What top guns do we have that can successfully run a campaign?

[ncteechur]

I don't mean by lying and cheating and stealing and rigging voting machines. I mean by outfoxing and being smart and on message and knowing when to fight and what to say.

Carville is out plus I believe he is trying to keep his wife out of trouble--his silence about Rove screams volumes.

Donna Brazille-nope

Anyone else??

[Dogmudgeon]

1. "Carville is out ... Donna Brazile - nope ..."

That says it all.

There's always a reason to want to shitcan someone. Democrats and Progressives are masters at the art of backbiting their friends and calling it "conscience".

Then, too, very few of us run for local positions. We expect the politicians to be our willing vassals -- and why the hell should they? They know that no matter what they do, we'll only call them "whores" and "spineless" anyway.

The only solution to this is to get more grassroots Liberals/Democrats/Progressives/(Your own favorite description here) involved in local politics. This is exactly how the New Right did it in the 1970s, and within a decade, they had thousands of policy wonks and seasoned election fighters ready to and willing to stun, bleed, and dress Democracy like an old cow. If we start today, we'll have a whole political tidal wave of lefties ready to step in and save the day just when the oil age comes to an end and the world's climate goes to hell.

And the nice thing is that we can bicker and argue on a local level as much as we want, and all it will do is gain us MORE political clout. Our squabbles will define The Political Mainstream. And we will be happy warriors who can focus on fighting for ideas instead of sharking our allies.

By that time -- maybe 2015 or 2020 -- the question will be "Karl WHO?" George W. Bush will have his place in the history books next to Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover. And at that point, we will have won.

--p!
Remember Bert Lance?

[wli]

2. getting them out of the White House is not enough

To the Hague with them!

[Hippo_Tron]

3. Umm Carville is the best we have, why should he be out?

Others include Sasso and Lockhardt.

[snowbear]

4. The media keeps saying "George Lakoff" is going to be a factor for Dems...

And I keep reading the same thing in various publications (New Yorker, etc..)

Look for him to be a huge factor in 06/08 and future Democratic races..

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/people/lakoff

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/10/27_lakoff.shtml

http://www.georgelakoff.com/

I remember a few other names that keep springing up.. but it's late.. :boring: (or early depending on where you are ;) ).. so I'll have to add more names to our list.. and I'm sure others will tack on names as they wake up.. Zzzzz :boring:

[zulchzulu]

5. Bob Schrum or Joe Trippi

NOT!

[Justice]

6. Paul Begala, without Carville

I also like John Podesta and Sid Blumenthal - don't know if they have that talent, but they aren't afraid to tell it like it is.

[DinahMoeHum]

7. How about Dave "Mudcat" Saunders? I heard him on Air America

just the other day, on "Morning Sedition"
http://shows.airamericaradio.com/ms/node/739

and his sidekick, Steve Jarding.

Here's also a link from USAToday. He was instrumental in getting Dem rising star Mark Warner elected governor of Virginia.

Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-09-foxes-democratic-advice_x.htm

(snip)
Strategists Steve Jarding and Dave "Mudcat" Saunders have signed a contract with Simon & Schuster to write what Jarding describes as a bare-knuckled "blueprint for how Democrats can win again in the South and the heartland." Various chapters will instruct candidates on how to handle issues such as God, guns, gays, national security and the Confederate flag.

The timing: spring 2006, in time to help Democrats who are running for governor and Congress. The advance: mid-six figures. The twist: a tie-in country music CD to grab attention.
(snip)
Jarding, 46, and Saunders, 54, helped Democrat Mark Warner become governor of red-state Virginia in 2001. Warner, a Connecticut-born cell phone millionaire, appealed to hunters and NASCAR fans and used a bluegrass theme song.

Some critics called the approach gimmickry. Jarding and Saunders counter that Warner showed he understood rural culture without claiming to be part of it. He offered proposals to revive rural areas, and it worked: He took the governorship and is now a Democratic presidential prospect for 2008.
(snip)


:kick: