I am not breaking my recent promise to have mercy on my liberal brothers and sisters by dragging poor Barack through the “purity” mud with my magic pony. I promise.
Rather – I am pointing out, (for my nth time as a blogger) that there are two ways to conduct a national campaign. There is the Democratic Party’s system of trying to appeal to 5% of the “swing” voters through “triangulation.” We can also call this the “50% plus 1” strategy that Bill Clinton won with. There is the “Energize the Base” strategy which a Democrat won with in 2008.
I can’t believe that I am writing this in 2011, but here it goes. The “50% plus 1” strategy is a proven loser for Democrats. It failed for Gore. It failed for Kerry. It failed for Obama during the last midterm elections. It runs away from core Democratic values by chasing after 5% of the voters who are lazy and disengaged to have strong opinions on the issues of the day. In so doing, the “50% plus 1” strategy nullifies the Democrats core strength – its registration advantage.
The “Energize the Base” strategy, on the other hand is a proven winner. It won for Obama in 2008 and Bush in 2000 and 2004. The “Energize the Base” strategy is aggressive. It swamps the opponents message, putting him/her on a defensive footing and creates the aura of authenticity around the “Energize the Base” candidate. That aura of authenticity, ironically, attracts the very swing voters that the “50% plus 1” strategy cravenly chases.
Other people have said this better than I am saying it here.
If I hate anything it is not people. It is stupidity strategy and stupid strategic choices by people who should know better than to make the same bad strategic choices we’ve been making time and again.