Dean: Democrats Could Take the West

[opebo]

AZ. NV, NM, and COLO. That's the best the Dems can hope for any time soon (plus the coast).

Actually NV, NM, and CO would be enough to win the election.  AZ is a bit harder.

[opebo]

Muon, I agree. The Democratic platform needs sweeping changes- namely, support of tax cuts (at any level), opposition to gun control, and support for a limited federal government.

Tax cuts are great.

You're both wrong - tax cuts are not 'great'.  They are great for a very small minority of people, who are going to vote GOP anyway.  Taxes should be significantly raised for the upper classes, and reduced for the lower - but since the lower classes have no money and cannot pay significant taxes, the solution is to give them government payments which redistribute income.  I think this idea was called the 'Negative Income Tax' during the Nixon administration.

[opebo]

If the Democrats go right economically and support a muscular foreign policy, I could see them sweeping the Mountain West.

Which won't happen.

There is no reason to go right economically. Poll after poll shows people support us on economic issues.  If anything, we should oppose further free trade agreements (CAFTA) and work to lower health insurance costs so more businesses stay in the country.

Very correct Scoonie on economic issues.  As for the 'muscular foreign policy', in other words invading nations for no reason - it is highly destructive of the national interest.  However the electoral purpose of GOP imperialism is to win over the irrational, emotional, nationalist vote.  I don't see how the Democrats can win over this particularly brainless and vicious type, since it would be difficult to be more violent and xenophobic than the GOP.  

The only hope we have for the GOP to loose this support is if the general view becomes one that US foreign policy is a disaster.  While it already obviously is that, I don't think this could be brought home to the semi-concious average American untill and unless it caused massive casualties of some kind, as in the Vietnam boondoggle.

[opebo]

Clinton won states like Montana and Colorado because of Perot, pure and simple.  Clinton only got 38% of the vote in MT in 1992!

In his eight years, Clinton did a lot of things to piss off Rocky Mountain states: logging restrictions, wilderness road restrictions, snowmobile restrictions, the Staircase-Escalante land grab, etc.  This isn't libertarianism.

The current social "libertarian" policies of the Democrats are things like abortion rights and gay rights.  These are loser issues in the West.  In these states, libertarian means things like lower taxes, a smaller federal government, property rights and gun rights.

If the Democrats somehow become pro-life, anti-gay rights and pro-gun and become the party of lower taxes, smaller government and less environmental regulations, then yeah, they can win here.

You are quite correct about the West in general, but not about your own state, which is changing out from under you.  NV first, and then CO will be Democratic leaning states. 

[opebo]

Of the 9 political groups, 8 support a higher minimum wage, and 8 support universal health care.

Then why don't the Democrats win landslides in every election?

Because a lot of people don't know their own economic interests, and/or priortize their hatred of gays, blacks, their irrational nationalism, and so forth.