re: How I Would Have Won as a Democrat in Alabama

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There's no overcoming the stupidity of Alabama voters. And that goes for the majority of voters on both sides of the aisle. We have a long history of electing people that go against our best interests.

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This right here in spades. Alabama has always been a one party state, so there is no actual choice in the general elections. The primaries are a joke as each republican candidate tries to prove how much more of a "family values, gun loving, God fearing, Obama hating" man/woman they are and actual ideas are never discussed.
There will never be any change in this State unfortunately.

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It's Alabama, you still would have lost

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This. Who you are, your message, what you stand for, none of that matters in deep red states. You could be the greatest ever, John J Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ronald Reagan (though opinions vary), etc.

If you are not a Republican, you have zero chance.

I read something the other day about the Florida Gov election that noted 95% would vote along party lines and it didn't matter who the candidate was. The $100 million spent was all for the independent 5%.

To me, it is very sad and shows what a hopeless situation our political system is.

The vast majority of the electorate just looks at D or R and checks the box.

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The vast majority of the electorate just looks at D or R and checks the box.

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There's a reason for this.

When the chips are down, and a major vote is happening, there is one thing that matters, and it isn't the flowery shite the politician said during his/her campaign. The dems are going to vote with the dem block, and the GOP congressmen are going to vote with the GOP block.

People that don't understand this are not paying attention.

There are always a few outliers, but that's rare and is usually for a reason. The party (which ever one) didn't need their vote, and let them vote the other way because they are in a vulnerable position. If they really needed the vote, they'd get it. Case in point, the ACA passage where all these supposedly 'moderate' dem senators voted in lock step with it, because the DNC REQUIRED it.

You vote for the R or D more than anything else, and your expectation that they will vote with the party and not pull some Crist bullshite.

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But seriously, at the very least I would like a candidate that could believably sale me this load of crock . You know take me out to dinner and make me feel pretty before leaving me alone and dirty the next morning.

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Think this pissed me off the most. It's been shown historically that the Democratic base does not show up for mid-term elections. With so much on the line why weren't dems better prepared to combat this?

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They had no ammo to fight back. Obama and the Dems have been throwing issues at the wall trying to find one to gain traction. Immigration reform? Nope. The 1% vs the 99%? Nada. There wasn't an issue at play to motivate any Democrats to come out and vote this cycle. Especially in Alabama where the push back against Obama/Democrats/Obamacare was simply overwhelming.

They were able to swing control back in the 2006 midterm because they had the Iraq War's unpopularity to galvanize their vote. The Republicans had Obamacare this time around.

The conservatives had motivation to go out and vote strong. The liberals had...?

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They had two years and a Republican lead government shutdown that was hardly a factor. There's also the fact that the economy is improving and unemployment was declining. This should have been shouted from the rooftops (common voter will take at face value).

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The problem is the recovery is still very sluggish on the ground. Wages are still stagnant. Employment isn't picking up very quickly either. It's hard to sell the numbers are good when things aren't much better for the average person. This recovery isn't exciting, it's slow progress forward and not really thanks to anything the federal government has done.

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Voters want you to stand for something not blatantly try to mislead them. It's a delicate balance but if you can strike the right chord between yourself and the incumbent it's better than complete abandonment.

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Yes. It's a very dangerous game to strike that balance. Pennsylvania is much more of a "purple" state than Kentucky or Alabama. It's easier to use Obama to an advantage. That being said, you look like a phony if you can't stand up and admit you've been with Obama on issues and give reasons why. Running away shows weakness and just gives more run to the "Dem Candidate = Obama" meme of this election cycle.

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I didn't realize how bad it was until last night but I'll give the Republicans credit. Not only did they beat the Dems they also struck back at the Tea Party which is the one silver lining.

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The GOP did a great job. Period.

They figured out they needed to catch up to the Democrats on analytics and data and the RNC spent money to do just that. The outside PACs were much more coordinated in their attacks and staying on message.

The most important thing was fighting off the extreme elements of the Tea Party. In 2012 they had a shot, but hadn't gotten a handle on the Tea Party. Hence you had a candidate for Senator in Missouri having to clarify his position on rape a week before the election. Mistakes like that gave the Democrats plenty of fodder to paint the Republicans as fringe wackos.

In 2014 you saw a focus on getting disciplined candidates onto the ballot. Look at the Mississippi Republican Primary. McDaniels is a nut job and had a very real chance of victory. The RNC actively worked against him to lift Cochran to the run-off victory. They learned from the mistakes of 2012 and knew they couldn't have a loose cannon giving the Democrats anything to attack them with. They learned their lesson well and it showed with a comprehensive victory.

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In 2014 you saw a focus on getting disciplined candidates onto the ballot. Look at the Mississippi Republican Primary. McDaniels is a nut job and had a very real chance of victory. The RNC actively worked against him to lift Cochran to the run-off victory. They learned from the mistakes of 2012 and knew they couldn't have a loose cannon giving the Democrats anything to attack them with. They learned their lesson well and it showed with a comprehensive victory.

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This was the most impressive aspect to me. The Republican primaries were brutal but they overcame the in-fighting and rallied behind candidates who toed the line. Also, adding minorities to the Senate and House was huge. This appealed to the, "Republicans aren't racist if they support black candidates" segment and further spurred their base.

Unfortunately for them their victory lap may be very short if they don't play their cards right. Obama has nothing to loose on either side so any thought of him being a lame duck is mistaken. Dems have to regroup quickly and figure out a way to to prevent this from happening. There's no doubt in my mind that Republicans, lead by Ted Cruz and his ilk, are going to wreak havoc within their own party. Dems have to be in position to capitalize.

I saw where it would be 2022 before they can regain the House but they can recapture the Senate and be in the drivers seat for the 2016 Presidential race. Working with Obama to have a unified message that appeals to the public will be a big part of this.

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The Republican primaries were brutal but they overcame the in-fighting and rallied behind candidates who toed the line.

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They got the right candidates out of the primaries and coach them up well. Good luck finding a major gaffe from any of them.

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Obama has nothing to loose on either side so any thought of him being a lame duck is mistaken.

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He's absolutely a lame duck. His party just got served a massive defeat in the midterms and his popularity is hovering around 40%. He's got exactly zero political capital. All he can do is veto and try to push out executive orders that will only serve to make him more unpopular and hurt his party heading into 2016.

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Dems have to regroup quickly and figure out a way to to prevent this from happening. There's no doubt in my mind that Republicans, lead by Ted Cruz and his ilk, are going to wreak havoc. Dems have to be in position to capitalize.

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I'd imagine the Ds are going to try to drive the wedge in and add as much fuel as they can into a GOP "civil war". They unified to show how pissed off they were at Obama, but the conservative tent is comprised of different factions with diverging views. Try to apply pressure and hope Ted Cruz and co lurch the party right and snap up the moderate factions.

The blue team has their own issues of a coalition a mile wide and an inch deep to deal with though.

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Working with Obama to have a unified message that appeals to the public will be a big part of this.

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It hasn't happened in the last six years, what makes you think it will happen in the next two?

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It hasn't happened in the last six years, what makes you think it will happen in the next two?

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The upcoming Presidential election. Hillary's not as strong a candidate as some would like to believe and unless someone emerges in the next two years they have few appealing alternatives. Someone mentioned Elizabeth Warren and Joe Bidden and I laughed.

I think unless Rand Paul fricks up in a major way, he has the Repub Presidential nomination locked up. That being said his dad was tweeting about, "expanded neocon wars" yesterday so he'll have an uphill climb to be elected. This is who Dems will be fighting against. If they can salvage something from the Obama administration they'll have a slightly easier road to travel.

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I think unless Rand Paul fricks up in a major way, he has the Repub Presidential nomination locked up

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He will not survive the first half of the primaries.

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He's got the buzz right now, but Ted Cruz is looking to be a direct challenger for his votes in a primary

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Agree. Cruz could be a huge stumbling block for Rand. Unfortunately, I fear Jeb may get the establishment push and backing which will be a death blow for 2016 for R's if he ends up with the nomination. Christie won't pull the South, Rubio is too inexperienced in the spotlight, as his short stint showed and just not ready yet. I'd put Huckabee and Carson as the 2 other legit challengers.