|
WHY we loss on November 2nd gives me optimism, though -- and that is because I think it's obvious that we can turn this around in 2012. I think our losses happened in large part because we became a bit too "defensive," defending all that we had done in Concord and in Washington, and we yielded to the Republicans the messages of "hope" and "change" that won it for us in 2006 and 2008.
We didn't emphasize OUR new ideas enough, and we didn't propose what we would do, other than more of the same which for those who are out of work or who fear losing their home certainly wasn't enough.
Voters usually don't vote for resumes. They often don't even vote for what office-holders have already done. They usually decide to vote for us based on what we say we're going to do, and the probabilities that we can deliver what we say we're going to do. And elections are about "them," not "us."
On that, we kind of fell down on message. Not too badly, and the national mood was the overriding reason why our own messages didn't get through, but we came across as the insiders that in the past two election cycles we ran against. The flood of money against us hurt as well, and Corporate America will keep trying to buy votes, but with that new model there still are ways we can beat our opposition with better messages.
We spent too much time talking about Washington and Concord, and not enough time talking about how we wanted to help people. Tip O'Neill's book "All Politics Is Local" has a theme we didn't deliver on. Next time we can.
All is not lost. Far from it. Now that we're in the minority again, a status that many of us have much experience with, we can re-adopt our position of being on the idea-offensive.
We can be the party of "hope" and "change" and "opportunity" in 2012, and if the Republicans mess themselves up like it seems they're going to, we're going to smile again mighty soon. The next election is less than 103 weeks away, and we should keep counting.
Who's to blame for this loss this year? President Obama? John Lynch? Ray Buckley? Speaker Terie Norelli? Should we turn our backs on any of them?
As readers of www.BlueHampshire.com know, I've had my share of disagreements with some of the NH Democratic Party highers-up, especially Ray Buckley and Kathy Sullivan. Sometimes our disagreements get noisy and public.
But even though we disagree, sometimes quite passionately, I have much respect for each of them, and for NHDP Executive Director Mike Brunelle. They weren't the problem for our setback on November 2nd. In fact, they helped keep it from being even worse.
I do suggest that different approaches are needed, and the "idea-factory" of the NH Democratic Party needs to be expanded and include more diverse points of view and techniques. From what I've seen with discussion in www.BlueHampshire.com during the past week that's ongoing right now, and I know several review meetings have already been held.
I have every confidence that the NHDP apparatus will continue to be well-oiled and well-used with the experience of Ray and Kathy and Mike and others. They need no replacement. In a way, they can't be replaced.
They know where the buttons for the machine are, and pushing them aside doesn't make sense, nor will that lead to better chances for us during the next two years. We all learn from our mistakes. They can too. And they did many more positive and successful things than not.
In fact, as we face the challenge of efforts to repeal of marriage equality, I would be comforted to know that those who helped us get to where we are on that cause will continue their roles in defense.
I was critical of Ray for not supporting House Bill 436 when I first introduced it in January of 2009, but after it passed the House in March he made a difference with the Senate -- without him, we wouldn't have won final passage, and of course that goes for John Lynch and many others. I know that Ray's brilliance will help defend us now. And Kathy from day one was a proponent of the bill. Mike is a campaign technician and a spokesperson for the party second to none.
My confidence goes for Terie Norelli as well. Though I won't be voting on whether she should continue in her role, I did have the chance to vote for her on November 2nd because I'm a constituent. She does great work. And while I also like her two Democratic opponents for Democratic Leader -- Kris Roberts and Dave Campbell -- I have every thought that Terie would use every word she can to defend House Bill 436 and other good causes of the past several years on behalf of all of us and the people of New Hampshire.
We don't need new people running the party or as our leaders, and we need not turn our backs on them. They've been there when we've needed them. They do good things, and have helped us immensely through the years. Can they do better? Sure. We all can. And I know they will.
Our leaders do need to appreciate the diversity of ideas and talent among us, and seek out counsel from different campaigns and office holders -- those who lost as well as won, because with defeat comes lessons learned. If they do that and listen, we'll be unbeatable next time.
For my part, it seems to me that we should be doing a little less sometimes childish attacking of Republican personalities, and instead totally focus on the idealism of the Democratic Party. We need to more clearly define what makes Democrats different from, and better than, our Republican friends.
We're the party of choice, of diversity, of working men and women. We fought for Social Security and OSHA and a minimum wage to protect our senior citizens and working Americans. We fight for health care and acceptance of the equality of all Americans.
We need to take the offense -- not against Republicans by criticizing them personally for what they do and say, but rather by presenting our own "new ideas" with more flourish, more freshness, more zeal than ever before.
While the Republicans are doing their thing in Washington and in Concord, we just need to continue to talk about the American people and the people of New Hampshire. On that, we're darn good and we have plenty of practice.
We need to explain not just what we've done in the past but to emphasize what we'll do in the future. With that strategy, we can't strike out. And we will smile again.
|
