The fact is that when given a choice between a REAL Republican and a Democrat that sounds like a Republican, the conservative voter will choose Republican every single time. It makes no absolute sense for these Democrats to try appealing to conservative voters in swing states. It depresses the Democratic base, doesn't excite them to get the vote out, and doesn't give the Democrat the bump in the GOTV that they're looking for on election day.
They STILL have not learned this lesson after years of trying this under Clinton, the DLC, and the Third Way. Conservative voters go Republican almost every single time because they'd rather have an actual Republican than a Democrat that sounds like one.
And even worse, it doesn't differentiate the Democrat from the Republican as Andrew Myers, a D.C. consultant says below:
Not all Democrats are happy with the approach. Andrew Myers, a Washington, D.C.-based Democratic pollster, said that by focusing on issues such as balancing the budget, the party was losing an opportunity to lay out clear distinctions with congressional Republicans, who are wallowing in national surveys.
“We need to differentiate ourselves, and taking the Republican line doesn’t do it,” he said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
So three guesses who in D.C. is telling these Democrats to act like Republicans in order to be elected? Looks like the Blue Dog symptom is back in D.C.