Why the Democrats Can't Assume Big Wins in November Mid-Term Elections

I've posted before that I don't think it's wise for Dems - or any party that isn't represented by an elephant - to assume easy victories come the November mid-term elections, regardless of how low GOP candidates like Santorum are polling. Usually, however, my comments are specifically tied to the security-poor, fix-high electronic voting systems that largely Republicans control.

Yet there are other reasons Democrats could lose. One of the most obvious is that Dems don't always indicate they stand for something other than as opposition to a Republican candidate. But there's still a lot more.

There's also the matter that the Dems keep allowing Karl Rove and the GOP to write all the game rules and decide on the topic. Why? The Republicans don't dance all that well so why are they always the choreographer? You can't lay this entirely for blame on the media which really is far more GOP friendly than Dem-conscious; somehow, good Dems have to find a way to be seen and heard and powerful regardless of the Repugs. They're trying to do this with the plan to pull-out of Iraq, but the message isn't all that strong.

Another big problem is the Democratic Leadership Committee or DLC, separate from the Democratic National Committee or DNC, and far more like the relatively-few-in-number moderate Republicans than traditional Dems. Hillary Clinton is a good example of DLC style candidates who are more attractive to the Republicans (as a great target) than to many Democrats.

Funny thing is I don't know any Dems - or non-GOP types - who like the DLC, which is much more corporate and rich influence minded than the more grass/net roots style of the DNC under Howard Dean (and where the hell is Howard these days?). Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi has a piece on the DLC you may want to read called, "The Democrats are Still Doomed".

Finally, remember, too, that the GOP is underwriting distraction candidates: there is much evidence that Republicans are underwriting the Green Party in Pennsylvania and donating to Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.