If the democrats survive a 2008 defeat...

[War on Want]

Option 1. Who gives a sh**t about Gay Marriage besides gays, really? Economy is what people really vote for.

[War on Want]

Oh, but people in the South care, they think it's an "abominable sin" that one should be gay.

Exactly why the Democrats should de-emphasize it for a while. It costs us votes, that could be easily gained.

[War on Want]

Populism, socialism, wealth-distibution, whatever you want to call it, is a failed ideology.   It is an economic failure.    It has failed everywhere where it has been implemented, which is why option 1 is not feasible either.

How is it a failed ideology? It has taken over many countries along the world. the New Deal Coalition which is arguably the most successful political Coalition in American history was built around it.

[War on Want]

Byron Dorgan/John Edwards 349 EV's
Mark Sanford/Charlie Crist 182 EV's

Pretty much a realignment scenario in 2016, after McCain gets two terms, and Sanford, McCain's VP, is selected.

Same scenario, with more Small Government Democratic Party:

Janet Napolitano/Brian Schweitzer 270 EV's
Mark Sanford/Charlie Crist 268 EV's

[War on Want]

While I would be much more willing to vote for a Democratic Party that goes along the path defined in option 2, option 1 is a much better winning strategy. Economic populism and social conservatism is a winning combination. I don't get why none of the parties have yet to embrace this. Not only would you win the South but you'd get the Rust Belt and, probably, the Great Plains. The economic leftism will make sure that your party would do well among working class and some middle class voters in the Northeast. Besides losing the Pacific Coast I can't see any real downsides to either the Republican or Democratic Parties pursuing this strategy. For the Republicans all they need to do is embrace a less Jesusy Huckabee approach, for the Democrats embrace the Byron Dorgan/Ben Nelson wing of the party.

A less Jesusy Huckabee I'd seriously look into. If populism in the Republican Party lost its religious connections and became mainstream, you could be seeing this 35 times a day:

Oh I'm not saying lose its religious connections, that's a losing strategy all around, just make them less visible. Basically Huckabee toning down the "preacher talk". Religious connections are essential to American populism. See Bryan, William Jennings.

Pretty much. I like William Jennings Bryan a lot though, so I wouldn't really mind that...