The Real Reason Kerry and the Democrats Lost: Can You Say "Values"? (Bill Bennett on Election 2004 on National Review Online) (Saletan and Slate)
As noted by Bill Bennett in his National Review article: "The national exit polling conducted by the Los Angeles Times confirms all these findings, showing that '[M]ore than half of Bush's voters cited moral issues as a principal reason for their support — more than any other issue, including even terrorism.' In fact, morals trumped terrorism by seven percentage points in the Los Angeles Times poll.
Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it. Now is the time to begin our long, national cultural renewal ("The Great Relearning," as novelist Tom Wolfe calls it) — no less in legislation than in federal court appointments. It is, after all, the main reason George W. Bush was reelected." See:
Bill Bennett on Election 2004 on National Review Online
William Saletan writing in Slate asserts that Dems can morph pocketbook issues into values issues (Democratic Values - How to start winning the red states. By William Saletan). I've got a message for Saletan and left wingers who think this can be done: It's NOT the economy, stupid. You can't presto chango pocket book issues into the values issues which moved the election. You can't, especially when the economy's growing at about 4% a quarter and joblessness is 5%.
If the Democratic party wants to capitalize on values, or at least neutralize the issue, they need to nominate a moderate on these issues. Think Lieberman with more charisma. Then they might be able to make hay with the rest of their platform.
Does that mean taking a scalpel to the agenda to remove the most radical cultural issues? Yes, it does. Gay marriage: forget about it. Partial birth abortion: it's barbaric infanticide; take a reasonable position. Who knows what new piece of social engineering they'll be advocating in 2008. Euthanasia. Human cloning.
Dems, stop trying to turn us into Holland and you'll win the White House.
Elsewhere in Slate, Saletan tells us why Dems keep losing to Bush, the "idiot", "the worst President" ever. Simple but Effective - Why you keep losing to this idiot. By William Saletan Why do we keep losing to him? Boo hoo hoo!
Maybe, it's because Bush is not an idiot. Maybe it's the issues. America didn't buy Michael Moore's wingnut ideas and they don't like the prospect of their country being turned into a giant Amsterdam, which is the direction Kerry would have taken.
Having restored decency to the White House, President Bush now has a mandate to affect policy that will promote a more decent society, through both politics and law. His supporters want that, and have given him a mandate in their popular and electoral votes to see to it. Now is the time to begin our long, national cultural renewal ("The Great Relearning," as novelist Tom Wolfe calls it) — no less in legislation than in federal court appointments. It is, after all, the main reason George W. Bush was reelected." See:
Bill Bennett on Election 2004 on National Review Online
William Saletan writing in Slate asserts that Dems can morph pocketbook issues into values issues (Democratic Values - How to start winning the red states. By William Saletan). I've got a message for Saletan and left wingers who think this can be done: It's NOT the economy, stupid. You can't presto chango pocket book issues into the values issues which moved the election. You can't, especially when the economy's growing at about 4% a quarter and joblessness is 5%.
If the Democratic party wants to capitalize on values, or at least neutralize the issue, they need to nominate a moderate on these issues. Think Lieberman with more charisma. Then they might be able to make hay with the rest of their platform.
Does that mean taking a scalpel to the agenda to remove the most radical cultural issues? Yes, it does. Gay marriage: forget about it. Partial birth abortion: it's barbaric infanticide; take a reasonable position. Who knows what new piece of social engineering they'll be advocating in 2008. Euthanasia. Human cloning.
Dems, stop trying to turn us into Holland and you'll win the White House.
Elsewhere in Slate, Saletan tells us why Dems keep losing to Bush, the "idiot", "the worst President" ever. Simple but Effective - Why you keep losing to this idiot. By William Saletan Why do we keep losing to him? Boo hoo hoo!
Maybe, it's because Bush is not an idiot. Maybe it's the issues. America didn't buy Michael Moore's wingnut ideas and they don't like the prospect of their country being turned into a giant Amsterdam, which is the direction Kerry would have taken.
posted by BarbariansAtBay at
5:31 PM
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