Please understand that this is why we lost.

[SomethingFishy]

I'm not Obama. I love Guns and Coal and I hate the EPA.


What. The. Fuck. Was that? Hello I'm a Republican with a "D" next to my name. Vote for me?


My dear Democratic Politicians, stop it. Just stop it. Turn off the noise machine. STOP LETTING REPUBLICANS DEFINE YOU. And if you are in it for the money, take a hike.

We are better than this. The country, and the world have some serious problems, stop playing politics. You don't need to "play games" you need to stand for what is right. Next cycle, talk about the issues, the environment, student loans, income inequality, minimum wage, health care, act like you give a shit about the values that made Democrats what they are. When Obama did that people came out and voted for him. Lots of blame being laid at the feet of "lazy voters", but those lazy voters came out when they thought they had something to vote for..

Whatever you do.. PUT DOWN THAT STUPID GUN AND TRY NOT TO TELL ME THAT FOSSIL FUELS ARE AWESOME. In case you hadn't noticed, the ice is melting.

[still_one]

1. Yeah run in KY a coal state with folks who love their guns on a platform against guns and coal. That

Will work

[SomethingFishy]

3. Oh and this worked so much better..

I would hope that even in Kentucky people understand what climate change is.

[brush]

5. You might be surprised.

Last edited Sun Nov 9, 2014, 01:53 AM - Edit history (2)

Run on being a Democrat and not one in name only and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But you sure can look in the mirror

the day after know you stood for Democratic Party principles and for the people.

Running as a repug lite certainly didn't work. If people are gonna vote for a repug they'll vote for the wolf, not the one in sheep's clothing.

[still_one]

12. No I won't

[brush]

19. No you won't what? nt

[Barack_America]

14. How would you prefer to lose? As a Democrat or a Republican?

[still_one]

15. Obviously you do not agree with Howard dean's 50 state strategy

[Barack_America]

18. Dean encouraged Democrats to run as Republicans?

I never knew Howard and the DLC had so much in common.

[Recursion]

41. Yes, Dean recruited conservative Democrats for conservative areas

He said part of being a Representative is actually, you know, representing the views of the people in your district.

Jim Webb, John Tester, Gabby Giffords, etc. These were the kinds of people he recruited for conservative states and districts.

I'm still not sure where the image of him as a "very liberal" politician came from. He's certainly good at connecting with the left, but his record as governor was fairly centrist (and it being Vermont, he was often pushing back against the more-liberal state legislature). It may just be that he made netroots people feel listened to.

[greatlaurel]

54. It is clear most people do not understand the brilliance of Howard Dean.

We had a rather conservative Democrat who won a Congressional seat during Dean's fifty state strategy. She won easily, but the party distanced itself from her and refused support for her after Dean left. It was a terrible screw up. She knew her district and represented it well. While she had some conservative views, she voted with the Democratic Party more than 80% of the time, if not more than that. Now we have a teabagger right wing nut in that district who votes against everything that will help the district. The conservative Dem could well have held the seat for decades, but the people screaming that she was not good enough succeeded and now we have the teaparty crook.

It seems to me that Grimes was making a lot of proper choices for her state until the pundits started attacking her. When Chris Matthews and Todd started their attacks, she dropped in the polls. Democrats who should know better jumped on the bandwagon to attack Grimes, before the election was over. She was doing well until that point, must have made the corporate media folks scared that their puppet, McConnell, might loose. The question about who she voted for was an obvious set up. She should have handled it better, but all the so called Democrats screamed about her answer, when the real question was why was McConnell not forced to answer the same question about who he voted for and furthermore he should have had his feet held to the fire about his ridiculous answers about the Ky health care and supporting the Bush Iraq war screw up.

