Obviously, I hope Carper’s strategy of keeping primary voter turnout low blows up in his face. Not only because he will lose if new voters come out tomorrow, but also it will mark a turning point in Democratic Party strategy.
Unlike DC-based politicians, insurgent Democrats see that the way to beat Republicans in November is by providing voters a real alternative. The DLC/Carper/Coons system of trying to sell watered-down versions of GOP talking points in order to peel away one or two percent in the mythical “middle” needs to be buried for good. A Carper loss will be a nail in the coffin.
Duncan Black puts it this way:
…once Democrats start telling voters that they’re better at delivering what the Republicans say they want, they’ve lost. The Republicans have already made it their issue, the Democrats have agreed the Republicans are correct but we’re just arguing about the details, and voters who think that issue is important know who to vote for.
And voters who disagree don’t have any champions. It isn’t true that if you give the voters a choice between a Republican and a Republican they’ll vote for the Republican every time. Plenty just won’t vote at all.
When DC-based Democrats like Coons and Carper identify themselves as ersatz Republicans, the voters stay home in droves. How do I know that? I have eyes.
But if my word isn’t good enough for you, just check out Trump v Clinton vote totals.
Clinton didn’t win 51% of the vote. Her total was 26%, because 48% of eligible voters voted “no thanks.”
We can’t to continue to leave 48% of eligible voters on the sidelines. We need to end the Carper/Coons model once and for all.
