I used to be one. Maybe you were one too. We were tired of losing elections to Republicans. The GOP had the House, Senate, Supreme Court, and White House all at the same time in the early 2000s. The Democrats of the time were happy to sell out the Left in order to secure campaign dollars and committee seats. Their votes on Iraq were exclusively motivated by politics, not policy.
I lived in Iowa until Aug of 2003 before moving to Kansas. Since Iowa is the first to caucus it seemed like we were always in a campaign. I liked John Kerry and respected his personal history, from publicly fighting to end Vietnam to indicting Reagan's people over the Iran Contra scandal. But beyond that, he did not speak to me. Especially on Iraq.
I was a Howard Dean believer! He had been campaigning in Iowa for a while and politics was my sport. That's when I discovered the Dailykos. I wanted campaign finance reform. I wanted American jobs. I wanted Union strength. I wanted banks to beg for mercy. I wanted to stop dropping bombs. I wanted the rich to have their votes mean as little as mine did. And I wasn't alone, there were like minded people hanging out at the Great Orange Satan (kos) and all I needed to do was visit in order to keep my sanity.
I visited every day for years, and I still do with rare exception. I saw the power of the Kossacks to pull the Democratic Party in it's direction. I saw an angry mob demand Progressive candidates. Not just more Democrats, but better ones. I saw the Left give Howard Dean cover while he moved in to the DNC and operated the only 50 state strategy I have ever seen the Dems run. He understood that if you are going to win a war, you have to move the frontline into the enemies territory. He knew how to lead the troops.
I saw Kossacks hold the media and politicians accountable. I saw the NYT belittled for promoting the Iraq war and covering for the CIA's black sites. I saw Kossacks keep America informed when the media refused to do it. I saw GWB's popularity desintigrate along with the House and Senate GOP majorities. I watched Joe Lieberman squirm. And I saw it all in orange.
You can credit, or blame, 2006 on anyone you want but I say Howard Dean and the Kossacks did that. Kansas had 2 (out of 4) Democratic House members (not a typo) AND a Democratic Governor. America had a Democratic House again for the first time in 12 years. The groundwork had been laid to keep the Senate and the White House out of GOP hands in the next election. Howard Dean's 50 state strategy made it possible to elect a Democratic President, a black dude no less! Howard Dean will have my love and support whenever he calls for it. I will be there with my work boots on and waiting for orders Mr. Dean!
But in 2008 Dean was pushed out of the DNC for reasons I will never comprehend. I remember thinking this can only end badly. 2010 confirmed my worst nightmares. 2014 proved my nightmares weren't bad enough as Democrats lost elections all over the nation, in decidedly blue states.
I am still a Kossack, but it doesn't feel the same anymore. The orange has lost its luster. I have watched Kossack's (myself included) make excuses for bad candidates who run away from the party. When a candidate runs away from their party they make the voter wonder, 'just what is it you stand for?'
Like when Alison Lundergren Grimes couldn't answer who she voted for. Kossacks should have ridiculed her, demanded better. Instead, "That's a gotcha question. Chuck Todd is a jerk..." Right. I bet he stayed up all night dreaming that one up. Maybe she could try answering the damn question instead of hoping that the voters were too stupid know the answer anyway. That was a Sarah Palin/Katie Couric moment if I ever saw one.
Voter turnout was low in an abysmal way in 2014. There are no excuses for the losing party when voter turnout is low. Voters never fail a party, the party fails the voters. When the party says we lost because it was a 'wave election' they are forgetting the definition of cause and effect.
That's the excuse we are hearing in Kansas. "The wave was insurmountable." What. A. Joke. The GOP did not build insurmountable vote totals. Want proof?
2010 Brownback (R) 530,760 votes
2014 Brownback (R) 423,666 votes, a drop of over 100,000!
"But Democrats can't win in Kansas, there aren't enough Moderate or Left voters." Really? Tell that to two time Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who TWICE got more votes than Brownback did in 2014.
2002 Sebelius (D) 441,858 votes
2006 Sebelius (D) 491,993 votes
Either one of Sebelius's totals would have been enough to beat Brownback in 2014. The votes were there, the voters just didn't think the Democratic candidates deserved them. Even Jill Docking, Davis's running mate, received over 461,000 votes when she ran for the Senate in 1996, when Kansan Bob Dole was the top of the GOP ticket! Again, voters don't fail a party, the party fails them.
Paul Davis dropped the ball everytime he was asked to be a champion for something. He worked tirelessly to prevent voters from knowing what he stood for. He thought being the 'other guy' on the ballot would be enough. Sorry, but no one is that unpopular, not even the Sam Brownback who came up 100,000 votes short of his previous total.
When Republicans passed the 'Turn the Gays Away' bill that allowed businesses to discriminate against homosexuals Paul Davis not only avoided the issue, he warned other Democrats to stay out of it. He was too busy trying to be 'no things to any people' and he didn't want to be turned into the pro-gay candidate. That was a sign of weakness that sent my red flags up but I still supported him, because he was the Democrat. That was the first time my inner Kossack knew better and I wasn't listening.
It wouldn't be the last this election. I repeatedly wondered where Paul and the Kansas Democratic Party stood on many issues. But my support was unwavering, I spent hours and hours of my life trying to defeat Brownback, most by writing blog posts at StopBrownback.com. The site did great, with close to 10,000 Facebook fans. Several of the posts had literally 10s of thousands of views. But that was because they were Progressive posts. They stood for something and gave the reader something to rally behind. Something the KDP and Paul never got around to doing. After a while, I had no motivation left to help with the site. I simply wasn't motivated by the candidate anymore.
