Tony Heyl's Blog
Tony Heyl's Blog
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What enthusiasm gap?
It seems that every story nowadays is a political obituary for Democrats at the hands of a revitalized Republican Party. Given recent polling, the intensity of the Tea Party movement and the historical trend of the president’s party losing seats in midterm election years, it’s understandable for Democrats to be anxious.
However, I saw none of this anxiety Monday when Senator Bob Casey joined 6th District congressional candidate Manan Trivedi in Ardmore.
I think I speak for a lot of Democrats in saying that I often find it disappointing how our candidates fold up and try to win campaigns by being as vanilla and uncontroversial as possible in competitive districts and, even worse, trying to co-opt Republican ideas in uphill races. That kind of mushiness—not rough polling numbers—is really what leads to a lack of enthusiasm from voters, donors and volunteers. I’m pretty sure most people don’t vote based on what the poll numbers say.
You also can’t win by just attacking the opposition. Too often candidates think they can just talk about how bad their opponent is and then hope that on Election Day, voters just pick the alternative without looking much further. It’s not really a winning formula. Sure, you need to make a distinction between the candidates, but more than just telling people what to vote against, you need to give them something to vote for or else you will fail.
Thankfully, I saw something different in Ardmore. If you thought that the Democratic Party was stuck in a malaise, you would be in for a surprise. About 60 people packed the Trivedi campaign office on Lancaster Avenue and there was a refreshing lack of trembling in their boots. Everybody was energized and excited to hear the candidate and the senator speak.
What I heard from Casey and Trivedi was reassuring. Instead of trying to be generic or defensive or Republican-lite, they both spoke with conviction and purpose. Casey has always been thought of as a moderate Democrat, mostly for his stance on abortion, so it might not be too surprising or notable if he tried to cool down the rhetoric. Instead, he gave a strong speech about what he thought needed done in Washington and why Trivedi was a good candidate. There was no holding back.
Before this event, I had yet to hear Trivedi speak. I had heard about his fascinating personal story and friends told me that he was a strong candidate, but I had yet to see him first hand. Thankfully, he, just like Casey, gave the activists in the room something to vote for instead of just red meat to make them angry to vote against someone else. He obviously takes the race and the responsibility of becoming a member of Congress seriously and, while he made contrasts with incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach, he coupled that with his plans of what to actually accomplish in Washington were he to win. Most importantly, he reminded everybody that sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
Much of the attack by Democrats against Republicans over the past few months is that they are simply a Party of No. I agree that just being against the Democrats is a poor reason to vote for Republicans, but it is also true that just being against the Republicans isn’t a good reason to vote for Democrats. It would be best for Democrats to take a page from Trivedi and Casey and advocate for voting yes instead of merely standing up to the opposition.
Democrats surely have reason to be concerned about their chances in November. They will undoubtedly lose seats in both houses of Congress. However, their best chance is to make a case that they are worth voting for instead of just stoking fears of Republicans and stopping there. As I’ve often said, if you’re not willing to stand up for yourself, why should voters think you are willing to stand up for them? Voters want someone who represents strength and confidence in their abilities, ideas, and philosophy, no matter their party affiliation.
There are still Democrats who are willing to stand up for themselves and their ideas. That is the best way to close the so-called enthusiasm gap.
August 31, 2010 at 12:56 pm
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Purple in Pennsylvania
Contact Tony Heyl
E-mail: tony@pa2010.com
Twitter: @tonyheyl
Bio: Tony Heyl has worked for almost 10 years to promote progressive causes and candidates. He has worked on races ranging from City Council to President. He also blogs at http://tonyheyl.com/blog/.
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TB
Aug 31st, 2010
The enthusiasm gap is a farce. Democrats are proud of the accomplishments of this President and this Congress. We have confidence in our convictions and our ideas. The Republicans and their astro-turf cohorts are screaming into an echo chamber. Just because they get media attention does no mean that their message resonates with large swathes of voters.
David Diano
Aug 31st, 2010
TB-
The dedicated Dems are happy with Obama, with the following caveats:
1) Some want him to go farther and push for more Dem values
2) Some feel he’s not handling the “messaging” well, and allowing the GOP (=>FoxNews) to distort the record.
The many Dems and Independents who were “unsure” about Obama also had unrealistic expectations for how quickly he could fix the economy if he got elected.
