Aa
Democrats: We must better explain what it means to be a Dem
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20150221/us--democrats-7cea3ce71a.html
Feb 21, 1:36 PM (ET)
By KEN THOMAS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to answer a simple question — "What's a Democrat?" — and must do a better job of explaining their core values to voters, according to a task force formed after the party's dismal showing in the 2014 election.
"I am here to tell you the Democratic Party has lost its way," said a panel member, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. The problems are not with the "party's core beliefs," he said, but relate to "our inability to convey our principles to the American people in a precise, concise and passionate way."
According to interim findings in the Democratic National Committee's report released Saturday, Democrats lack a "cohesive narrative" and need to find ways to help their party explain bedrock values such as fairness, equality and opportunity.
The 10-member task force went to work after Democrats were clobbered in November, surrendering control of the Senate to Republicans and allowing the GOP to pad its majority in the House. Republicans captured governor's offices in Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois — all safe Democratic states in presidential elections — and strengthened their grip on state legislatures.
The losses have led to soul-searching among Democrats as they try to translate success in presidential elections under Barack Obama into midterm elections dominated by congressional campaigns. Many party leaders contend that Democrats should have run more aggressively on Obama's record last year and drawn sharp distinctions with Republicans.
"Whenever we let the other guys talk the way they talk about our president, about our leadership, about our values, we're going to lose," Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy told the DNC on Thursday. He said too many Democrats tried to be "Republicans lite."
The nine-page report recommends a multiyear effort to prepare for the next round of congressional redistricting after the 2020 elections, given the wariness already about Republican clout in legislatures. That's where, in most states, the new boundaries for congressional district are drawn following the next census.
It calls for more financial support and training for state parties in a return to the principles behind the "50-state strategy" promoted by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who led the DNC from 2005 to 2009. That approach aimed to compete in state and local elections throughout the country, even in states dominated by Republicans.
The final recommendation focuses on voting rights. It supports a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to vote and attempts in Congress to restore portions of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court in 2013 removed from federal law an effective tool for fighting voting discrimination under the act and Democrats have tried to restore those protections.
Outlining the report, the DNC's leader, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, wiped away tears as she recounted her battle against breast cancer, calling it one of the reasons she is a Democrat. She noted the party's passage of the health care overhaul under Obama.
The initial findings were based on hundreds of meetings with party leaders and members of Congress and included a survey completed by 10,000 Democratic activists, Wasserman Schultz said. A final report will come out in May.
The review offers parallels to a post-mortem by Republicans after the 2012 presidential election. That study urged the GOP to focus more on year-round, on-the-ground political organizing in states and recommended that Republicans embrace a comprehensive immigration overhaul, which has faced resistance by GOP members of Congress.
A Republican Party spokesman, Michael Short, contended that Democrats have yet to come to terms with their trouncing and that "their divisive message doesn't resonate and their liberal policies don't work." Going into 2016, Democrats are a party "teetering on the edge of complete irrelevancy," Short said.
The task force emphasized rebuilding the party's bench as Republicans aggressively recruit candidates for state and local office.
In one section of the report, the DNC panel notes that since 2008, Democrats have lost 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 910 state legislative seats, 30 state legislative chambers and 11 governors' offices.
"Look, I'll give the Republicans credit. They spent a lot of time and money working on this for years and it paid off for them," Wasserman Schultz said in an interview. "We've certainly recognized that we have some catching up to do."
Feb 21, 1:36 PM (ET)
By KEN THOMAS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to answer a simple question — "What's a Democrat?" — and must do a better job of explaining their core values to voters, according to a task force formed after the party's dismal showing in the 2014 election.
"I am here to tell you the Democratic Party has lost its way," said a panel member, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. The problems are not with the "party's core beliefs," he said, but relate to "our inability to convey our principles to the American people in a precise, concise and passionate way."
According to interim findings in the Democratic National Committee's report released Saturday, Democrats lack a "cohesive narrative" and need to find ways to help their party explain bedrock values such as fairness, equality and opportunity.
The 10-member task force went to work after Democrats were clobbered in November, surrendering control of the Senate to Republicans and allowing the GOP to pad its majority in the House. Republicans captured governor's offices in Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois — all safe Democratic states in presidential elections — and strengthened their grip on state legislatures.
The losses have led to soul-searching among Democrats as they try to translate success in presidential elections under Barack Obama into midterm elections dominated by congressional campaigns. Many party leaders contend that Democrats should have run more aggressively on Obama's record last year and drawn sharp distinctions with Republicans.
"Whenever we let the other guys talk the way they talk about our president, about our leadership, about our values, we're going to lose," Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy told the DNC on Thursday. He said too many Democrats tried to be "Republicans lite."
The nine-page report recommends a multiyear effort to prepare for the next round of congressional redistricting after the 2020 elections, given the wariness already about Republican clout in legislatures. That's where, in most states, the new boundaries for congressional district are drawn following the next census.
It calls for more financial support and training for state parties in a return to the principles behind the "50-state strategy" promoted by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who led the DNC from 2005 to 2009. That approach aimed to compete in state and local elections throughout the country, even in states dominated by Republicans.
The final recommendation focuses on voting rights. It supports a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to vote and attempts in Congress to restore portions of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court in 2013 removed from federal law an effective tool for fighting voting discrimination under the act and Democrats have tried to restore those protections.
Outlining the report, the DNC's leader, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, wiped away tears as she recounted her battle against breast cancer, calling it one of the reasons she is a Democrat. She noted the party's passage of the health care overhaul under Obama.
The initial findings were based on hundreds of meetings with party leaders and members of Congress and included a survey completed by 10,000 Democratic activists, Wasserman Schultz said. A final report will come out in May.
