Can we really win?

[preocupied]

I apologize for this defeatist post but after that recall, I am somewhat despondent about the future.

My main concern is we can have the smartest and brightest candidate on the ticket ever but I fear the Republican control of talk radio is so great in their brainwashing of America that I am not sure we will ever gather enough power to fight it!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. It Will Be A Challenge

but not an insurmountable one....

[Padraig18]

2. We CAN win!

We MUST win! We must never, never, NEVER give up! :thumbsup:

[mandyky]

3. Only if we ditch our complacency

We have got to reach out to our family and friends and co-workers. We need to start talking to people in check out lines at the stores, the post offices, the beauty and barber shops about our country and the direction we are headed in under shrub.
We have to spend less time watching the tube, and even posting here, by getting involved in growing the grassroots. Develope your own message and call in to radio shows, CSpan, and any place you can giving logical reasons why shrub has to go.
Choose a candidate and donate and support them. All our candidates are 200% better than what we have now, so find your best fit and get with it. Time is running out, in less 13 months it is election 2004.
But it isn't hopeless, YET!!

[RichM]

4. It's not just talk radio, it's TV, newspapers -- almost everything.

And the answer to your question is, "probably not." The Democratic Party has some very good individuals in it, but as an organization, it has terrible weaknesses:

- Most of the individuals are cowards & sellouts
- There is no coherent philosophy binding the party together
- The party has a fraction of Republican cash resources
- There is ZERO media strategy; all media are controlled by the rightwing

The only factor on the other side is that the Republicans are criminals, liars, & thieves. But if you own the media, that "little problem" is manageable.

[politicaholic]

5. just vote with your heart...

and know that your vote DOES count.

Unless you vote other than democratic, then you can go jump in a lake. lol

[sam sarrha]

6. New Zealand is still fighting the effects of the Fascists selling their

manufacturing off Island. Deregulating and privatizing everything and drowning debt, you can surf 'Fascism New Zealand' and there is a lot of older material about that right here in the archives at DU.

[Imajika]

7. Ofcourse we can

Remember when Papa Bush was at 92% in the polls and nearly the entire Democratic establishment threw in the towel?

You ofcourse know what happened to that seemingly invincible President.

We can win, but it will be very difficult. We need to nominate a good candidate and run an excellent campaign to start. We have some good people running who are getting more polished everyday they exist in the national spotlight. The Rove machine is not even geared up yet, so count on our nominee getting attacked relentlessly, but if we run a positive campaign which gives people a reason to vote FOR us - we can put a Democrat back in the White House.

I believe we need realism here. We can not count on scandal to sink Bush. It's just not likely to happen. People should not grasp at straws and assume every media flap will result in "Bush going down". Every White House deals with controvery, it usually doesn't doom them.

It is going to be a long, brutal campaign against an extraordinarily well funded Bush machine. If we make too many mistakes or wind up having to waste precious media time defending positions the public disagrees with our nominee on - well, we will be in trouble. Our Party and nominee needs to stress a few big ideas. There is no need to spell out all the details. The media will ask for the specifics, the public won't really be interested (though they will tell a pollster they are). The Democrats need to be positive and talk about all the great things that could be if only our nominee is elected in 04'.

Honestly, my biggest worry is the Iraq issue. I think the public supports having gone to war - I think they always have and probably always will unless events turn drastically against us (I mean hundreds of US soldiers being killed at a time ala Beirut). I don't care what the polls say at the moment, I believe peoples gut tells them that removing the bad Arab Saddam was a good idea. I think in the end, despite the overwhelming majority belief here on DU, that Iraq is a net winner for Bush. I am worried that our party is going to be suckered into becoming more and more vocal against Iraq, thus more and more percieved by the American public as the "peace" party. I do not believe someone percieved as the "peace" candidate can win anytime in the next 4 or 5 years - perhaps even longer if terrorists attack more American targets.

Polling may show Americans think the Iraq war wasn't worth it now, but at the end of the day I think after 9-11 that most US citizens will vote for the candidate that they believe will go out and beat up on the bad guys - whether we needed to or not. I firmly believe that this is the way the average American will vote, and this helps Bush. Democrats can say that the Iraq war was a misguided adventure, but I suspect even if the public comes to that conclusion - it still might not hurt Bush and might infact help him. I believe the American public might actually conclude that the fact that Bush attacked Saddam and didn't really need to is still okay because they think America needs a tough person in office during the "war on terror" who is very aggressive - even overly so. And incidentally, no candidate is going to be able to win on a platform that there really is no terrorist problem and that America isn't at war with anyone because terrorism is a law enforcement issue. That platform just won't sell after 9-11.

I think we can win, but I am worried about this Iraq issue becoming an albatross when the media inevitably changes its tune and begins reporting it as a great success. You can almost count on that happening too - especially if US troops are being being withdrawn (even in very small numbers) as 04' draws nearer.

Imajika

[diplomats]

10. Imajika, you make some interesting points about Iraq

I'm not sure if it will turn out to be a minus or plus for Bush.

[MarianJack]

8. YES WE CAN!

At this point in 1991, bush sr. seemed invincible. As late as early summer of 1992, Bill Clinton was THIRD in polls behind bush sr. & perot. The message will evolve around the candidate. People will start thinking with their pocketbooks and vote accordingly, and bush jr. shot his "war on terrerusts" wad in '02!

We do, however have to stop bitching about the media, accept that we have to win without them and get out and talk it up.

whistle ass is NOT NEARLY as popular as the media makes him out to be. If you haven't noticed, his little sailor suit gambit has become an object of ridicule, even on the cover of Time magazine for heaven's sake!

Of course, if you're willing to give up because of CA, Adios. We need you like a hole in the head. The things that I and other posters have said require GUTS, not crybabies!

[Must_B_Free]

9. No, we'll never win

and anyone who says we will is a :tinfoilhat:

[BeFree]

11. Sarcasm?? Musty?

Cause if it was, it was nothing, if not biting...

Anyhow... the question is "Can we win?" H E L L -- Y E A H!!

We are gonna kick their sorry asses right, and left. We are gonna have a Democrat as President come 2005. We are ganging up (you, preocupied, with 48 posts, are now part of the gang) and we will make history in the coming year.

Is it gonna be easy? Hell no. But it's gonna be fun. And in the end, WWW, We Will Win.

BeFree

[RC]

12. No one so far has mentioned the roll the CIA will play in the coming year.

bu$h so far thinks 'The leak' is no big deal. It seems to me a good case can be made for Treason here. I truly believe bu$h&co pissed off the wrong people this time. He will be polical toast by this time next year.