The polls are pretty consistent that stupidity and misinformation are ruling the day. People who realize Obama is a Christian aren’t going to “run to the polls” to vote for mid-term Dems. However, the idiots who think Obama is a Muslim ARE going to the polls to vote for people that oppose him.
The evidence of the “enthusiasm gap” is overwhelming, and I can see it right here in my own 7th district with the 2010 primary:
The Dem Senate primary was the “hottest race” in the state, and there was a lot of activity for the Governor’s race. The 7th district was Sestak’s home-turf, where he’s the most popular and has the core of his operation.
Toomey was virtually unopposed, and Meehan was completely unopposed and Corbett barely got any attention.
Yet, the Dems turned out only 28% of their voters in a hot, passionate race, and the GOP turned out 26% in a cold race.
Statewide: the numbers were Dems 27% turnout vs 30% for the GOP.
How much did Dems spend vs Republicans for the primary election part of the cycle?
The general election gap is going to be at least twice as big.
look at the data
Aug 31st, 2010
gallup has Republicans up on the generic congressional ballot by 10, more than they have ever been at this point, at anytime in gallup’s polling history dating back to the 1940s. umm…it’s called a tidal wave. i hope you brought your swimmies
Shapely Seat & Heart
Sep 1st, 2010
Hey, Tony, weren’t you a staffer for Lois Murphy? Thank goodness you’ve put that behind you and have decided to report in an even-handed fashion. Seriously, why don’t we just ask Manan Trivedi how enthusiastic he thinks his supporters are?
bill healy
Sep 1st, 2010
So far the only incumbents I see biting the dust have (R) behind their names, tea party republicans are the fringe and with them beating out repulbican incumbents look for the Democrats to retain most of their seats. Looks like a full crop of loons for the republican party this year. Even loonier than normal.
k
Sep 1st, 2010
I wish you all good luck at speculating the next election! 2012
DQM
Sep 1st, 2010
First, Mr. Healy, what universe have you been in the last few months. This is PA-2010 where there has been much coverage of Democrats eating one of there own right here in the person of Arlen Specter! HELLO!
I am all in favor of DINOs & RINOs leaving the field in favor of real Ds & Rs. In fact, the more the Ds make themselves look like Van Jones the better off we will all be. Ds will not make it to 200 in the House if they embrace their core principles.
Robert B. Sklaroff, M.D.
Sep 1st, 2010
First of all, note inherent pro-leftist behavioral-bias (in addition to the Lois Murphy fealty) harbored by the columnist:
“Former Montgomery County commissioner Jim Maza and state party committeewoman Joanne Olszewski are serving as Damsker and Hoeffel’s campaign co-chairs. Tony Heyl has come on board as finance director. The campaign website is votedamskerhoeffel.com.”
http://aboveavgjane.blogspot.com/2007/05/damsker-hoeffel-poll-numbers.html
Second, note that he continues to maintain electrical-silence regarding his untenable postures adopted in the Mosque-controversy.
http://www.pa2010.com/2010/08/political-cowardice-vs-what-really-matters/
This inherent anti-GOP/conservative prejudice – despite his having been repeatedly-reminded of his journalistic responsibility to reply to legitimate/documented criticism of his core-assertions – undermines his credibility…an observation/charge that has been directly communicated via e-mail to Editor-Dan.
Dan Hirschhorn
Sep 1st, 2010
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to chime in real quick here to clear up a little misunderstanding.
Shapely Seat & Heart implies that Tony has to “report in an even-handed fashion.” Dr. Sklaroff says he has an “inherent anti-GOP/conservative prejudice.”
So there is no confusion, Tony is not a reporter for pa2010.com, he is a blogger. His work is considered separate from our news pages, and he plays no role in our news coverage. Like most of our bloggers, his ideological/partisan bias is clear, and it is disclosed in his on-site bio.
We have even disclosed his past work for Lois Murphy (though perhaps repeated disclosure is warranted when he writes about the 6th District).
Tony is a liberal, and we have bloggers who span the ideological spectrum as counterweights to Tony, and to each other.
Please keep this in mind when you critique he and the other bloggers. His role is very much different from mine and those of the other reporters. His only journalistic obligation is to be broadly accurate on the facts he presents.
Thanks for reading.
Dan Hirschhorn
David Diano
Sep 1st, 2010
Bill-
You wrote: “So far the only incumbents I see biting the dust have (R) behind their names”
Is that an admission that Joe is really an (R)?