I wish people would stop attacking Democratic candidates who are trying to win in more conservative rural areas. They have to win votes from the citizens who live there. This is stupid to criticize her so much. Grimes gave it a good shot and would have done better if not for the backstabbing from her fellow Democrats and that includes the president. He should put on his big boy pants and work for all Democrats. He could have helped get minorities to vote while keeping a low profile for the more conservative voters. If Obama's ACA legacy is destroyed, he has no one to blame but himself. He has failed time after time to help Democrats win elections starting in 2010. He stabbed Ted Strickland in the back in his reelection bid in Ohio in 2010 and we got stuck with the Wall Street wonder boy, Kasich. Now, all Ohioans are paying a heavy price with our GOP overlords stealing the state blind and giving our tax dollars to the corporate class. Obama has done a lot of good things but his Chicago attitudes about paybacks have hurt him and the country.

[QuestionAlways]

97. Politics is the art of winning, not an ideology 100% 0f the time

[NewJeffCT]

107. good memory

He was against the Iraq War, so many think of him as some true blue liberal, when he was kind of center left

[brush]

20. A real Democrat, not a dino. nt

[green917]

100. amen!

When given the choice of voting for a democrat who acts like a republican and voting for an actual republican, the American people will choose the real republican every time! The American people want their politicians to not lack the courage of their convictions! Not only did our candidates run away from everything positive this administration has gotten accomplished with record obstruction but they wouldn't even, in 1 case at least, admit that they voted for the head of their own party! And Debbie wasserman Shultz should be immediately removed from her position with the dccc! When your job is to get democrats elected and you fail in such spectacular fashion by turning your back on a proven strategy and replacing it with 1 that better suits your own ideology, you don't deserve to hold any kind of position within the party leadership!

[Logical]

11. You are confused.......

No one said she had to say she loves the EPA and hates coal. But how about acting like a Democrat and not a fucking GOP candidate? That tends to get you democratic votes.

[ReRe]

37. FYI...

Alison was doing fine, in spite of that awful ad, right up to that one single (thank dog) debate. Her numbers went down after that and never rose again. Her stance LOST votes, instead of gaining them.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025769753

[Spitfire of ATJ]

49. Contrary to popular belief not EVERYONE there is a coal miner.

[Major Hogwash]

89. Yabut, 90% of them have relatives who are!!

And Bubba Diabetes doesn't want his cousins voting him out of a job!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

94. Some of these people know coal is the past. Dems need to offer them a future....

The problem is Dems offered them the same past as the Republicans.

[adirondacker]

52. How about strengthening unions and making a safer and cleaner working and living environment?

Or do you think Kentuckians would disapprove of higher wages and healthier work/living environments?

[villager]

57. "Better to live on your feet, than die on your knees"

n/t

[DAngelo136]

71. I want to bring someone to your attention

His name is Bob Kincaid, he's an internet broadcaster on the Head On Radio Network (H.O.R.N) He's based in West Virginia, ground zero for mountaintop removal coal mining. Listen to his broadcasts and ask him how he feels about "King Coal" and what it does to the people of his state.
Also on the station is Dr.Bill O'Brien who podcasts very interesting lectures on the Constitution that you didn't get in your history class.

The H.O.R.N is one of those little gems of sanity in a ocean of confusion. Listen to it and spread the word; he could sure use the support.

http://www.headonradionetwork.com/

[elzenmahn]

73. Agreed...

...Bob Kincaid is probably one of the foremost experts in the country on the issue of Mountaintop Removal mining. He's also as ferocious against the Repubs as any of the best leftie broadcasters.

His shows are also highly entertaining - especially his "Prayer Meetin' Wednesdays" shows.

[mazzarro]

77. Thanks for the link - n/t

[brush]

2. Brava! Brava! Brava! nt

[WestCoastLib]

4. I would never vote for a candidate holding a gun in their ad

Fortunately, i don't live in a place where I had to make that choice, but that's not someone i could ever vote for.

[SomethingFishy]

7. Well I'd have voted for her... just because her opponent was McConnell

But that's the problem right there. Lesser of 2 evils.

Election day I posted a thread on making election day a holiday, just for one year to see if it helped turnout. Took crap for that too. One of the replies was "people will just go skiing".
Even just getting them to just try something is like trying to make a kid eat vegetables..

[still_one]

16. Well gee it is so easy for people like us in a blue state to expect our values to resonate in a red

State

[Recursion]

42. What if she was an Olympic gold-medal biathlete?

And showed that as part of her background footage?

