Did Democrats lose by being too progressive or too corporate?

[yurbud]

Poll question: Did Democrats lose by being too progressive or too corporate?

Obama is a smart guy, so either he's going to use this as an excuse to clean the corporate filth out of his cabinet and Congress or he preferred to work with a Republican congress all along.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Neither. Coakley lost by being too complacent.

Good campaign > bad campaign. Every time.

[mitchtv]

2. Neither

BY BEING SPINELESS

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. Perhaps

But aren't all the spineless people in Congress also corporatists? ;)

[mitchtv]

9. Perhaps

there are a few exceptions like Boxer, but she has been spineless lately too

[yurbud]

20. that's being charitable--they have a spine when it comes to taking bold action

on behalf of corporations and laughing in the face of progressives.

[TornadoTN]

Too corporate - even the interviews with people today said as much

People were coming out of the polling stations and talking about the banker bailouts, the mess at the Treasury and the back room deals being a contributing factor to their vote.

The people are sick and tired of the disparity of wealth in this country and watching billions go to the top 1% while the rest of us crumble.

[andym]

3. Other

Should have had laser focus on the economy and jobs. More populism-- anti banks especially would have helped.

[MadBadger]

4. If its Obama's fault that Coakley lost, its because Brown's supporters thought he was too far left.

[Abq_Sarah]

6. People vote

For repubs because the Democrat is too corporate?

That makes no sense.

[JoeyT]

43. Well to be fair

no one said the people that voted for Republicans because Democrats were too corporatist were very bright people.
They just latched onto the nearest person that spouted populist talking points and that happened to be the Republican.
Anyone with any sense knows he's going to be the exact opposite, but that isn't the point.

[OhioChick]

7. Too Corporate

Wall St. is more important than Main St.

[TCJ70]

8. Is this a serious question?

Too corporate.

[Hippo_Tron]

10. Other

We were unable to overcome the fact that Scott Brown drives a truck.

[TexasObserver]

11. Too corporate. Wall Street. Big Banks. Insurers. Big Pharm. Bailed out capitalists.

The message for 12 months has been: "we'll do the people's business, but we'll let the industries decide what is acceptable and what isn't, and we'll do their bidding first."

One would think this is earth shaking news in the history of the party. When we make promises we don't deliver, we take a beating in the elections which follow. We can't say "give me the controls," and then claim unruly passengers took our mind off our job. We are in charge, as a party, and we have failed to get many important things done, things we could have gotten done if the president, the speaker, and the majority leader would stop being such wimps, and body slam the GOP.

Our only hope to prevail in November is to act forcefully NOW, on the jobs front and on the health care front. Pass major legislation immediately, force it through, and bulldoze any Republicans who get in the way. Be brutal. Take away chairs. Demote traitors. If we don't kick ass and take names now, if we don't get a real jobs program rolling now, we are going to lose 30 seats in the House this fall.

[Mimosa]

48. Tex, you always nail it.

God bless you. I was despairing of posters showing common sense until I read this:

Posted by TexasObserver


The message for 12 months has been: "we'll do the people's business, but we'll let the industries decide what is acceptable and what isn't, and we'll do their bidding first."

My points exactly. People are NOT stupid. They do see what's been going on and they get disillusioned.

[Bitwit1234]

12. The couldn't motivate the base

If the democrats and most of the independents who usually voted had shown up Coakley would have won. The thing is, they know the republicans vote no matter what, so they should have been in MA getting out the vote from the get go.

[JVS]

13. Too progressive! If we don't funnel more money to Wall Street before November, we're fucked!

;-)

[undeterred]

14. By having a shitty candidate.

I can't believe it was because she was too corporate when they voted for someone even more corporate.

[Jester Messiah]

15. Democrats lost by running a terrible candidate.

That's just the bottom line. Coakley expected the voters to hand her the senate seat just for asking. She damn well should have been out shaking hands in the cold. She didn't want to work for it, and she got the result appropriate to her efforts. End of story.

[kwenu]

16. Seriously.

To say we lost by being too corporate is to deny reality itself. I've yet to hear someone argue that healthcare would have passed more easily if the bill had just been more progressive. No one is struggling to keep progressives onboard and one of the most progressive states didn't just elect a progressive. It is what it is and I've now grown tired of this.

[FarCenter]

17. Was Martha Coakley a DLC type Democrat?

[Oilwellian]

27. Well...

she was/is a member of that organization.

http://progressiveindependent.com/shalom/activism/dlcpods2.htm

[Faryn Balyncd]

18. 72% of Americans supported a "public plan like Medicare"; But only 34% think the Senate bill is....

