For Democrats Confidence Breeds Success

Every Democrat remembers well the pain experienced after election night 2010. That night the results left Democrats shaken and Republicans emboldened.
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Every Democrat remembers well the pain experienced after election night 2010. That night the results left Democrats shaken and Republicans emboldened.

The Republican success experienced in 2010 appears now to be little more than a political bubble based on assertions that Obama is evil and has made things worse, but also it was based on a false portrayal of American values, touted in the most general terms, such as liberty, freedom and fiscal responsibility. Knee-jerk politics at its finest.

The bubble popped when those ideas stopped being conceptual and people witnessed what Republicans really meant. When Republican ideas turned into Republican votes or lack of votes in the Senate and House, many citizens stopped blaming the president for the economy as Republicans pushed little more than their extreme social agenda and continuously obstructed legislation that would move our economy forward.

When John Boehner said he rejected "the word compromise," with that one statement he abdicated his role as a national leader interested in the betterment of the country and pledged his allegiance to a small minority of the country who sometimes dress up in Revolutionary War costumes and believe the sun revolves around the earth. This group of people defined their mission and it was not to create jobs, but to destroy a presidency.

The confidence experienced by Republicans quickly gave birth to an annoying arrogance and contempt for anyone who does not strictly adhere to their ideals. A portion of the Republican base would determine the actions and words of Republican leaders for the next several months. If those actions provided any direction for our country, it was backwards. The popularity of these very partisan political puppets would eventually suffer because of their relentless strategy of obstruction.

Democrats on the other hand slowly, but steadily regained confidence in their vision and their president. As President Obama climbed up the steep learning curve he began to embrace the moniker "Obamacare" and started to control the message instead of the message controlling him.

With the call for Democrats with backbones who will stand up for those values we cherish, enthusiasm grew and an increasing amount of pride in the Democrat label became evident.

This was more than obvious at the recent Democratic National Convention when speaker after speaker spoke out with no evidence of timidity in their voice or their mission. One after another they came to the podium and embraced the rights of the LBGT community, those kids we call dreamers, women's rights, and programs that help the middle class and provide opportunity for all to experience the American dream.

The aura of strength and the addition of a spine have resulted in a presidential campaign experiencing renewed vigor and poll results with an upward trend.

Down ticket races in the House and Senate have seen a boost as well. This is not just about retaining the White House, but also about candidates such as Indiana Democrat Joe Donnelly whose latest poll numbers show him leading his opponent Richard Mourdock by two points.

Some of Donnelly's success in Indiana has to do with the mistreatment of the great American statesman and Hoosier hero, Dick Lugar by Mourdock and his tea party supporters, but it also has to do with the fact that voters have been reminded of what it means to be a Democrat and what it means to be a Republican.

This line could not have been drawn more clearly by Mourdock, one of Romney's potential minions, than when he defined Medicare and Social Security as un-Constitutional.

Failing to recognize that people have an affinity for programs that they have been paying into their entire adult lives will result in political cost. There is little wonder that voters expect these programs to be there when they need them most.

It should also come as no surprise that with ever increasing numbers, voters will not be there for Republicans when they need them most.

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