From the comments section of
my diary on the bad-news SurveyUSA poll, I thought this exchange was worth highlighting (I've bolded certain parts for emphasis). First, here's Gretchen Laskas:
I have never said that this was an easy win for Democrats, and like Lowell, I see no reason to spin the polls.
But having been in VA politics long enough to have some historical perspective, August is the month where Democratic ideas and candidates go to die. (And although it's September, this endlessly long Labor Day is weird.) It might not get any better. I'll admit that it might not. But it also might, and in light of the more recent elections, probably will.
That doesn't mean a win, and that doesn't mean that we can count on stories like The Thesis to bail us out. We still need boots on the ground and a campaign that is running full steam with its volunteers.
Now, here's Karen "Anonymous is a Woman":
Gretchen is right. But we disregard some of the criticism from the right at our peril too.
The WaPo story about McDonnell only works if we can show why it's relevant to voters. The reason it is important is because it raises the question of who the real Bob McDonnell is - the Bible-thumping ideologue more concerned with promoting a theorcratic agenda, or the mild mannered, logical pragmatist whose main focus is jobs and the economy.
Spelling out that McDonnell has in fact spent most of his career working to implement the ideas in his thesis is great stuff. It shows that the thesis, far from an irrelevant term paper written for school, was actually a blueprint for how to govern.
But the truth is that's not enough to win.
The right wing is correct to point out that Creigh Deeds needs to talk about his vision for creating jobs, fixing the Virginia economy, maintaining Virginia's AAA bond rating, maintaining our excellent schools, and improving teacher salaries. He needs to talk about creating green jobs and protecting the environment.
Time and again, election results prove that simply negative campaigning and only outlining what you are against is a recipe for failure.
Negative campaigning works but only if you also lay out what you are for. You have to also have something positive to say about your own platform. And you have to convince people of why they should vote for you, not only why they should vote against your opponent.
The Deeds' campaign has gotten one side of the equation right, but there's also that all important other side.
Gretchen, we'll have boots on the ground But those boots have to carry a good, clear message to voters too. And that message has to tell them exactly what Creigh Deeds will do to benefit the commonwealth and them.
As I often do, in this case I agree 100% with Karen. The challenge for Creigh Deeds over the next 58 days is: 1) to clearly make the case why Bob McDonnell is not the "moderate" he says he is, but instead why he's a Pat Robertson theocratic radical who wants to take Virginia back to the dark ages; 2) to clearly and specifically explain what he plans do as governor, particularly on the economy, transportation and taxes; 3) to articulate how he will be able do any better than Tim Kaine did with a totally obstructionist, flat-earth, right-wing Republican-controlled House of Delegates; 4) to explain how he will govern similarly to Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, but also to let us know how he will differ from his predecessors; and 5) somehow or other to inspire and connect with progressive activists, young people, women, African Americans, Latinos, etc. If Creigh Deeds does all these things (no problem, right? - lol), I firmly believe that he has an excellent chance of winning the governor's election on November 3. If he doesn't...well, maybe not.