[NickB79]

79. Really?

?w=720

?w=688

[Hokie]

6. When I saw that commercial I knew Grimes was a lost cause

I voted for Grimes but I held my nose and knew she was going to lose.

When you run commercials like that it is pretty easy to figure out you just want to hold office because you want the office and you aren't willing to stand on principles.

[LawDeeDah]

8. I don't like to use Spineless Democrat, but this one is.

No, Alison, you are not Barack Obama, and you can't be if you lived another 120 years.
He has integrity, you got nothing but bad advice and bad judgement.

[Logical]

9. She was an idiot for not admitting she voted for Obama. nt

[840high]

24. Maybe she didn't.

[BrotherIvan]

110. winner

[Barack_America]

10. Sarah Palin ran for the Democrats?

That is who I just saw in that video, no?

[msongs]

13. pandering to the white racists did her no good at all did it nt

[Recursion]

43. No, but it works for Manchin and Rockefeller next door

I think mostly her plan of running against a nationally-powerful incumbent were what went wrong.

[aikoaiko]

17. That ad was great (in a way) and helped bring the polls within 3 or 4 points.

It wasnt enough, but then again I don't see her driving a Prius and sporting an Mommies against Guns button would have helped her either.

[Logical]

21. When I saw the video and did not know who it was I thought she was a GOP idiot......

that type of person does not motivate people to get to the polls.

Most voters are not like DU members, they need a reason to vote.

[Recursion]

44. GOP idiots are exactly who motivated people to get to the polls this cycle

People don't vote for candidates based on issues. Until our party grasps that we're going to keep doing this.

[mazzarro]

86. If people don't vote for candidates based on issues then...

Why did the liberal/progressive ballot propositions (measures) win in multiple "red" states?

[Recursion]

87. Because people vote for ballot measures based on issues

They don't vote for legislators based on issues. Very different behavior. Puzzling, maybe, but it's been shown to be true time and again.

[aikoaiko]

62. When I saw that ad, I saw a Democrat from a rural state.

Last edited Sat Nov 8, 2014, 09:31 AM - Edit history (1)

But I think you're right that only saying what your not is not going to compel Democrats to the polls.


Her strategy was a lot line John Barrows from GA which worked for the last ten years. It didn't work for her or Barrow this time.

A good campaign uses what worked in the past, but a great campaign wins by understanding the moment and doing something new and different.

Eta: and don't forget the Democrats of KY chose her and she had reason to think her strategy night work.

[IMG][/IMG]

Almost 90000 more Democrats voted in the primary for Grimes compared to Republicans for Mitchell.

[Logical]

63. Actually I have no issue with the guns.....

But trashing the EPA and also dissing Obama is not what motivates Democrats.

[Major Hogwash]

88. I agree, that ad was superb!

It was one of the most personal, "here I am", get-right-to-the-point ads I have ever seen!

That ad would have been very popular here in Idaho.
But the Democrat who ran this year wouldn't make ads like that.
Even though the Republican Senator that was just re-elected has NEVER taken a picture of him holding a gun of any type!!

Didn't matter to the NRA, they gave the Republican a 100% rating based on his Republican party affiliation.

[MannyGoldstein]

22. What. A. Fucking. Phony. nt

[m-lekktor]

23. rofl. *no comment*

[jalan48]

25. What Good Would She be Anyway?

Basically, she's a moderate Republican. There's no populist message for the unemployed or the sick or the hungry. We're down to this? Taking what is offered because the alternative is worse? Seems like we have been doing it for decades and where has it got us?

[leftwritelady]

26. Own your liberal-ness

Why do liberals act like they're ashamed of what they believe in? Look at the progressive causes that won this week in the elections: minimum wage increases (in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska & So. Dakota for pete's sakes), no personhood for fetuses (Colo. & No. Dakota), several bond issues for conservation, etc.

America is a liberal, progressive country. It's the press that's conservative. Dems need to stop believing the press and start believing in the liberal message. What are they afraid of? That they'll lose? Ha! How's that goin' for ya? They need to stop going after so-called independents. Those people are not independent, they're just not sure of their label. If you ask them about specific issues, they'll say they believe in health care, good wages, unions, clean air, clean water, etc.