If you haven't read TMservo's extremely detailed post-mortem of the KDP's failed campaign strategies then I suggest you do it immediately, no matter what state you are in. If anything is clear after 2014, it is that the state parties are becoming more like Kansas. What's the matter with Kansas? The same thing as Massachussetts, Maryland, Maine, Iowa.... http://www.dailykos.com/...
The sad part isn't just that Chris is right, it is that the party is attacking him instead of dealing with the problems they have caused. I have been 'warned' about him. Told that he is just a consultant in it for the money. That he doesn't even really campaign. Total BULLSHIT! Rumor-mongering at its worst. No one worked harder for Kansas than Chris did this year.
He spent his own money on candidates and even filmed GOP candidates in their home districts around the state. Anyone spreading rumors about Chris right now is a perfect example of why the KDP needs to have their house cleaned! If you draw a paycheck from the KDP, then you should be careful who you say is 'in it for the money' because the KDP clearly isn't in it to win it. If the KDP wants to lecture about how to win campaigns they should start by winning one.
I don't mean to rail on Kansas politics but it is emblematic of what is going on in the national Democratic Party. They are trying to be 'no things to any people'. They are trying to appease donors and voters at the same time by implying but not stating what they stand for. In states across the country Democrats ran AWAY from the ACA, the single most significant legislative accomplishment of my lifetime. Defend it damn you! Stand for something you spineless cowards! If you run from your success you will always be a failure.
Former Kansas Insurance Commissioner (and Governor) Kathleen Sebelius did a job at HHS that should stand the test of history. But Democrats threw her under a bus over a botched website launch! Why? Because they didn't want to fight back, it was easier to run away from the party. At least Obama stayed off that bus. The result is millions of Americans who think the GOP was right. Sebelius could have came back to Kansas and kicked Pat Roberts ass across the state for the Senate. But I wonder if even she started to believe the hype. I blame the national Democratic Party for this. Period. Who knows, her coattails may have been enough to put Paul Davis over the top.
Now the state parties and the DNC are in the excuse making phase of the campaign. This Kossack isn't listening. I am done. I am as pissed as I was in 2000 when I voted for Nader. I am as fed up as I was in 2004 when I voted Democratic because I hoped there was a chance. I am going back to the 2006 version of me that demanded the party move to the Left, or lose me forever.
I have been to the last two Netroots Nations. I am constantly surprised at how many people are comfortable writing off a Red state. If you aren't going to fight, then you shouldn't expect to win. Republicans go to war in every state, every district. They do the 50 state strategy every single year. They put Dems on the defensive, forcing them to spend money everywhere. We talk about the 50 state strategy in historical terms. Pathetic.
Republicans also understand that the default position of every voter is Libertarian/Populist. Think about it, the first time you became politically aware it was because someone's rights were violated; perhaps yours, or women, or POC, or workers, or some bank got away with murder and you got active. The GOP spends millions reaching out to this mindset, Democrats mock and belittle it, then hide from it. Sure the informed know better than to believe the GOP on those issues, but it is extreme arrogance to assume the average voter is informed. Remember how the GOP embraced the Tea Party? Remember how the Dems avoided Occupy like the plague...
Republicans draw a hard line in the sand on every issue. It lets the voter know what they stand for. Until the Democrats do the same they can expect to lose over and over again. If they want Union votes they should do something for Unions. They want women and POC votes, here's an idea, do something for women and POC. Unhappy with the youth turnout, try speaking to them. Or just keep blaming the voter. Whatever.
Those of you who think the GOP has no path to 270 in 2016 need to get your heads out of your asses. Hillary is not a shoe-in. She will triangulate as always and continue the strategy of being 'no things to any people'. She has the current lead and will 'play not to lose'. Like she did in the Dem primaries in 2008, and we all know how that turned out.
That strategy is a losing one with today's voters, they are looking for a leader. She needs to take a Progressive stand. On the NSA. On banking regulations. On worker's rights. She needs to be the Populist candidate. But even her supporters know that isn't going to happen. She may be with us, but she wants us to keep it our little secret, doesn't she. Get lost.
My personal opinion is that she can't beat Rand Paul. Sure he's a liar. But he's taking hard line stands that make it easy for voters to identify his position. You and I may know that he is full of crap but the media will hold his water and the voter won't figure it out till it's too late. Remember when GWB promised Cap and Trade while debating Gore? No? But you do remember Gore rolling his eyes...
She also can't beat Elizabeth Warren for the Dem nomination. I know, I know, she's not running. But if she did every voter would know what Warren stood for on banking and NSA while Hillary tried to imply her views without ticking off any bankers or Conservadems. It would be like 2008 all over again, as she was bested by the loud mouth who had something to say that the voters longed to hear.
In 2016 it will be up to the Left to make sure the truth gets out but will the voters be able to hear us over unlimited Koch money? I am not sure how much faith I have in that after this last election.
I will only be helping those who take a stand in the coming years. This Kossack is done getting used and abused. My vote and efforts can no longer be taken for granted. Now is the time to pull Hillary to the Left. If she isn't interested, then neither am I. And no, I won't care if she is my only choice.
This Kossack isn't going to take it anymore. I hope your listening Mr. Dean. I got your back, and I'll bet I'm not alone.
