"He [Christie] is a moderate Democrat."
This was said by one of the Republican/Teabagger guests who was on "On Point" with Tom Ashbrook this morning. These two guys were going through the litany of reasons why Christie would not be the R candidate in 2016. This was at the top of the list and underscored by presentations of a couple of examples of Christie assisting Dems at the expense of Rs in NJ. The guests also kept arguing that Romney was the last establishment candidate that will come out of the GOP because they believe they cannot win by fronting "moderate" candidates. Now, their definitions of "moderate" appears to be quite skewed. They also kept arguing that Christie was the same as Guiliani was the same as McCain, who is a liberal. It was bizzarro world.
Note: one of the callers (claimed she was an Independent) kept trying to set up Christie and Hillary for comparison using Bridgegate v. Benghazi.
Editing to add that one of them actually pointed back to the 2010 campaign and made the statement that it was when "Obamacare was being blamed on Romney."
= new reply since forum marked as read
...the media is very good at white-washing Republican failures. They turn a blind eye to everything Republicans do that can risk their chances for re-election.
However . . .
That same media, in turn, turn a very jaundiced and discriminatory eye on everything and anything a Democrat does while giving Republicans all the air, print, and cable time they need to take down said Democrat - a luxury never afforded to Democrats.
Although Americans are loathed to any change (despite their passionate cries that "things need to change around here!"
, fact of the matter is, they have zero trouble "changing" Democratic pols in any election even when Republicans mess things up so badly that it's almost impossible to not blame them.
It's always as if Democratic seats are "in danger" - this, when Republicans have proven, time and again, that they couldn't pass beneficial policies for the people or govern themselves out of a paper bag even if they tried.
That's the disconnect among the American people that worries me the most.
I, too, have long given up debating that particular issue with some of the most diehard critics of the president and Democrats here. I've noticed that the more I try to convince them, the angrier they get - as if I'm committing a cardinal sin or something. 
So I make and post my argument and leave it at that, hoping that although they don't really (want to?) agree with me, something inside them will tell them that my argument has merit, or at least, it's food for thought. 
That's all we can do, 1SBM.
for the American people to STOP listening to the Democratic Party "big w(h)igs" and start thinking smarter.
The American people have ONE vote, and it's theirs and theirs alone to cast. They should cast it for the Democrat who will assuredly work on their behalf, not that of corporations and the wealthy and well-connected.
I understand that in some places the Democrat is a real blue dog, but then people need to weigh that fact against a potential teabagger candidate who is FAR worse.
In this winner-take-all democracy, unfortunately, we always have to choose between the lesser of two evils. In the primaries, however - an event pretty much overlooked by the majority of Americans unless it's a presidential election year 
- that's where we can change one Democrat for another. Not in the general election.
I had to hold my nose and vote for Dianne Feinstein in 2012 after she won the primaries from the candidate that I preferred (Mike Strimling). I hated that he lost from her (and got less votes than nutty Orly Taitz to boot!), but I didn't want a Republican winning the Senate seat by default. So, I opted to vote for her - and it was a veeeeery difficult vote for us, too.
The problem is, the American people have been so well cowed into not having to think rationally for themselves anymore that disasters like Christie, Schwarzenegger, and Bush happen on us as a country.
I think I will have a cocktail. I agree with you on this. I had to vote for Levin and Stabenow when neither have done anything for my district. And I have no problem with writing both those lazy dems with little d. I am highly disappointed with both of them. In order to get Levin's attention you must be a military base. Stabenow's attention you must be a farmer. Plain old hood folk get no love 
I am now working with my group of forty young voters to teach them that every election is important, no matter how small or insignificant. I tell them, it's like using your signal in traffic. You always use it even when there aren't any cars around. This helps to get you accustomed to using it and, eventually, it will become second nature. This is how we should approach voting, too.
I'm educating them on the importance of election primaries; that when they don't like a certain Democrat, that it's in the primaries not the general election where they should vote to remove him/her. They, in turn, teach their friends and family.
We need a smarter, more astute electorate if we want to counter and beat the anger and hatred of the Teabaggers that drives them to the polls.
I've asked them to do the same, and since they're savvier than I am on social media, they use all their accounts to spread the word as well as inform their friends and family who are Democrats and Liberals in heart and soul, but who, for some strange reason, are also a-political.
I don't understand the disconnect, but I do like it when they report back to me telling me that the people they make contact with are appreciative of the help and are looking at politics with more interest. We're getting through to them.
The grandmother of one member of my group is a Democrat but isn't crazy about labor unions or the PPACA. After he educated her on the fact that there are weekends, no child labor, a minimum wage, and regulated and safe workplaces, thanks for Unions, she's changed her mind. A little. She likes the PPACA now, too, and has applied for Medicaid. But I'm not gonna lie. It took a whopping four months - and she's a registered Democrat! *sigh*
Baby steps, I guess. But it's better than no steps at all. 
Last edited Wed Jan 15, 2014, 07:38 PM - Edit history (2)
am laughing my head off."
rocktivity
