Democrats as a National Party

[erpowers]

In the last few days I have heard some Democrats, including Howard Dean, claim we are not a national party. I think the Democratic party is a national party. I do not think Kerry lost the last election because the Democratic party is not a national party. I think he lost the last election because he did not provide a clear alternative to Bush. During the last election Democrats won it states where people thought they would not win. The Democratic party won in states in all regions. So what do other DUer think about whether the Democratic party is national party?

[BayCityProgressive]

1. The Dems are a national party.

We are strongest in the North East and we do have some limited success in the mid-West and we are popular on the West Coast. We need to compete better in the South West. Also, I think we are making real gains in Montana. The south is lost to us for quite a while I think. But hey, the GOP is dead in the Norhteats and West coast.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. We are, but...

Boy Howdy, we can do better.

Look at it this way: It is clear that Terry McAuliffe did a fine job of building up and out the internal infrastructure. Internally, most of the pieces they need are now in place, save some tweaking. That said, Terry was not a politician. Case in point: I know, for a fact, that Kerry had to get VERY...*amem*...forceful with McAuliffe during the Not-So-Swiftie thing, to get him and the party to mount a response. How forceful? How does very loud, very clear and inches away from his face strike you? The source of this is rather...ummm...knowledgeable. To say the least. ;-)

Terry was a great manager and the internals are set. We now need to use them to go "external" with a real leader. I think that leader is Howard Dean. The right man for the right job at the right time.

[libodem]

3. I may be cynical

...but I think we have a one party system right now ...Executive, House, senate, judiciary, military, FBI< CIA< Negroponte...I don't think we exist anymore in the military/industrial complex...I don't think we have a chance in hell ....unless the whole middle-class unites...and says "Power to the People!"

[welshTerrier2]

4. and we will make sure the Iraqis

are "Getty"ng what's coming to them ...

nice sig line !!!

[DaveinMD]

5. Dean's point

is that we don't even try to compete in so many places. Thank god he's going to change that. Its long overdue.

[Benson]

6. Agree. (nt)

[Nantuckt22]

7. How to do it?

But the questions is whether we become a "national party" by starting from the top and hoping to win a presidential election, or by setting aside the 2008 election for now and focusing on building up a base of leaders who embody the ideals we envision in the United States? If we instead continue to hope that 2008 turns out in our favor and it doesn't, we are back to square one.

We need a long-term vision, not a prayer that we win the next election and end up back where we started when that term is up. We need to establish momentum that is impossible to deflate, to prove on a more familiar and local level that Democratic principles are what is right for this country.

[goodhue]

8. "national" means a 50-state party, that competes everywhere . . .

Sad fact is that in many states there simply is no democratic party between election cycles, just an answering machine. The DNC needs to take the lead in providing tools and resources to develop sustainable party structures in all 50 states.

[Damien]

9. its a problem of framing and tradition

in many areas, people simply vote straight down the ticket r/d and do not consider other candidates.

The problem is that we need to find a way to talk to people in kansas, colorado, wyoming and the rest of middle america (im from colorado myself) and show them what democrats can do for them. That's the issue of framing.

The issue of tradition ties right in -- people are used to voting one way or another, and have a hard time trusting people from the other party because of how the two major parties go after each other.

I don't have a lot of answers, but it seems to me that Clinton's approach in arkansas was good -- talk to working class people on how democrats support better working conditions for them and want to help make their lives better. The same framing argument needs to show how republicans' interests lie in helping the rich and the corporate world.

It's the personal approach.

[GetTheRightVote]

10. We are a national party just finally looking/acting like one too

:kick:

[tomreedtoon]

11. Democratic Party as a chowder and marching society.

Here in Florida, the Democratic party has a regular home between elections. It's in the "free" weekly newspapers, sharing space with gay dating services, tattoo parlors and restaurant reviews. Many of the candidates write columns in these papers, keeping their "credibility" as politicians, while they refuse to take to more public forums and challenge the Republicans. They are more a social club than a political party. The truth is that, as long as the "grassroots" people don't stand up and demand that the Party put up real candidates, real candidates won't run.

[GetTheRightVote]

12. Election stolen, Democrats growing together w/ help of grass roots

the grass roots are the foundation for a national party which is growing from the bottom up right now, it had all but just about died.

We regular Americans are breathing life back into it. I believe that is the ideal they are driving at with their mention of no national party, they needed some life brought back into it and them.

:kick: