Hackett (the Democratic candidate) lost in Ohio's special runoff race for the House seat that was recently vacated. It was a traditional Republican district where Bush carried 64% in '04. Hackett was 48%. You can read the DNC's take here about how this "bellwether" is predicting a Democrat insurgence in the '06 and '08 elections. I think it's important to take a look at how Hackett ran his campaign first. You can see Hackett's TV ad here.
Note that he doesn't identify his party, he doesn't identify issues, and he uses President Bush in his ad. The wonks pointed out a lot of the garbage his said in public and where he stands on the issues but most voters are not wonks. They make up their decision, in part, on ads and in Hackett's ad; he relied on cheap tricks to try to mislead voters. He may support gun rights, but it takes more than one issue to make a conservative or a liberal. Remember, there are pro-choice conservatives and pro-life liberals.
This "bellwether" race has shown one way the Democrats can win or get close in races. They have to pretend to be Republicans and conservatives. When they run on their own platforms, they will lose.
Crossposted from Ravings of John C. A. Bambenek and BNN
Article comments
1 - Eric Berlin
Most people rely on ads? Heaven help the Republic...
And: Realize that Republicans "pretend" to be things too.
Politics is all about pandering, selling, persuading, cajoling. Everyone does it all the time. To pretend otherwise is silly.
2 - DJRadiohead
Most politicians rely on stupid people who believe what they see/hear on TV. They are not often wrong.
3 - John Bambenek
Pretending is one thing, pretending to be the other party and then claiming you are going to turn the tide is assinine. Sure, you can fool some people some of the time, but eventually they catch on and punish you for it.
4 - Eric Berlin
I forgot that one party held the monopoly on national security issues.
5 - Mark Saleski
the gop panders to the religious right and social conservatives every single election cycle.
has it hurt them yet?
6 - John Bambenek
Eric and Mark, do you think maybe you can spin this any harder? Let me break it down...
He runs an ad embracing Bush (despite calling him an SOB and saying the stupidest things a President has ever said) and doesn't mention he's a Democrat. He tries to make himself conservative by saying he supports gun rights.
He COULD have ran on his party's platform, I'm sure they could have something to say about national security issues. The point is, he didn't, he ran on being a soldier, pretending to be conservative, and hiding that he was a Democrat. At least when the GOP panders, they pander to their own people...
7 - Mark Saleski
i'm spinning NOTHING, mr. condescending.
i'm just pointing out that pandering exists on both sides.
8 - billy
the only spinning is from the right. the reddest district in the country is now swing based on a young, inexperienced, anti war deaniac, with no funding, in a district that is 3-1 repub, who bashed bush all the way. next year is a bloodbath for the gop, they have no strength anymore even in their best districts, imagine how they will do in their marginal districts.
9 - John Bambenek
Mark-
Sure you are spinning... you are making an irrelevant argument to try to refute mine, that's spin, sure.
Yes, the GOP panders, that's what politicians do. But the point is that if the Dems want to win elections they have to pretend to be Republicans. What does pandering have to do with that argument?
Precisely 0.
10 - Eric Berlin
Hackett ran on an anti-war, anti-Bush, education, and health care platform. He didn't pretend to be a Republican... why would he call out the President the United States as a chickenhawk if he did?
And I should have added to my above comment: I forgot that one party has a monopoly on gun ownership rights.
11 - Mark Saleski
john, i was commenting on your mention of pandering, not on your argument as a whole.
my point stands, no matter how many time you attempt to label it as spin.
12 - John Bambenek
Eric-
You actually see his ads? Didn't think so.
And you are making the same point I'm making, it takes more than one issue to be a conservative or republican.
I didn't bring pandering into this, you did. Unless you misread "pretending"...
13 - Eric Berlin
Spin is really a kind of meaningless word in terms of politics. Everyone has an opinion, therefore everyone is spinning.
14 - John Bambenek
If that's what you think, there is little wonder why political discussion is near impossible... people think spin is normal discourse.