What is the difference between Kerry and Tester The Big Strategy

Jonathan Singer, writing at MyDD, does a pretty good job taking down Terry Snyder's argument that Sen. John Kerry lost in the West two years ago because he was too liberal.

Terry's quote:

"There was nothing wrong with that strategy [of focusing on Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico]," said Denver-based Democratic consultant Terry Snyder. "The votes could be there, for the right candidate. But a liberal senator from Massachusetts turned out to be the wrong guy to make the sale in the West."

The meat of Jonathan's take down:

In short, Democratic candidates who have been true to their beliefs, be they progressive or liberal, have performed extraordinarily well in recent cycles -- not losing as a result of their departure from third way centrism.

I understand that what plays in Foxboro might not always play in the Phoenix. Yet liberalism (or progressivism) is not the type of drag on Democratic candidates in the Mountain West, or indeed other regions of the country presumed to be more conservative, that conventional wisdom might indicate. And Democratic consultants in the region would be well served by trying to build on the party's successes rather than sniping at the ideological underpinnings of the party platform.

Jonathan though doesn't quite get to the heart of the argument, what was the difference between Tester, Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming and the Salazar brothers of Colorado? The second part of Terry's quote (the part about Kerry being the wrong guy) was actually spot on. And, Jonathan is right in saying it wasn't because he was too liberal that he was the wrong guy.

The Democrats that have seen success in the West don't apologize for their stands, or even try to over explain them.

Compare John Tester's response to a statement by his opponent that he'd want to weaken the Patriot Act (I don't want to weaken it, I want to repeal it!) to John Kerry's "I voted for it before I voted against it."

Sen. Kerry was the wrong guy to carry a Democratic message in the West because either he portrayed that he couldn't be trusted or Republicans were able to portray him as someone that couldn't be trusted.

Emmett O'Connell | January 13, 2007 | Comment on This Post (6 so far) Permalink: What is the difference between Kerry and Tester The Big Strategy

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