Subject: [big campaign] New Huff Post from Creamer -- Four Lessons from Yesterday's Elections
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:45:40 EST
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Four Lessons for Democrats in Yesterday’s  Elections 
Our ability to  discern trends in off-year elections is always limited by 
the influence of local  factors – especially when strong personalities are 
involved.  But there are four lessons that emerged  from yesterday’s results 
that are extremely important for Democrats as we  prepare for next year’s 
Mid-terms. 
1). First and foremost, the  results show that it is critical that the 
Democratic message be framed in  populist terms.  
Not surprisingly voters are  unhappy. Ten percent unemployment, rising 
health care bills and shrinking  incomes will do that. All of these problems 
resulted from the Republican  policies of the previous eight years and the 
conservative values frame of the  last thirty years. They have been caused by 
the concentration of power in Wall  Street, the big health insurance companies 
and the dominant role of corporate  special interests in Washington.   
But if Democrats do not clearly frame the debate in those terms, it is  
easy for voters to vote against whoever is in power at the moment -- which now  
happen to be Democrats.    
The most distinctive trend in  last night’s results was that in all of the 
nationally significant races, the  incumbent – or incumbent party – lost 
(or in the case of New York City, did much  more poorly than expected).  
Corzine had trailed Christie by 10 percent through much of the  summer.  
Massive TV spending,  appearances by the President and last minute 
get-out-the-vote efforts helped  close the gap.  But that wasn’t  enough to re-elect 
the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs in a state with little  patience like New 
 Jersey.  
In Virginia, the lackluster campaign of Creigh  Deeds never had a chance 
and found it singularly difficult to inspire voters.  
New  York’s 23rd District had not elected a  Democrat since the Civil War, 
but Democrat Bill Owens made history by winning  the seat against a divided 
Republican field. 
In New York  City, Michael Bloomberg was supposed to cruise to  
re-election.  He out spent his  Democratic opponent by millions and still just squeaked 
out a win.     
It was a bad day to be an incumbent – or incumbent party.  
To avoid the same fate next fall, Democrats need to frame the national  
debate in distinctly populist terms.  We need to continually name the forces 
and institutions that have caused  such economic pain, and present ourselves 
as the agents of change who will  return economic power to average Americans. 
If we do not, we will be blamed.  
Political messages loaded with references to our “experience” in  
Government or that attempt to sound “middle of the road” when it comes to Wall  
Street or insurance companies will be heard by the voters as apologies for a  
status quo that they don’t like and want to change.  
John Corzine is a very progressive guy.  But his ties to Wall Street were 
far  from a plus in yesterday’s balloting. 
2). Independent voters will  demand that Democrats deliver on our promise 
of change.  Yesterday many of the independent voters  that supported Obama 
last year in Virginia and  New Jersey  voted Republican.  This trend may be  
slightly overstated since many Republican leaning voters who used to  
self-identify as Republican in exit polls are now self-identifying as  
Independents.  But there is little  question that independent voters are very impatient. 
 In 2008 Barack Obama sold them on change  and hope.  To continue to invest 
 their hope with Democrats, swing voters are going to have to see evidence  
that change is happening.   
It won’t work to make excuses – even if some of them are legitimate.  The 
truth is that the same economic  forces that caused our problems are doing 
everything they can to prevent  change.  By next fall we don’t have  to win 
everything.  We don’t need to  bring unemployment to 2% or have completely 
wrestled the health insurance  companies to the mat.  But  independent voters 
are going to have to see some evidence that we have begun to  make serious 
change. 
That means we’re going to have to win the battles for health care reform,  
change the financial regulatory system, begin creating clean energy jobs and 
 pass immigration reform. Most importantly, it means that Democrats have to 
 demonstrate that they are creating jobs.  To accomplish that task, a great 
deal more economic stimulus is a must.  
3). Democrats must inspire the  base.  In Virginia and New  Jersey, the 
Republicans turned out more strongly than  expected and many, many Obama 
Democrats stayed home. There were some good  Democratic and base mobilization 
get-out-the-vote programs in both states.  Mechanics weren’t the main problem.  
The problem was inspiration.  
Inspiration was Barack Obama’s not-so-secret weapon in 2008.  Inspiration 
helped him persuade  independent voters who wanted change, and mobilize base 
voters who wanted hope.  Without an inspired base, Democrats cannot hold our 
own in 2010 – it’s that  simple.  
Success at making change will help renew the faith of Independents and  
also help energize the base.  But to  be inspired, the base of the Democratic 
Party must be convinced that the  President and his party are the champions 
of core progressive principles as  well. A hopeful populist frame is critical 
to motivate mobilizable voters.  
Key symbols will be very important.  That’s why it is so important for 
2010, not only that a health insurance  reform bill passes, but that it includes 
a public option.   That’s why it is so important-- to  mobilize Latino 
voters-- that Congress pass comprehensive immigration  reform.   
4). Our not-so-secret weapon in  2010 is the Republican circular firing 
squad.  Thank God for Sarah Palin – and the  entire “purge the party of all 
but true believers” crowd.   The story of New York 23 read like a  fable.  The 
Club for Growth, Sarah  Palin, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and their whole 
gang turn on the  not-conservative-enough Republican nominee – driving her to 
endorse the Democrat  – and lost control of a seat Democrats have not won in 
a hundred and fifty nine  years.  
I would say that Democrats should nurture and encourage this  
self-destructive right wing tendency, but they seem to do a fine job all by  themselves.  
 Luckily, the  commercial interests of Limbaugh, Beck et al are entirely 
congruent with the  ambitions of fringe candidates like Sarah Palin and the 
right winger who lost in  New York 23,  Doug Hoffman.  
Notwithstanding Republican victories in the New  Jersey and Virginia 
governor’s races, let’s not forget  that a lower percentage of Americans now 
self-identify as Republicans than at  any other time in a quarter-century.  The 
right wingers in the Republican Party are mainly talking to each  other – 
not to the country. 
But as last night’s returns demonstrated, that even with that enormous  
handicap, Republicans can still win elections if we allow the legitimate anger  
and impatience of the voters to focus on “incumbents” instead of the 
economic  actors that have created such a deep well of desire for real change in  
America. 
Robert Creamer is  a long-time political organizer and strategist, and 
author of the recent book:  “Stand Up Straight: How Progressives Can Win,” 
available on _amazon.com_ 
(http://www.amazon.com/Listen-Your-Mother-Straight-Progressives/dp/0979585295/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206567141&sr=8-1
) . 

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group.

To post to this group, send to [email-masked]

To unsubscribe, send email to [email-masked]

E-mail [email-masked] with questions or concerns
 
This is a list of individuals. It is not affiliated with any group or organization.
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---