Why doesn't the DNC run image ads in all major markets year round, feel-good ads with pleasant, normal people talking about voting and the big issues. Something like: WE ARE DEMOCRATS. AND WE VOTE. WE BELIEVE ALL AMERICANS DESERVE QUALITY HEALTH CARE. WE BELIEVE IN FAIR WAGES AND GOOD JOBS FOR ALL AMERICANS. WE BELIEVE IN A STRONG, PRODUCTIVE, FINANCIALLY SECURE MIDDLE CLASS. WE BELIEVE IN QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION, GOOD ROADS, CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER, ETC. DEMOCRATS CREATED SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE. DEMOCRATS DID THIS AND DID THAT, ETC. ETC.

The message needs to be repeated in every market year 'round, every year, including the South: We are progressives, we are liberals - and proud of it. We are Americans, we are patriots - and proud of it.

Let's own the brand! Let's turn the conversation around instead of shying away from it! Let's stop the pandering and start OWNING OUR LIBERAL-NESS!!!! ("conservative Democrats," ha! just pisses me off...)

[LuckyLib]

27. This! Own your values and speak with conviction!

[Efilroft Sul]

30. It is my distinct honor to welcome you to Democratic Underground.

[SomethingFishy]

32. When you get enough posts you should make this

it's own thread. Thanks and Welcome to DU!

[Cha]

35. Thank you, leftwritelady! Welcome to DU~

[Cali_Democrat]

55. Welcome to DU!

[Rhiannon12866]

58. Terrific first post!

I couldn't agree more! Welcome to DU, leftwritelady! It's great to have you with us!

[sibelian]

60. YES.

[Martin Eden]

65. Welcome, and well said!

"Conservative Democrats" are oxymorons.

[laundry_queen]

67. Excellent post. Welcome to DU!

That's how Jack Layton here in Canada got a socialist party to be the official opposition - the message essentially was, "we believe in helping out families. We're here to work for YOU, not big business. Together we can make this a better country for families." Even the conservatives I know respected that he 'stood up for what he believed in' even if they weren't going to vote for him. And because they respected him, they actually listened to him instead of dismissing him. Having strong beliefs is what wins elections - in the end most people don't care what those beliefs are so much as they care about how the person themselves believes them. Sociological studies have shown this. People want strong, decisive leaders, the end.

[niyad]

69. welcome to du. and, I agree with the suggestion that, as soon as your post count

is high enough, you post this as its own OP--so we can all rec it.

[Enthusiast]

74. +1 You nailed it.

[AverageJoe90]

76. Yeah, you said it! A warm welcome to DU, btw.

[northoftheborder]

82. excellent points

[RiverLover]

105. Another BIG welcome!!

"We are progressives, we are liberals - and proud of it. We are Americans, we are patriots - and proud of it."

Hell yeah!!

[LawDeeDah]

28. good gawd, our Sarah Palin...

but I am sure she will get a really great appointment job if Hillary gets in.

extra

[dilby]

29. It's Kentucky, not like the state matters.

She is attractive though.

[ucrdem]

31. I know she had her reasons, and it might have seemed like a good idea if she'd won, but . . .

good lord.

[DeSwiss]

33. That was certainly a part of the reason.

But remember, the people who gained office did so by a minority of eligible voting age people. When any society has more than 1/2 of its potential voters disenfranchising themselves, it is because they do not believe that the political system will ever work for them. Ever.

Unfortunately, they're right. This one never will, because it can't afford to. There has never been, nor will there ever be a democratic-capitalist state that can survive with their diametrical ethos in-tact. They are anathema to each other.

- And now that we've clearly lost control of the Wall Street capitalists (as if we ever did), they are in the process of consuming what is left of us. If we let them.

Because it's what they do.

K&R

''Let your life be a friction to stop the machine.'' ~ Henry David Thoreau

[SomethingFishy]

39. I know...

I just spent 2 years bitching to the Obama administration about everything yet still sent out a straight "D" ballot. Knowing full well that even if we won, not much would change.. The shit is broken at the core. It's going to take something epic before people will wake up. There are lots of problems to be solved but time is running out on Climate Change. We are already past the point of no return, the question is how far are we gonna go..

