Obama Has Severely Weakened Democrats
The Democratic Party has so severely weakened under the tenure of President Barack Obama that it is relying on former losing candidates to take them through the 2016 election cycle, according to the National Journal.
In recent years the number of Democratic officeholders in the House and statewide offices has so consistently declined that the party's chances in next year's Senate races are in peril despite seeing success on the presidential level.
"It's awfully unusual to see how dependent Democrats are in relying on former losing candidates as their standard-bearers in 2016," the Journal said.Wisconsin's Russ Feingold, Pennsylvania's Joe Sestak, Indiana's Baron Hill, and Ohio's Ted Strickland all lost office in 2010 but will be looking to run again in 2016, while party officials are also hoping to draft former North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan to retake her seat.
"All told, more than half of the Democrats' Senate challengers in 2016 are comeback candidates," the Journal said.
An analysis by Real Clear Politics supports the idea that Democrats have seen a decline in their fortunes, calculating that their position across state and federal seats is at its lowest since 1928.
The Journal said that most of these former officeholders offer the best choices available. Feingold and Strickland are each polling better than their likely GOP rivals while Hill and Hagan have in the past demonstrated some crossover appeal.
"Senate Democrats are relying on these repeat candidates for the exact same reason that Democrats are comfortable with anointing Hillary Clinton for their presidential nomination: There aren't any better alternatives," the Journal said.
"This isn't an assessment of Democratic chances for a Senate majority in 2017; it's a glaring warning for the party's longer-term health. If Clinton can't extend the Democrats' presidential winning streaka fundamental challenge, regardless of the political environmentthe party's barren bench will cause even more alarm for the next presidential campaign."
The Democrats have focused on changing national demographics as a reason for optimism but the Journal said that unless future leaders put forth a compelling liberal message, there is no guarantee that trends will move to their favor.
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One of the most underappreciated stories in recent years is the deterioration of the Democratic bench under President Obama's tenure in office. The party has become much more ideologically homogenous, losing most of its moderate wing as a result of the last two disastrous midterm elections. By one new catch-all measure, a party-strength index introduced by RealClearPolitics analysts Sean Trende and David Byler, Democrats are in their worst position since 1928 . That dynamic has manifested itself in the Democratic presidential contest, where the bench is so barren that a flawed Hillary Clinton is barreling to an uncontested nomination.But less attention has been paid to how the shrinking number of Democratic officeholders in the House and in statewide offices is affecting the party's Senate races. It's awfully unusual to see how dependent Democrats are in relying on former losing candidates as their standard-bearers in 2016. Wisconsin's Russ Feingold, Pennsylvania's Joe Sestak, Indiana's Baron Hill, and Ohio's Ted Strickland all ran underwhelming campaigns in losing office in 2010and are looking to return to politics six years later. Party officials are courting former Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina to make a comeback bid, despite mediocre favorability ratings and the fact that she lost a race just months ago that most had expected her to win. All told, more than half of the Democrats' Senate challengers in 2016 are comeback candidates.
On one hand, most of these candidates are the best choices Democrats have. Feingold and Strickland are running ahead of GOP Sens. Ron Johnson and Rob Portman in recent polls . Hill and Hagan boast proven crossover appeal in GOP-leaning states that would be challenging pickups. Their presence in the race gives the party a fighting chance to retake the Senate.
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But look more closely, and the reliance on former failures is a direct result of the party having no one else to turn to. If the brand-name challengers didn't run, the roster of up-and-coming prospects in the respective states is short. They're also facing an ominous historical reality that only two defeated senators have successfully returned to the upper chamber in the last six decades . As political analyst Stu Rothenberg put it, they're asking "voters to rehire them for a job from which they were fired." Senate Democrats are relying on these repeat candidates for the exact same reason that Democrats are comfortable with anointing Hillary Clinton for their presidential nomination: There aren't any better alternatives. http://www.nationaljournal.com/against-the-grain/democrats-vanishing-future-20150521 http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/05/22/report-obama-has-severely-weakened-democrats
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It does not appear that way at all. The Republicans shot themselves in the foot when they ground gov't to a halt and repeatedly refused to sign anything no matter what the people actually wanted. Their borderline treasonous paper to Iran only made them even weaker.
People realize that Republicans have actively been preventing positive change over the last two terms. They also realize how much damage the Bush admin did for the two terms prior to Obama's and how much wreckage Obama then had to deal with because of Gdub.
If anything, the Republicans have paved the way for a strong third party to emerge. However, that is unlikely to actually happen this time around, and given the choice between Hilary or any of the Repub front runners like Christie and Jeb, Hilary will definitely come out on top. The only Repub really worth his salt that might or possibly could run AND win would be Walker, and who knows if he really will.
Another right wing full of shit lie piece. (yawn) Can't you EVER come up with a post that is worth anything? Because all you post is pure right wing lies and bullshit. It's really getting old. Can't you at least TRY to be a real contributing member of this site and post something worthwhile, instead of being just a joke here? At least TRY? A little? Even a tiny bit?
I did say it was unlikely, lol.
You don't get to be our gate keeper deciding what is and isn't acceptable to be seen here by you or everyone else.
Not trying to be. Just giving some friendly advice. With all of the lying hit pieces you post, you are becoming a punchline on this site. A joke.