What Democrats Don't Understand

campaign10, originally uploaded by schadenfreude.

OK, lets get this out of the way first. I am not gloating. While it is true that my candidates, for the most part, won and Tom Daschle lost, that is not what I want to talk about.

I am not happy with the tone of this election. No one focused on the issues; instead, sidebars ruled the day. I couldn't care less about the military records of these guys. I mean, for crying out loud, there were so many more pertinent issues that needed to be focused on. Why did the American people put up with this nonsense? I call it the "Jerry Springer Syndrome". Anyway, I don't want to talk about that, either.

I was watching "The Daily Show" the other night. The senior senator from New York was on as a guest. He was asked why he thought the Dems lost and "do we need to adjust our message?". His hubris was evident in his response.

"We didn't lose" and "Our message was received resoundingly by the majority of Americans" were the themes.

What?

Now, if anyone were to ask me why I thought the Democrats couldn't secure a majority in the House and Senate, or why President Bush didn't call Mayflower, I'd give the following reasons:

1. The candidate. Most of my friends are Democrats, believe it or not. When I asked them about Kerry, they could not really get excited about him. He was "the alternative to Bush". Not a good enough reason.

2. The issues.
a. "Anyone but Bush" is no reason to vote for someone. I mean, hell, Nader didn't get one single EC vote. Not one. You have to be excited about your candidate to win.
b. Terrorism. Sorry, guys, it trumps prescription meds and exporting jobs.
c. Economy. Yes, it was bad. You know what? He inherited that. And he fixed it. The budget is out of whack, but terrorism is trumping that, too.

The Democratic Party is at a crossroads. Are they going to become moderate? That would be the logical thing to do. There are many Republicans out there who are not comfortable with the Religious Right dictating the direction of the party. Are the Dems going to allow a likeable, moderate candidate to rise to the fore?

The Democrats think they understand what is important to the majority of Americans. This is, and will continue to be, their fatal flaw. Guess what? We DON'T WANT GAY MARRIAGE. We want the family and family values protected. The majority of Americans understand it is not the EVIL RICH who are getting over on the taxes. Hey, we aren't as stupid as the Dasch-holes would like to think. They are paying taxes. Usually, more than we are. Also, we're sure you're not doing too badly yourself, Tommy. Besides, if you keep punishing people for getting rich and being successful, what happens? Do be become a mediocre, socialist country? Guess so.

Terrorism, radical Islam, and how to best protect America from them are also right up there with us. We don't want to fight them here. That's why we go to Iraq. We understand the war isn't mismanaged. We have friends and family in the military. We actually know people who are there fighting this war, as opposed to Dan Rather, Susan Sarandon and Michael Bore. Speaking of Bore, we don't like Diktat's from Hollywood. Get off your high horses.

I'm hearing alot of the Hollywood elite who supported Kerry running up to the polls actually voted for Bush. I guess there is no honor among thieves. Either that, or they understand that if Kerry got elected, he would have taxed Americans so much they couldn't afford to go to the movies anymore.

The Democrats need to sit down and unscrew themselves. The elitist, "we know what is best for you" attitude didn't fly with Americans this time. Do you know something? It never will.