Following the November 4th election defeat it has been said the Democratic Party needs to position itself ideologically more toward the middle of the political spectrum. Should the Democrats make a change to the fundamental values of the party by shifting to the center of the political spectrum? Feel free to leave comments on this below as well.
The Florida Squeeze 
Vote yes on this.
Obama cost us with his policies.
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Like immigration? Not doing anything as Kartik points out time and again cost Crist the election? That is what happens if you run to the middle. You lose. Look at all the Democrats in the south that forced Obama’s hand on immigration and on Keystone and stopped him from doing anything. They all lost.
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Are you suggesting that Obama isn’t in the middle? #YouAreClueless
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Obama is to the center on economics for the most part. At least IMHO.
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The real poll should be why here dems need to embrace progressive ideals!
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The real poll should be whether democrats should finally embrace progressive ideals.
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Staying so close to the middle IS the reason we lost so badly. We have no consistent message. People were confused and pissed off about all the name-calling, the dismissal of viable candidates, and the “shame” of Obama from some candidates. If the party is going to get better, it needs to take a strong progressive stand, use Howard Dean’s 50-State Strategy (yes, in Florida), and pick messages that resonate with voters and stick to them.
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Charlie Crist represented the left? We need to go to his right? You’ve got to be kidding, right?
We lost with Charlie and we will lose with Hillary for exactly the same reasons: She is a blue dog Democrat and Charlie was our centrist-right candidate with a long history of being a good Republican conservative and both Hillary and Charlie carry a heavy anti vote too. Both motivate the Republicans to turn out to vote against them and both turn off the progressive left. I think the Republicans hate Hillary more than they do Obama.
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Right on!
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I guess Alex Sink and Jim Davis and Charlie Crist all ran as flaming liberals and that’s why they lost???
Give me a break. This is stupid guys. I agree with the person above the only poll should be whether we should need to move back to the left and embrace our true values.
Here in Jacksonville D voter turnout always goes up in presidential years. Why? Democrats actually talk about economic issues in those elections!!!
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I’m glad this poll is on the site. Maybe some of the powers that be that keep talking about Graham and needing to reposition this party based on that isolated victory will get the message.
As Democrats we need to have a values-based party not one that simply acts like a junior version of the Republican Party because Tallahassee lobbyists will give it more money if we run to the right.
It is about time we embraced the people who work hard to get candidates for this party elected. Not piss on them every two years after election defeats.
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Joe Lieberman and Bill Clinton created the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) in 1985. The DLC mission was to shift the party toward the center and away from the “far left” party of the 60’s and 70’s. Well that far left party supported labor and the unions, fair wages, safe work places, a living wage and gave us a strong middle class. That far left party gave us the Voting Rights Act, The Civil Rights Act and Medicare.
There is no question the party was in rough shape when the DLC was founded. The Civil Rights act and the Voting Rights Act along with the infamous southern strategy, had destroyed the parties support in the south. The party began its journey to the right. The lines between the traditional progressive left and the conservative right disappeared and voters lost the opportunity to choose. The party turned its back on labor and embraced wall street while telling its self it could serve several masters. Be all things to all people. The third way.
Should the party position itself more to the right? Been there done that. We have wrung as much out of that “new democrat-third way- center out Republican lite” rag as we can. We need to try something old. We need to be Democrats again and leave the Republicans to do the Republican things. They are better at it than we will ever be and they don’t need our help.
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This poll is meaningless because it creates a faulty dilemma. How about polling on specific issues and forget the left vs right labels. Wake up Democrats. Why are there so many people registering as NPAs? Where is the Democrats message to everyone? Where are the candidates that can reach out to all types of voters. Gwen Graham seems to have the formula.
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The party is so far left now, it cannot go any further left!
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BLUE DOG, YOU’RE NOT THE FIRST MILK TOAST DEMOCRAT WHO DOESN’T KNOW HIS RIGHT FROM HIS LEFT.
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YES
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Democrats don’t lose elections because they aren’t enough like Republicans or too far to the left. They lose elections because there is very little difference between the Democratic candidate and the Republican candidate. Voters have very little choice in far too many contests.
It is possible for individual politicians to represent the center. It is not possible for a party to occupy the center. When an entire party moves left or right the center moves accordingly. Witness the migration of the center over the last 50 years. As the Democratic party has moved right, so has the Republican party and consequently the center.
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