How Dems Can Dodge Victory Yet Again

[fencesitter]

From Todays Phila Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13921011.htm

Many political analysts are hard-pressed to see how the Democrats will lose this November's congressional election. The American people are fed up with one-party rule in Washington, and less than enamored with our Republican president. How, then, will the Democrats manage to achieve yet another stinging defeat?
Here are a few drop-the-ball tips they might consider to enhance their natural proclivities:
Depend for campaign advice on consultants and self-anointed gurus who have given you the wrong advice in past elections. Along with their other gifts, these people are highly articulate repositories of the plausible excuses needed to justify another failure.

<snip>

Spend a lot of resources on voters who will never back you. Take the advice of Democratic consultants to espouse religious and moral themes. You won't get ahead of Republicans with this group but you're guaranteed to come across as opportunistic hypocrites. What could be better for determined losers?
Go along with Republicans who say mistakes in Iraq, with Katrina, or on energy are past and the debate should focus on the future. After all, a record of past bungling is certainly no guarantee that keeping the same people in power will lead to future bungling.
Ignore midterm-election demographics. Traditionally, seniors account for a third of the voters in nonpresidential elections. Most seniors are angry as hell about Medicare drug-benefit foul-ups and Republican proposals to reduce future Medicare spending. A focus on these issues could cause a sharp pro-Democratic swing in November. But that would take the focus off Karl Rove's designated topic, national security, and you wouldn't want to disappoint Karl.
It's not yet clear how the Democrats will manage defeat this time around, but rest assured,

[sui generis]

1. Support our base

support our base support our base support our base. Stop taking our base for granted.

Stretching for pink voters just means there's less room in the blue tent for blue voters.

[Warpy]

2. How to lose: Let the DLC dictate your platform and tactics

Use corporate lobbyists turned DLC poltiical consultants to run your campaign.

Play to the mythical swing voter while taking your base for granted.

Whatever you do, do NOT mention the economy, what free trade has done to Americans, any plan to stop outsourcing, or single payer health insurance.

That's how you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Just do what Dem candidates have been doing for the last couple of decades.