I went to the Coakley rally featuring Bill Clinton today.

[Kat45]

There were so many people and I got there late so I ended up in one of the overflow rooms watching it on a TV screen. (I did manage to peek into the main room when things were breaking up so I can now say I've seen a president in person, which I never had before.) John Kerry spoke, Ed Markey said a few words, several other reps were up on stage as well. Then Clinton and Coakley came out together. Of course Clinton was the highlight of the rally. He immediately apologized for the shape he was in because he's only had a few hours sleep in the past few days, then he spoke about Haiti for a few minutes. (Instructions for texting to give money to the effort in Haiti were given more than once. I saw a number of folks texting after getting the info.) He gave a good speech in favor of Coakley, as expected, but all I could think was that he was just preaching to the choir. I wish some of the undecided folks could have heard him. Coakley spoke after that.

I hope Clinton's coming here helped light a fire under Dems and progressives in this state because there has been too much complacency on our side in this race up until the past week or so. I think the fact that Obama is coming on Sunday should let everyone know how serious this situation is.

[Ozymanithrax]

1. At this point, GOTV is what would win it.

HOw many people are undecided at this point. But a storng GOTV campaign can win this election. Clinton can inspire people to vote.

[Laelth]

4. Hear, hear!

The idea that independents are the key to winning elections is a MYTH that has been killing the Democratic Party for years. The myth would be true if 100% of eligible voters voted in every election, but they don't. Fewer than 50% of Americans will vote in the 2010 mid-terms.

As the Republicans have shown, the way to win elections when there's a 50% turn-out is to mobilize your base. The Party needs to fight for its base's values, give them something to cheer about, smear the opposition (not flatter them), fight for legislation that the base wants, get the base excited, and that, in sum, will get the base out to vote.

Instead, we have a Party that prefers to appeal to independents (who don't give a darn because they have few core political values--that's why they're independents. They just want to be on the "winning team"). Instead of trying to appeal to its base, the Democratic Party is pissing us off, mightily.

It's a losing strategy, and the results will probably prove me right.

:dem:

-Laelth

[RBInMaine]

5. Your sense of reality on NATIONAL politics and GOVERNING lacks tremendously.

First, NATIONALLY, on balance, it is a CENTRIST nation, and in MANY races "purple" independents are the SWING voters that determine the outcomes, especially at the Presidential level. Obama won because a majority of independents veered to him out of disallusion with the Bush R's. The "base" is very important, but Presidential candidates and many others, depending on the dynamics, MUST win the "swing" voters, the moderate INDYS, to be successful. Next, GOVERNING in a BIG, ideologically diverse nation requires COMPROMISE or NOTHING can be achieved. This is where "progressives" really lose the reality ball. The Democratic Party is rightly a big, diverse, coalition party. Not everyone in it is "progressive" (aka very liberal). That is life. And on many issues, like or not, you have to try to work with the other party. In order to GOVERN and get some things done, that compromise, upon which the entire nation is founded, has to occur.

If your idea is to hunker down in a NO-COMPROMISES, pure-ideology mode, you will achieve little to ZILCH when attempting to govern. So please get real.

[Laelth]

8. Well, allow me to suggest that your rhetorical skills are quite lacking.

You're not winning any friends, nor are you likely to be very influential, when you start out your post by calling the person you're trying to have a discussion with an idiot.

And I still think you're wrong. I believe the majority of independents swing in favor of whichever side they think is "winning." I do not believe that they're driven by any broad political philosophy, and I think it's madness to try to "appeal" to them at the expense of your base.

Look at the math (and I'll use a Presidential contest as an example). Let's say we have 200 million eligible voters. Of those 35% claim to be Democrats, i.e. 70 million. Let's say 35% claim to be independents, i.e. 70 million, and the remaining 30% claim to be Republicans, i.e. 60 million.

On average, only half of the eligible voters will vote, i.e. 100 million. That means you only need 50 million and one votes to win. Well, we have 70 million self-identified Democrats. We have enough to win without courting any independents. If we can just get our people to the polls, we win.

To heck with the independents. We don't need them, and if we're perceived as "winning," we're going to get them, regardless. This is how the Republicans do it, and this explains their electoral successes despite the fact that we outnumber them. They get their people to the polls by appealing to their base.

I continue to believe that "appealing to the middle" is killing the Democratic Party.

:dem:

-Laelth

[HughMoran]

12. Don't waste your time talking to "hate"

There's a reason I have miserable rotten haters like that on ignore.

[RBInMaine]

6. This will come down entirely to GOTV. If Dems vote, the Dem wins. Plain and simple.

[thunder rising]

2. What? "Light a fire?" I guess if you piss on liberals enough times they don't show up one day.

[annabanana]

3. "one day" doesn't have to be this Tuesday. . . n/t

[RBInMaine]

7. SCHIP? Leadbetter Law? Stem Cells? More Abortion Rights?Green Energy? Is all that "pissing" on you?

Grow up.

[thunder rising]

9. Dean kicked to the curb, Lieberman shit sandwich, "We're looking ahead", Rahm ...

[HughMoran]

13. Your solution? Destroy the Dems and get nothing AT ALL?

:wtf:

[HughMoran]

11. Yes, Bush and the Reoublicans did a fine job of pissing on liberals for 8 years straight

We can't be complacent now that Dems are in control

[bigwillq]

10. Thanks for sharing this info.

:)

[Maru Kitteh]

14. Good gravy that guy is amazing - just - unbelievable. Thanks for sharing.