THIS IS NOT ->Delawareliberal

I think it is time to stop making up excuses for the democrats lack of ideas that resonate with the voters.
 

bookem speaking of not having ideas, do you have any other idea other than the cracl pot idea that Democrats have no ideas?

You seem to be syuck on that talking point. You should have at least five talking points at the ready.
 

Seems to me that your party is out of power so at this point, guess what, the onus is on the D's to develop and present ideas to the electorate to gain their vote. Where are they? Hello (echo)
 

I disagree with the premise of the article. You made the claim that abstaining from voting is equivalent to voting for Republicans. This statement is based on a claim that 75.5% non-voters would have voted for Democrats had they chosen to vote (assuming none of them are ticket splitters). However, if you analyze the effect of one voter on an election's outcome you would realize that not voting for a Democrat results in the loss of one vote for that Democrat, whereas voting for a Republican results in one lost vote for the Democrat and one vote gained for the Democrat's opposition (a two vote swing). Thus, according to your study, 75.5% of the non-voting population is casting a 1/2 vote for Republicans. Of course, 24.5% of the population is casting a 1/2 vote for Democrats. Using superposition, we find that the entire non-voting population is, in effect, casting a Republican vote equivalent to 0.5(0.755)- 0.5(.245) = 0.255. Therefore, according to your study, you may tell non-voters that by not voting they are, in effect, casting 0.255*vote for a Republican. Saying that a non-voter is, in effect, casting a vote for a Republican would result in a 292% error. QED
 

Bookem is wrong. here is why. liar
goto
http://www.democrats.gov/rs.html
http://www.housedemocrats.gov/issues/issue.cfm?level2id=98 or http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda/
http://democrats.org/agenda.html

With a firm commitment to honest leadership and tough budget discipline to end record deficit spending, we propose a legislative agenda – A New Direction - that unites rather than divides our country. Beginning with our goal of an America that strives for the common good, these are our legislative priorities in the 109th Congress for a New Direction.



SIX FOR '06



REAL SECURITY AT HOME AND OVERSEAS
Reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed Bush Administration policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world. Require the Iraqis to take responsibility for their country and begin the phased redeployment of US forces from Iraq in 2006. Double the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda. Rebuild a state-of-the-art military capable of projecting power wherever necessary. Implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America’s borders and ports and screen 100% of containers. Fully man, train, and equip our National Guard and our police, firefighters and other first responders. Honor our commitments to our veterans.



BETTER AMERICAN JOBS - BETTER PAY
Prohibit the Congressional pay raise until the nation’s minimum wage is raised. End tax giveaways that reward companies for moving American jobs overseas.



COLLEGE ACCESS FOR ALL
Make college tuition deductible from taxes, permanently. Cut student loan interest rates. Expand Pell Grants.



ENERGY INDEPENDENCE - LOWER GAS PRICES
Free America from dependence on foreign oil and create a cleaner environment with initiatives for energy-efficient technologies and domestic alternatives such as biofuels. End tax giveaways to Big Oil companies and enact tough laws to stop price gouging.



AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE - LIFE-SAVING SCIENCE
Fix the Medicare prescription drug program, putting seniors first by negotiating lower drug prices and ending wasteful giveaways to drug companies and HMOs. Promote stem cell research that offers real hope to millions of American families who suffer from devastating diseases.



RETIREMENT SECURITY AND DIGNITY
Stop any plan to privatize Social Security, in whole or in part. Enact real pension reform to protect employees’ financial security from CEO corruption and mismanagement, including abuse of the bankruptcy laws. Expand personal savings incentives.



THE WRONG DIRECTION


The policies of the Bush Administration and the Congressional majority have taken the country in the wrong direction, making us less secure and putting the privileged few ahead of the common good.



WEAKENED SECURITY
Failed to capture Osama Bin Laden or destroy al Qaeda; rushed to war in Iraq on manipulated intelligence with no realistic plan to win the peace; failed to provide strategy to stabilize Iraq or begin the responsible redeployment of our troops; strained the U.S. military; wasted billions on no-bid Halliburton and KBR contracts; failed to protect our borders, ports, transportation systems, and chemical plants; received failing homeland security grades from the nonpartisan 9/11 Commission; cut veterans’ health care.



RISING ECONOMIC INSECURITY
No minimum wage increase for 6.6 million Americans since 1997; real family income down since 2001 as CEO compensation soared; support for subsidies for outsourcing American jobs; $5.6 trillion budget surplus turned into $3.2 trillion deficit; national debt doubled to $12 trillion by 2011.



RISING COLLEGE COSTS
$12 billion cut from college student aid; cost of loans increased; college Pell Grants frozen as tuition soars - 57% at public universities and 32% at private schools since 2000.



RISING ENERGY PRICES
Gas over $3 per gallon; growing dependence on foreign oil; billions in new subsidies for oil and gas companies despite record profits; blocked efforts against price gouging; opposed energy efficient technology and alternative fuels.



RISING HEALTH CARE COSTS
Family health insurance costs up 70% ($4,500 per family) since 2000; 6 million more uninsured; confusing Rx drug benefit prohibits negotiating lower drug prices; stem cell research obstructed.



RISING RETIREMENT INSECURITY
Promoting substantial privatization of Social Security and benefit cuts for millions of retirees; employee pensions collapse while CEOs get golden parachutes.

goto
http://www.democrats.gov/rs.html
http://www.housedemocrats.gov/issues/issue.cfm?level2id=98 or http://democrats.senate.gov/agenda/
http://democrats.org/agenda.html
 

Wow, thats really going out on a limb. A few begin with "Stop Republican ___________"

I do agree with the college tuition deductability but the rest is drivel and pandering. Looks like the D's are phoning it in with, dare I say it, no IDEAS.
 

remember team:

Republicans vote on Tuesday
Democrats vote on Wednesday
Greens etc vote on Thursday


now get those phones ringing!
 

Sanjeevan: Your math is correct. Congratulations. However I take issue with your premise. You began your analogy with the statement. “not voting for a Democrat is the loss of one vote“. On that we both agree. Since the issue at stake is “not voting” those who do vote for Republicans, (creating the two vote swing) are not in the domain, since they would have voted anyway. They are included in 24.5 or 49 percent of the electorate, depending upon which you choose.

If you have 500 eligble voters in a ward yet only 250 vote, and of those 124 are Republicans and 126 are Democrats., ……you have a very close election. For every additional ten people who vote Democratic, the Republican percentage would drop as follows. 47.7, 45.9, 44.3, 42.8, 41.3, 40.0, 38.8, 37.6, 36.4, 35.4,……………….and if all 500 voted for the record…..24.8% which is close to the current polling data of the population itself, not limited to active voters. Not voting, definitely inflates the Republican percentage, allowing a Republican minority to rule a Democratic majority.

However it is always refreshing to see math in action. Keep plugging.
 

Someone should research the correlation between Congressional actions to make college more affordable and the subsequent actions of colleges to make it less affordable. I'm a little busy right now, but I thought I saw a chart somewhere that shows that every time Congress cuts rates for students or adds money to the loan pool, tuition costs go up equally.