Eric left a link to this article on Facebook so I thought I’d give it a shot. The article is Left Behind: How Democrats Are Losing the Political Center. Most of you know the bad news about the Democrats so I’m not going to dwell on it (read the article if you want details). What I’m going to focus on is the point they made on how the Ds might turn it around.
Political scientists have long observed that Americans are more liberal on particulars than they are in general—ideologically conservative but operationally liberal. (Surveys have shown majority support for most individual elements of the president’s jobs and budget packages.) And the Republicans could undermine their chances by nominating a presidential candidate who is simply too hard-edged conservative for moderates and Independents to stomach.
In the face of widespread skepticism and disillusion, it will be an uphill battle for Democrats to persuade key voting blocks that government can really make their lives better. But if they fail, the public will continue to equate public spending with waste, the anti-government message will continue to resonate, and Democrats will be in dire straits when heading into what is shaping up as a pivotal election.
So how do they shore up their base, bring over independents, be anti-government, and bring over a few votes from the Right?
Let us start with some stats. According to the article 57% of the electorate is either moderate or liberal. According to numbers I have seen around, anywhere from 67% to 85% of Americans say Drug Prohibition is not working. Something like 80% of Americans support medical marijuana.
All that points back to something I wrote recently.
The Democrat’s 2012 Victory Plan
The Republicans can lose this thing if they don’t get on the right side of this issue.
We will get a good read on things following the airing on PBS of the Ken Burns movie “Prohibition” which is about Alcohol Prohibition. It starts on Sunday 2 October and will be on for two hours each following night. Which means that we should have a pretty good read by the 10th of October. Enough time for editorials and the Democrat Media Machine to make their point and then see what changes it has wrought.
T -7 days and counting.
Cross Posted at Power and Control