[Doctor_J]

75. That's it

I have been bitching for 4 years, ever since Heritage Care and the Bush/Obama tax cuts. I still vote straight ticket. But I knew after the first two years of the president's term that he and the rest of the DC dems had no interest at all in making the 2008 voting bloc permanent. You are exactly right. You and I vote knowing full well that nothing of import is going to change. Millions of Americans have more integrity and/or desperation than we do - they realize the situation is absolutely hopeless and can't bring themselves to cast a meaningless vote just for show. The really stupid ones are of course the Hate Radio/Fox News addicts, who actually believe that voting for Mitc McConnell or the crazy lady in Iowa is going to save them from ISIS/socialism/whatever. But how can we fault the ones who believe correctly that there vote is useless?

[DemocraticWing]

34. We lost because 60% of the electorate dislikes Obama.

That's how midterms work, if you have a better plan, by all means lay out your fantasy world for us to see.

[SomethingFishy]

38. Really? Then maybe you can explain how in the states where Obama actually campaigned

Democrats won by wide margins.

And in the states where he didn't we got clobbered.

I already laid out my "fantasy" if you had bothered to read the OP. I fantasize about Democrats campaigning on Democratic Progressive Liberal values. If that to you is a fantasy, you are in the wrong fucking party.

[DemocraticWing]

40. This.

[SomethingFishy]

50. Ok you win.

Do the same thing next election cycle. I'm sure it will work well for you. It sure did this year

[Recursion]

45. Because he campaigned in liberal states where people like him

Seriously, that's so obvious I'm amazed you brought this up.

[SomethingFishy]

48. Touche'

Conceded.

Now explain this:

"People don't vote for candidates based on issues."

What exactly is it people base their votes on? In your opinion....

[Recursion]

51. Interestingly, I just did an OP on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025785508

TL;DR:

Conservative voters vote for a candidate who expresses a high disgust reaction, a strong just-world worldview, a dislike for uncertainty, and several other sets of psychological characteristics. These are largely orthogonal to issues (for example I used those characteristics to build a conservative-friendly argument to address climate change).

[eridani]

81. They vote for the kind of world they want to live in n/t

[BlueEye]

103. Tell that to Anthony Brown in Maryland

Or Pat Quinn in Illinois. Both lost their gubernatorial races in blue states, and Obama did campaign for them.

[SmittynMo]

36. I thought she ran a

terrible campaign. But I wanted Mitch out so bad, I didn't care what kind of bullshit she was selling. I was willing to take that risk.

[aspirant]

68. Is music the universal language?

Whatever happened to that female country singer that wanted to run for the Kentucky senate with big bipartisan support only to be elbowed out by Bill Clinton who inserted Grimes? Would progressives lullabies have quieted the gun and coal nuts?

[SomethingFishy]

84. She was an actress.. Ashley Judd.. sister of Country Singer Wynonna..

And she sure had more recognition than Grimes did..

[Jim Beard]

46. The best thing that can happen is

to let Mitchie boy go ahead and allow the Keystone pipeline and then we will have an even bigger glut of oil thereby causing the price of gas to go down more and dealing a crushing blow to those oil states who voted 100% Republican.

[rhett o rick]

47. The President loves frickin-fracking. That whick enriches the 1% and poisons the water for

the 99%. The president loves frickin-fracking.

[whereisjustice]

53. Dukakis was widely mocked by his opponents for what they characterized as martial posturing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dukakis_tank_photograph

[SomethingFishy]

56. You'd think we'd learn...

Remember the John Kerry windsurfing?

[MFM008]

92. or the one

In a hasmat suit that made him look like a green bunny.

[jillan]

59. “Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for

the real Republican all the time”

Harry S Truman


And we still haven't learned.

[NaturalHigh]

61. The coal industry provides a lot of jobs in Kentucky.

Kentucky residents, by and large, support gun owners' rights. I don't see the problem with a candidate saying "I believe in the same things that you do."

