigning for him.

I would also argue that there were some who were vocal about supporting Obama's policies (including ACA) who were not successfully re-elected.

I think it has more to do with issues unrelated to Obama himself in both circumstances.