With approval ratings way down, does this mean victory for us in 2006?

[ginnyinWI]

We know *'s approval ratings are down--but does this translate to diminished power for the rest of his term? Or can he just conduct business as usual, pushing right-wing legislation and judges until he's out of office?

What does this mean for the 2006 elections? Will Iraq or joblessness or any other domestic failure rub off on incumbent repubs and prevent them from being re-elected?

I'm relatively new to politics and I'd really like to know if we have real reason to hope that * failures will actually mean anything at the polls next time. I'd love to hope for a Dem majority on the Hill, and a Dem president in '08.

[SnoopDog]

1. He who counts the votes......

Not until we have real elections will the victor have more votes

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Disapproval of Brand X does not imply approval of Brand Y

I and most of the people I know are not voting for anyone who can not give us a reason to vote for them. Simply saying (yet again) "We ain't as bad that those guys" will not cut it.

[oscar111]

3. seattle: what you would have done, Hitler vs. DLC IN '32?

{if you had been in Germany in '32, along with DLC candidates vs. Adolf Hitler}

I dont like DINO's either, but i think boycotting elections is no good.

the lesser of two evils is the regrettable path one oft must take.

sitting on the sidelines can let really awful evil take over.

be not a bystander!

[TechBear_Seattle]

4. A better comparison: Hitler v. Stalin

A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil. Give me a positive reason to vote for a Democrat candidate, and I will. Don't just assume I will vote otherwise.

[liberaltrucker]

6. Uncle Joe wasn't that bad

Compared to Cousin Adolf:sarcasm:

[TechBear_Seattle]

10. Ok, I'm exaggerating

:eyes:

The fact is, I want to support Democrats as a whole. I am tired of voting for people to champion a platform (like gay rights) only to have them not only NOT champion it, but turn around and actively betray their promises (DOMA, DA/DT.) I'm tired of seeing crocodile tears shed at election time about the poor state of education, the shabby treatment of veterans, the low pay of active duty soldiers, the grave inequities that are day to day life for minorities, the number of species that are in danger of becoming extinct... only to have those tears dry up after the election and the issues shelved entirely for two or four years until it is time to trot them out again for the voters.

Give me a positive reason, that is all I ask. A reason backed up with actual effort, a candidate with a genuine history of not treating the ideals of the Democratic Party as a campaign promotion, easily displayed and left to rot after the votes are tallied.

Surely, it can't be that difficult to do. Can it?

[kster]

9. I always agree

100% with your posts, but why would one have a desire to vote under these circumstances, I do not want to be an actor for their election day charade, but we have to face the facts,if the Dem's don't stand up and fight with us NOW, what really is the difference if we vote or not?

Dems haven't said nothing to date about the voting machines,And the honest republicans are no better. That means they all are willing to let our competition walk all over us + count all the vote's in secret?

[New Earth]

5. it means nothing until

we are in control of our elections.

[kster]

7. Yes it diminishes his power, and yes

* has business as usual.

About the diminished power,It means NOTHING while the electronic machines are countng and tabulating the votes. Iraq,Job loss and domestic failure,and the repubublicans re-election they will be re-elected, all this means nothing with electronic voting machines in place.

Correct,No hope for Dem majority on the hill or Dem president, while the electronic voting machines are in place. Sorry that is my view.

[wli]

8. nope, we're in for another Stalin-style rigged election

"It's not who votes, it's who counts the votes." -- Josef Stalin

[RONSTOO]

12. wow

Stalin...may u burn

[wli]

13. refers to "It's not who votes, it's who counts the votes."

A famous quote of his.

[kerrygoddess]

11. Well I'll step out on a limb...

Ginny

I think we need to work our asses off, stop complaining, stop whining and work our asses off to mobilize, educate and get the damn vote out! Sitting around pissing and moaning about what's wrong instead of educating people now that the GOP and *'s ratings are down won't get us squat.

People are waking up and they are starting to see what they missed last election. Buyers remorse, deep regret from some. Take advantage of that. Use it.

Yes we need things fixed, including the voting system, but we need to educate people on that too. The media is actually starting to listen to Dem's... Kerry's speech yesterday got great coverage including CNN and Max Cleland's firey Dem Radio Address made CNN too.

