Article: Tough Talking Democrats Leading In Polls

Politics can be a lamentable experience. Sometimes good candidates can't get a message out to the electorate because the corporate media is more interested in promoting the status quo. However, several good candidates running for the House and Senate are finding clever ways to get their message out, and the American people are responding positively.

Three progressive Democrats, Patty Weiss in the Arizona CD8 race, Rep. Sherrod
Brown, running for the Ohio Senate are showing substantial leads, and Connecticut businessman Ned Lamont is only six points behind three-term Senate incumbent Joseph Lieberman. Weiss, Brown, and Lamont have all expressed the need for complete troop withdrawals from Iraq, and the need to fix the many domestic problems the Republican Congressional leadership has put us in.

According to Lake and Associates, Weiss is ten points ahead in the Democratic primary race. Weiss has garnered a lot of attention for her no-nonsense approach to addressing local and national issues (please read the Elections 101 interview with Weiss). Likewise, Rep. Brown is leading incumbent Senator Mike DeWine, who has been implicated in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. In the latest Zogby/Wall Street Journal poll, Brown is leading 47% to 34%. And Lamont, who was only at twenty percent a few months ago, is now at 38% to Lieberman's 44% in the latest Rasmussen Poll, making incumbent Lieberman consider running as an independent. That Weiss, Brown and Lamont are finding support goes to prove that Democratic candidates unafraid of taking a clear, substantive stance on the issues resonate with the electorate.

While there's a lot of time before the election, the American people have consistently indicated they want leaders who address their concerns. Almost every poll shows that 75 to 77% of Americans think the Iraq War wasn't worth the effort. Senior citizens, who have the highest voting percentages, want Social Security to remain as it is, and Medicare/Medicaid programs that don't overwhelmingly profit health insurers and drug companies. In fact, every segment of our electorate acknowledges that the course of our country needs to change, and they're tired of leaders who refuse to create policy which reflects the interests of the nation as a whole.

Considering how well these candidates are doing in the polls, it surprises me that many other democrats are taking a centrist approach to this election. DCCC Chair Rahm Emmanuel made it clear that his organization will only fund candidates who do not specifically address the major campaign issues and other supposed "progressives" like Barack Obama have thrown their considerable weight behind conservative democrats like Lieberman. While the Democratic Party should be a big tent and include democrats of all stripes, it doesn't seem wise for Obama and others to promote candidates who continually side with President Bush and the neoconservative agenda, especially when so many Americans are adamant about supporting candidates that share their view. While a centrist attitude still exists within the Democratic Party, it should be obvious that support for "Republican-lite" democrats is becoming more of an anachronism with each passing day. Those firmly ensconced in the nest of the center-right wing of the party will find that wing clipped.

As lamentable as politics can be the dire circumstances of our country has inspired certain boldness among a group of candidates who are walking the talk. Their willingness to say "the status quo be damned" is being embraced enthusiastically by an electorate that understands the immense need for change. The boldness of these candidates is being rewarded with many benefits, and might just put our country back on track.