[Martin Eden]

66. That's why transition to clean energy needs to include new jobs for coal states

Transitioning away from coal is absolutely necessary for our childrens' future and our planet. And it doesn't have to inflict economic hardship on people in coal states.

Democrats support gun rights. The problem with the gun debate is the gun lobby always makes it look like the other side wants to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, and that is a false narrative Grimes fed into with her ad. What actual policy has the president suggested that would infringe on the gun rights of law-abiding citizens?

Bottom line is Grimes pretended to be a Republican, so Kentuckians voted for a real Republican.

[heaven05]

64. any politician

these days will appeal to the devil if they thought it would get them into a seat of power, MONEY and influence. Grimes is an example of that typy of politician. Yeah I would have, if I was a resident of Kentucky, been FORCED to vote for her. Yet the hypocrisy of her politics is representative of all 'bluedog' mentality. They did not, will not support our POTUS unless there is some kind of monetary or reelection gain in it for them. "Blue dog, third way". Bane of the Democratic Party.

[99Forever]

70. Been trying to get this message across for years.

Even immediately after getting their collective ass handed to them, they still don't want to learn.

I don't know about you, but I'm about thru beating my head against that brickwall.

[FiveGoodMen]

72. Wow

[Zorra]

78. "Democrats moving to the middle is a double disaster that alienates

the party's progressive base while simultaneously sending a message to swing voters that the other side is where the good ideas are.' It unconsciously locks in the notion that the other side's positions are worth moving toward, while your side's positions are the ones to move away from. Plus every time you move to the center, the right just moves further to the right."

George Lakoff

[blkmusclmachine]

102. ^This.^

DC is a racket.

[NorthCarolina]

80. "And if you are in it for the money, take a hike." DC would be a ghost town. nt

[Savannahmann]

83. Yeah, because Gun Control candidates do so well in the Rural areas.

Oh wait, that's right they don't do well. They lose elections.

So let me get your plan straight. You want Democrats to stand before rural crowds in say West Virginia. You want them to tell the Unionized Coal Miners that the candidate is in favor of not only taking their jobs away, but also you want to see how many limits you can put on their guns.

I honestly wonder if any of you have ever gone to any of those regions, and even spoken to the people. I know none of you have ever listened to the majorities in the areas in question.

Biggest issue, economy. They want to know that they will have jobs, good jobs, in the future. Telling them that you want to get rid of their jobs, without giving them jack shit in return is a recipe for disaster.

I honestly have no idea where the Democratic Party is going next, but from here it looks like we're trying to ram our way through the iceberg with the Titanic backing up and slamming it forward again.

You all have to stop denigrating and belittling the Democratic Party members who are part of the NRA. I'm in favor of Gun Control and I say that. Because without the NRA endorsement they have no hope of beating the Republicans in the rural areas. The people are electing someone to represent them in Congress, and there is no way a Liberal area is going to elect a gun toting representative right? Well by the same token no rural area is going to elect a gun control advocate to national office.

I've already covered the plan to sell economic changes to an area, but you all are convinced that going further left is the key to success, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

[NickB79]

96. Same thing going on here in Minnesota

The northern third of the state is populated by rural, gun-owning, hunting, socially conservative men and women, yet they still vote largely Democrat every election. Why? Because the area has a deep history of mining and logging, organized behind labor unions.

Any Democrat who runs on a policy of gun control on the Iron Range would lose his ass.

[NutmegYankee]

113. Even the rural areas and counties of Connecticut had that problem.

In the SE, we lost a lot of seats, much driven by the Sandy Hook gun law.

Republicans take 8 seats in region’s delegation to legislature

There was a seismic shift in the complexion of southeastern Connecticut’s General Assembly delegation Tuesday when Republicans captured eight of the region’s 15 seats in the state Senate and House.

Before Tuesday’s voting, the Democrats occupied 13 of those positions.

http://www.theday.com/article/20141106/NWS01/141109857/1080/nwselection2014

In one case, a district that had been in Democratic hands since 1972 fell, while a Senate district in our hands for 25 years fell. My Democratic State house rep won easily, but he had also voted against the gun law.