It's time to come together and stand up and fight!

[ginnyinWI]

29. I think the media is key

It doesn't matter what actually happens if they continue to spin it to favor the GOP and not the Dems. I believe it is one of the biggest reasons we don't have a President Kerry today. Hopefully the * administrations failures are having some sort of impact on the media now--TV in particular. I've been encouraged by the Sheehan coverage and Kerry on CNN-Headline News yesterday. We need a lot more of that--and we'll get it if the networks keep reading the polls. I think they'll follow public opinion for the sake of ratings. I heard FOX was suffering in the ratings a while back--hope that continues!

As during the Vietnam war, it was public opinion that really got us rolling toward ending it. I hope this war's dissenters can start a snowball effect in the same way. Yeah we all need to keep doing whatever we can, whenever we can to help it along!

[Dynasty_At_Passes]

14. Not at all, this is an uphill battle against Diebold, ES&S....

Once the vote count is fair, all Howard Dean must do is keep throwing the message out. People who lose can blame themselves, again, once the fraud is removed.

[RONSTOO]

15. Dems

grow some fucking huevos

[Dynasty_At_Passes]

16. We need to knock them flat......

This is what democrat leaders are up to lately.....Selling out for party favors.

http://ohiohonestelections.org/

Its time to bite back hard, and knock these lying, scummy thieves flat on their asses and take the lawsuits to court.

[fujiyama]

17. The elections are still over a year away

and that's a lifetime in politics.

[AtomicKitten]

18. Is Al Gore Available?

I always have this nagging feeling that Al Gore really needs to step back into the fray. He deserves the opportunity to kick the shit out of these bastards, particularly while they're down. It just seems like unfinished business to me.

[Dynasty_At_Passes]

19. Current TV is great. Started by Al Gore!

Should write to him and pressure him into becoming vocal, might be the best timing.

[Talismom]

24. Ya know, the way Al has been talking in the last few years has been very

refreshing. Especially compared with Hilary and Bayh and all the DLC crowd.

[AtomicKitten]

25. Indeed.

I always thought he was the one. But he got run over by the Bush Wrecking Machine in Florida. Bastards. His ultimate concession speech was the most gracious words I had heard in a long time. Gut-wreching. I really want him to run again.

[lastknowngood]

20. NO because you can't tell the difference between most Dem's

and the repugs. They are just to afraid to speak truth, and without that why should anyone vote for them.

[JNelson6563]

21. If we work hard enough

I hope lots of DUers join the fight.

Julie

[Kahuna]

22. No. The repubs will trot out the, "the dems have no ideas and stand..

for nothing routine." The media will repeat it on an hourly basis. The sheeple will buy it like they usually do.

[Old_Fart]

23. Do we still have electronic voting?

The republicans will get into office every election unless we vote by paper ballots.

[Geek_Girl]

26. Probably not

Until the democratic candidates are able to give and articulate a real alternative to the current status quo I don't think much will change.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

27. People might hate what's going on nationally with one party or the other

But will often vote for their state or local reps because they like them or trust them, despite their political affiliation. So juniors plummeting polls don't necessarily spell disaster for people in his party. But if they hate what junior is doing and their rep is going right along with it, then they'll get rid of him. That's why a lot of repubs are speaking out againt junior right now so they can fit in with public opinion.

[OzarkDem]

28. Not always

For the last several years, Dem leaders have been unable to capitalize on Repub problems. Not sure if its a lack of clarity, inability to communicate, laziness or what. Their tendency to package themselves as apologists or Repub lite isn't endearing them to the public.

IMHO to make that jump, Dems need to re-package themselves and bring in new faces, people with a little more passion and energy than the current crop of Dem inclumbents to attract support.

[kentuck]

30. No...

You can't beat something with nothing - no matter if something is wrong.

[theHandpuppet]

31. It depends on who has the money

In Ohio the Dems are having a hard time finding someone to run against DeWine because the Senator has such a huge war chest already. Even if very good dems are availble, they still have to be backed by $$$$$$$ in order to run a successful campaign.