Things Democrats Do Very, Very Poorly

Yesterday, I blogged about things Republicans do very, very well.  As an Independent voter, I'm not wedded to either major political party and I like to take a step back and look at them both critically.  I strongly support President Obama (I realize what the brother is up against) and I've been voting for Democrats lately, but there are some things they do very, very poorly when compared with the GOP.  Most are the mirror opposite of Republican strengths.

• Messaging.  The American public knew what the Republican message was, even though it was completely false:  President Obama and the Democrats have taken over your lives, have run up the deficit and have usurped government control.  They have a radical agenda and it's their fault that there are no jobs.  Again, this was a complete fabrication.  Yet what was the Democratic message?  They were all over the place -- there was no cohesive slogan.  The Republicans and their policies got us into this mess but the GOP was successful at taking absolutely no responsibility for the shape our country is in -- and the Democrats let them get away with it!
• Unity.  The Democrats had a clear majority in the House and the Senate for two years and were afraid to act on it.  Rather than working together with a united front, they formed a circular firing squad and pulled the trigger.  In the final stretch of the campaign, when President Obama needed them most, a lot of them ran for cover.  Thankfully, the majority of these weasles were defeated on Tuesday.  But now there are a few rumblings on the political left about a potential challenge to Obama in 2012.  Are they just plain crazy or do they have a death wish?
• Appealing to emotional triggers.  Even though the Republicans are rich and have no empathy whatsoever for the lower or middle class, they are able to appeal to their fears and get them to vote.  Democrats. . .well, sometimes they just don't get it.  For the last six months, they should have been talking about the economy and jobs.  They could have done a visual campaign showing what would have happened if the Republicans had had their way.  The GOP didn't want to do the bank bailouts, but if not for them the economy would have completely collapsed.  They didn't want to fund the stimulus, but if not for that, state governments would have massive layoffs and the middle class wouldn't have gotten its tax cut.  They didn't want to bailout GM and Ford, but if not for that, more than 1 million jobs would have been lost.  Instead, both companies have retooled, are now at profitability and on the way up again.  Are the Democrats too intellectual or too high minded to figure out that winning is everything in politics?  If you lose, you can't help anybody.
• Standing up to the opposition.  The Democrats are too easily spooked by the GOP.  If Republicans say "boo," Democrats "turn tail and run" (as the old folks used to say).  They need to get some gumption, some spine, they all need to grow a pair and man up (even the women).  They need to start throwing some punches instead of taking them in the gut and they need to go on the offensive, rather than having to defend all the time.  Offense wins football games and elections.

The President shouldn't have to always be the spokesperson for the party and he needs to stay above the fray.  But for fans of the show "24," President Lloyd Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert) said it best, "Politics is a dirty busy and sometimes you have to fight dirty to win."  If the Democrats plan to win in 2012, they had better take heed.