Dems: Did you really think Kerry would win?

[opebo]

If the party was rational, I'd agree with you.  However, these are not pragmatic people that show up to vote in presidential primaries.  (in either party) They are the ideologues.

There would be little point in electing someone who would please the likes of the born agains in a state like West Virginia.  If the Democratic Party were to truly abase itself to the voters in Jesusland, it would loose its base in the enlightened areas of the country.  Even if it did elect a 'conservative' Democrat Southerns and that ilk would like, how would that be any better than a Republican?

[opebo]

Senator Al, you are assuming that Kerry was a rational choice.

He was "rational" and electable to the ideologues who vote in the Democratic Party.  Incredibly, to them, he was pretty moderate.

In reality (outside the lefty cacoon) America didn't see him as so electable. or moderate enough.

Nominating a Warner is a much bigger leap than nominating a Kerry in the very liberal Democratic Party.  The two are vastly different on many issues.

Kerry was moderate.  Funny how things change, but say 40 years ago he would've been comparable to a Rockefeller Republican.

[opebo]

Come on opedo.  Moderate?  With that voting record?  Well, only in  today's Democratic Party would he be considered a "moderate".

And that's the problem with the Democratic Party these days.  Too far left.  If only they didn't have to have the nominee go through that pesky damned general election.

My point was that the media-generated idea of what is 'moderate' has changed radically since the 1960's.  In those days Kerry would've been considered a moderate, not very liberal - I'd say comparable to the Rockefeller Republicans.  Since that time the national discourse has been skewed, partly by the rise of the cults, and partly by media bias.

The Democratic party hasn't moved left since the 1960's.. in fact it has moved a good deal to the Right.  But the general perception of the political spectrum has moved very far to the Right in the US.  Of course historically and intellectually speaking, both Kerry and Bush are very right wing.

[opebo]

I honestly don't think Kerry tried to win.. it really looked as though he were throwing the election.