Wed Nov 3rd, 2004 at 08:11:18 PST
The McAuliffe reign has ended in disaster, with the Democratic Party in worse position electorally than when he came in as Chair in February 2001. We have lost seats in the House and Senate, and failed to cleanly take out the Worst President Ever.
While McAuliffe was an artful fundraiser, the party continued to lack the ability to develop a clear message or properly frame the political debate. And it's been killing us.
Even if Kerry can pull off the victory, it's clear the Democratic Party as currently constituted is on its deathbed. It needs reforms, and it needs them now. Quite frankly, the status quo simply won't cut it.
Howard Dean for DNC Chair.
In the House, the two Louisiana runoffs will determine whether we broke ever, or lost up to two seats. Jim Bonham and Bob Matsui failed to even make meager gains. Thrown them out.
Keep Nancy Pelosi, however. She has proven adept at taking tough stances while herding an ideologically diverse House caucus.
In the Senate, we're likely at 55-45, losing five seats unless something changes in late counts in Florida and Alaska. While I didn't hate Daschle the way some did, I did think he was compromised as Senate Majority Leader given the electoral challenges of representing ultra-conservative South Dakota. The GOP may have helped strengthen the Dem caucus in the Senate by ousting Daschle, which should bode well in the battle for the Supreme Court.
Dick Durbin for Senate Minority Leader.
by Chris Bowers
I am spending the morning and afternoon talking with friends and family. In a few minutes, I'll watch Kerry concede. For now, before I begin posting again in a few hours, I would like to make two endorsements:
I support Howard Dean for DNC chair
I support Terry McAuliffe for the NY-25 in 2006
Both should be no-brainers.