....better than passing nothing.

[yurbud]

21. thank you.

[Naturyl]

19. How could they have been too progressive?

Obama has been pure centrism so far.

[yurbud]

22. the Democrats have taken too many people for granted.

[timeforpeace]

23. By spending a year focusing on health care to the exclusion of everything else.

[kenny blankenship]

33. And turning the moment of reform into an upside down backwards Satanic Mass of corporate welfare

[KT2000]

24. when repubs are corporate

no one blinks an eye because that is what they are all about.
As the dems turn more corporate they are sowing seeds of disappointment and worse - futility among the voting public - way beyond their base.

[yurbud]

47. As the leader of the corporate wing of the Democratic Party, Rahm is turning into typhoid mary

[TreasonousBastard]

25. ONE Democrat lost because she was outcampaigned.

[Oilwellian]

32. Actually...

This makes three democrats in a row. Two from the Northeast and the other from Virginia, a state that voted overwhelmingly for Obama just last year.

[TreasonousBastard]

49. Virginia was won by a wingnut disguising himself as...

a moderate conservative. New Jersey was lost because Corzine ran out his welcome by not solving some some of Joisey's unsolvable problems.

As I keep saying, conservatives of most stripes generally have it easier, since they don't try to convince anyone of their grand plans. Not having any grand plans comes in handy during campaigns.

Voters of all stripes tend to vote for the person they feel comfortable with, and that rarely means firebreathers on either side.

[HillbillyBob]

26. The dems have been nothing but corporate whores

and coakley i dont know she just did not give a shit ...

[Spider Jerusalem]

28. Democrats lost because Coakley was a dreadful candidate with high negatives.

[Capn Sunshine]

29. Doesn't matter. The MSM says it's because the "independents" want us to move to the right

So, the progressive take on this is not at all germane.

We've been sandbagged.

[Jennicut]

30. Coakley lost because we may not be populist enough, which can attract indies and progressives.

Populism can attract a coalition. Obama needs to take on the banks and the economy as a major priority. Way more important then health care right now, though I want to eventually see a law regarding preexisting conditions as I have one.

[upi402]

31. 92% too corporate? I'm shocked!

but happy

[Kat45]

34. And Brown presented himself as the populist. THe word republican never appeared in his ads

Called himself independent minded, said he was for regular folks. Presented himself as a regular folk, driving his truck. People probably didn't even know that he's a lawyer. He totally played to people's anger at the government for not helping the people.

[upi402]

35. Said it was "The peoples' seat" like he was a socialist

These folks know that people are easy to fool.
Truth, facts, honesty, ethics, phoniness, hypocrisy - none of it chinks Republican armor.

[donheld]

36. People here at DU really don't understand the "too corporate?" I'm stunned

If they are really that ignorant here at DU then IMHO we're fucked. If DU doesn't understand that fact very well, how the hell can we expect to fix that problem.

[upi402]

39. blind DU cheerleading has evaporated my hope too

My jaw drops at times. They actually think there are 2 parties. I'm making other plans, myself.

[yurbud]

50. only 7% don't seem to understand it, and that's pretty consistent with the number of DLCers here

who I suspect aren't DLC voters, but actual DLC pols trying to convince us that they have a voter base and don't win simply by forcing the progressives out in primaries with their corporate money.

[Ardent15]

37. Too corporate, easily.

[TxRider]

38. Niether

The mistake was trying to push through health care reform instead of jobs and foreclosures and taking on wall street.

The recession changed everything, most people have health care and are happy with it.

It may be too late to change course now.

[Faryn Balyncd]

40. K & R

[nonsheeple]

41. Too Progressive

The democrats are losing the same way they did when Woodrow Wilson was president. They are being too radical and progressive. America is not a progressive country, it is either left of center or right of center.

[Truth2Tell]

45. really? name a radical progressive policy

presently being pursued by the Democrats. please.

[Contrary1]

42. They lost because they failed to represent the people who voted for them. n/t

[donheld]

46. And succeeded representing Their corporate pimps

[anonymous171]

44. Too corporate obviously. nt

[gleaner]

51. I chose too corporate .....

People figured more of the same old crap, and they wanted significant reform instead. The current political environment is poison.

[invictus]

52. too corporate and pro-war

[L0oniX]

53. "too progressive" OMG ROTFLOL