[whereisjustice]

85. I thought we lost because we didn't praise bank fraud and NSA spying enough on DU eom

[NickB79]

90. Oh God no, not a Southern Dem who also enjoys shooting guns!

Fuck, we all know how much of a losing strategy THAT was. Does no one remember the 90's? How it was the WORST decade for Democrats in the history of forever?

?w=720

Oh the humanity!

Also

[SomethingFishy]

93. Yeah we did so well with Clinton..

Welfare cuts, food stamp cuts, NAFTA, the repeal of Glass-Steagal the "Community Restoration Act" which sounded great in name but set us up for the collapse of 2008, yeah Clinton was a real boon for liberals/progressives.

[NickB79]

95. Would you have preferred any of the GOP candidates he ran against?

You think 8 years of Clinton was bad?

Try imagining another Bush Sr term, or a Gingrich presidency after that, and not lose your mind in the process.

And on edit: Looks like President Obama is still pushing TPP: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025786104

Look for approval of the Keystone Pipeline next

[Maineman]

91. I definitely agree.

[EEO]

98. That didn't help, but I think it has a lot more to do with this...

I'm sure Flintheart Glomgold is also throwing his money around.

[blkmusclmachine]

99. Grimes came off as the fall guy for McConnell. Somebody had to be the LOSER.

[BlueJac]

101. Fox news people.

idiots

[ollie4]

104. if you don't stand up for what you believe....nobody will believe you

Whom was she trying to kid? She is a Democrat. She ran as a delegate to the Convention for Obama. Did ANYONE believe she didn't vote for him?

She painted herself as a crass politician, one who is afraid to tell the truth, only says what would be safe politically.

If she were somehow elected, would she admit she was a Democrat THEN? I doubt it.

This was self-inflicted and pretty darned stupid in my view.

She could have stood up for Obama and pointed out how McCain and Romney were poor choices but also that Obama was a great choice because he helped the economy, healthcare, etc etc etc.

As it was, the Reps were firing their guns at Obama and she let them do it unanswered.

Blue dog Democrat? She was a white flag Democrat.

What DOES she believe in? Really.

She betrayed Obama. She betrayed the Democratic Party. She betrayed us. And she lost credibiity in the process.

Whom did she vote for in the KY Senatorial election in 2014?

[kentuck]

106. Inquiring minds want to know....

It's none of your damn business would have sufficed.

[swilton]

108. Brilliant

Yet this shouldn't be rocket science

[Drunken Irishman]

109. Anyone who said Grimes ran a good campaign lost any credibility with that argument after the outcome

Everything she did didn't change the trajectory of the race - McConnell kicked her butt. It wasn't close - certainly not as close as the polls suggested. If Grimes had come within a few points, as the polls indicated, I think the point of her running the right campaign would hold water.

It doesn't now, though. McConnell won by 16 points. His win in this election was by a wider margin than over Bruce Lunsford - and his second largest victory ever in running for senate (only bested by a 30-point margin over Lois Combs Weinberg in 2002). Grimes ran a poor campaign and it showed in the final results.

[iamthebandfanman]

111. i dunno that honesty

about the death of coal regardless of the EPA , president, or who was senator would have flown either tho...


but I agree..
most times when voters are asked to choose between a fake democrat and a real republican, they'll take the real republican any day...

[krobar659]

112. YES I VOTED FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA

I then would have stated the obvious, "Until the republicans run a candidate that is worthy enough to be President of the United States of America, I will never ever consider voting for a republican!"

I am from Iowa and we just elected that wing nut Ernst. From what I seen and is my opinion, Bruce Braley lost the election as soon as he went of the defensive and had to respond to all of the false and negative ads that ran here in Iowa. Then I was told by some campaign officials that if Braley went on the attack, they felt that he would look bad attacking a woman. Rep. Sandy Salmon (a.k.a. Tina Tuna) District 63 in the Iowa House won her race in 2012 as a result of false attacks against Bill Heckroth. Heckroth had to go on the defensive and ultimately lost his race. It looks like Grimes fell right into that same old trap. Sure, one cannot say that the republican wave didn't have anything to do with alot of Democrats not being elected or reelected, but once you are up against the ropes, its hard to come back and win.

But we must always remember that we are DEMOCRATS!