DLC and Conservative types are Reading this Election Wrong: It's about Convincing them you are right

[JCMach1]

The numbers (specifically referring to Gallup, but other places also seem to bear this out) in the aftermath of this year's Midterms seemed indicate that Repugs and Democrats were as polarized as ever. In fact, there was VERY LITTLE crossover voting from one party to the other.

This kind of environment, also leaves us with independents reacting in this polarized environment. What made them choose was the perceived World view/ideology of either the Democrats, or republicans. For them, it was a rejection of the views of the Republicans as wrong (specifically concerning the Iraq issue).

It would be a MISTAKE in such an environment to shift your ideology/core beliefs to the same of the squishy middle. Instead, we must concentrate on continuing to frame the argument.

Bottom line with a polarized electorate:

Win the argument, win the election...

[aquart]

1. Huge amount of crossover voting going ONE WAY.

Where are they getting their peculiar figures?

[JCMach1]

2. Crap, on edit, it's now a pay poll

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/Default.aspx?ci=25399&VERSION=p

[JCMach1]

3. Here is a link to a DU discussion of the poll

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2660197

[greenman3610]

4. Important: the pendulum always swings

we need to build structures and ideas that
will weather outlast the next swing.

Part of that will come from moving carefully.
Aikido politics is bringing your opponent with
you by taking him where he wants to go.

[longship]

5. What the frack do you expect from ideologues?

Ideologues always lie, cheat, and do basically anything to further their ideological agenda.

The DLC is to the Democratic Party as the Rapture Rightists is to the Republican Party.

Screw them both.

[AntiFascist]

7. One problem comes in thinking that we have to compromise on everything...

in fact many conservatives voted Democratic in the election in order to do something about the corruption and war spending. To compromise on corruption would be a big mistake. We would be serving both peace-loving Democrats and these conservatives by doing everything that is necessary to deal with the corruption involving war.

[Lexingtonian]

6. they're in denial, JC

It's painful and stupid to watch, but the talking heads are simply regurgitating the stuff they've bought into and heard smart people claim at Beltway cocktail parties for years. 'This is a center-right country' bottom lines and that sort of thing. Their sorting out of things is further confused by Republicans coming up with new pseudo-plausible rationales for their failures and decline.

There's simply a longish road of relearning for the media at the moment. Up to this spring the Rightist view of things was supreme; now the liberal Democrats are the new power. The amount of freedom and individual intellectual effort involved in keeping up with liberals, and the lack of easy and trite and vanity-appealing answers is something that a lot of what passes for journalists these days is no longer accustomed to.

I wouldn't worry about compromise too much. The other side is fading rather quickly, losing the power it had to sway the swing voters and even bleeding off its moderate partisans into being 'Independents' and such. January will feel and be very different.

Look at what the Administration is doing. They've throwen a third of their triumvirate to the crocs in order to better defend the other two. As a Party they've lost control of all the institutions of government up to the Senate. That leaves the Supreme Court and the White House- and the Supreme Court has been quietly slipping away from the Bush people, into a kind of neutrality.

I think that in six or eight months the political inviability of the present White House will be clear. It will be necessary to throw either Bush or Cheney to the wolves at that point- and the worst part is, the survivor only buys himself a few weeks or months. We can't lose, really.

[JCMach1]

9. You are right of course

Conservatives are only a small part of the independent vote.

Conservatives are only a small part of the Democratic party.

WE capture the independents by framing the argument in away that compels them to support Democrats. Independents ARE NOT the story.

For the most part, these people are disaffected by parties anyway. The more issues are framed in a non-partisan way the better we do. Opposition to war is a CLEAR, POWERFUL and effective message. Note, that wasn't the message the Dems gave at all in 2002. IT was KERRY reporting for duty!

I pray we didn't paint ourselves in opposition to quietly go along with the admin over the next 2 years. IF we do, the Indys will quite rightly abandon us!

[leesa]

8. They don't want to be convinced. They are creating their own reality

like they always do.