The review offers parallels to a post-mortem by Republicans after the 2012 presidential election. That study urged the GOP to focus more on year-round, on-the-ground political organizing in states and recommended that Republicans embrace a comprehensive immigration overhaul, which has faced resistance by GOP members of Congress.
A Republican Party spokesman, Michael Short, contended that Democrats have yet to come to terms with their trouncing and that "their divisive message doesn't resonate and their liberal policies don't work." Going into 2016, Democrats are a party "teetering on the edge of complete irrelevancy," Short said.
The task force emphasized rebuilding the party's bench as Republicans aggressively recruit candidates for state and local office.
In one section of the report, the DNC panel notes that since 2008, Democrats have lost 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 910 state legislative seats, 30 state legislative chambers and 11 governors' offices.
"Look, I'll give the Republicans credit. They spent a lot of time and money working on this for years and it paid off for them," Wasserman Schultz said in an interview. "We've certainly recognized that we have some catching up to do."
Democrat: An entity supporting a democracy in a country, but more commonly known as a person with liberal ideologies related to the government and its policies.
Liberalism: In the twentieth century, a viewpoint or ideology associated with free political institutions and religious toleration, as well as support for a strong role of government in regulating capitalism and constructing the welfare state.
Liberalism: In the twentieth century, a viewpoint or ideology associated with free political institutions and religious toleration, as well as support for a strong role of government in regulating capitalism and constructing the welfare state.
Post something unbiased then you might have a credible argument to anything you post.
" Democrats lack a "cohesive narrative" and need to find ways to help their party explain bedrock values such as fairness, equality and opportunity."
There was an NIH study 12 years ago that examined this possibility. It concluded that certain brains aren't wired to do this and nearly got the whole field of political psychology defunded.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12784934
"Abstract
Analyzing political conservatism as motivated social cognition integrates theories of personality (authoritarianism, dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity), epistemic and existential needs (for closure, regulatory focus, terror management), and ideological rationalization (social dominance, system justification). A meta-analysis (88 samples, 12 countries, 22,818 cases) confirms that several psychological variables predict political conservatism: death anxiety (weighted mean r = .50); system instability (.47); dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity (.34); openness to experience (-.32); uncertainty tolerance (-.27); needs for order, structure, and closure (.26); integrative complexity (-.20); fear of threat and loss (.18); and self-esteem (-.09).
The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat."
"The field of political psychology gained increased visibility in the 2000s as conservative Republicans controlled the White House and Congress simultaneously for the first time since the Great Depression, and took the nation in an increasingly divisive direction. Most notably, John Dean’s 2006 bestseller, “Conservatives Without Conscience,” popularized two of the more striking developments of the 1980s and 90s, the constructs of rightwing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. A few years before that, a purely academic paper, “Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition,” by Jost and three other prominent researchers in the field, caused a brief spasm of political reaction which led some in Congress to talk of defunding the entire field."
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/05/the_right_has_fked_up_minds_meet_the_researcher_who_terrifies_gop_congress/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/05/1368652/-Merle-Haggard-To-Rolling-Stone-It-s-Almost-Criminal-What-They-Do-To-President-Obama?
There was an NIH study 12 years ago that examined this possibility. It concluded that certain brains aren't wired to do this and nearly got the whole field of political psychology defunded.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12784934
"Abstract
Analyzing political conservatism as motivated social cognition integrates theories of personality (authoritarianism, dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity), epistemic and existential needs (for closure, regulatory focus, terror management), and ideological rationalization (social dominance, system justification). A meta-analysis (88 samples, 12 countries, 22,818 cases) confirms that several psychological variables predict political conservatism: death anxiety (weighted mean r = .50); system instability (.47); dogmatism-intolerance of ambiguity (.34); openness to experience (-.32); uncertainty tolerance (-.27); needs for order, structure, and closure (.26); integrative complexity (-.20); fear of threat and loss (.18); and self-esteem (-.09).
The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change and justification of inequality and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat."
"The field of political psychology gained increased visibility in the 2000s as conservative Republicans controlled the White House and Congress simultaneously for the first time since the Great Depression, and took the nation in an increasingly divisive direction. Most notably, John Dean’s 2006 bestseller, “Conservatives Without Conscience,” popularized two of the more striking developments of the 1980s and 90s, the constructs of rightwing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. A few years before that, a purely academic paper, “Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition,” by Jost and three other prominent researchers in the field, caused a brief spasm of political reaction which led some in Congress to talk of defunding the entire field."
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/05/the_right_has_fked_up_minds_meet_the_researcher_who_terrifies_gop_congress/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/05/1368652/-Merle-Haggard-To-Rolling-Stone-It-s-Almost-Criminal-What-They-Do-To-President-Obama?
Looks a bit like right before and after Obama got elected. Things were so lopsided that they completely flip flopped. It's happening again and I personally believe you can blame it on the polarity. The democrats sat around and said, "well, you see what that got ya" and followed up with, "you know where you should cast your votes this time".
It's just working the other way now and the polarity is just as obvious. Some people are starting to see politicians like the liars they really are.
It's just working the other way now and the polarity is just as obvious. Some people are starting to see politicians like the liars they really are.
"In one section of the report, the DNC panel notes that since 2008, Democrats have lost 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 910 state legislative seats, 30 state legislative chambers and 11 governors' offices."
Wow - that's quite a loss!! Could this be a direct reflection of our President and his failed, sometimes, questionable policies?
Wow - that's quite a loss!! Could this be a direct reflection of our President and his failed, sometimes, questionable policies?
You must join this user group in order to participate in this discussion.
You are reading content posted in the Current Events . . . Group
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
