The Architects of Kerry's Defeat

Arriana brings us some inside scoop about how focus groups and Clinton era leadership prevented a clear Kerry message from getting out. “

If we can’t win this damn election,” [James Carville] the advisor to the Kerry campaign said, “with a Democratic Party more unified than ever before, with us having raised as much money as the Republicans, with 55% of the country believing we’re heading in the wrong direction, with our candidate having won all three debates, and with our side being more passionate about the outcome than theirs — if we can’t win this one, then we can’t win shit! And we need to completely rethink the Democratic Party.”

Well, as it turns out, that’s exactly what should be done. But instead, Carville and his fellow architects of the Democratic defeat have spent the last week defending their campaign strategy, culminating on Monday morning with a breakfast for an elite core of Washington reporters.

At the breakfast, Carville, together with chief campaign strategist Bob Shrum and pollster Stan Greenberg, seemed intent on one thing — salvaging their reputations.

Our Texas Supreme Court candidate sent an email indicating his disgust with the Kerry campaign and the politics of focus groups, surveys, and $100-a-plate and up dinners. Until the Democratic leadership takes its direction from the people and their hearts it will continue to lose. Only online link I can find is here:

A Democratic candidate who last week lost a race to become a Texas Supreme Court justice says his party will never get anywhere if it persists with a "kiss the ring" hierarchical political culture.

David Van Os said that if the Democratic Party wants to regain the trust of the voting public it must throw out all polling data, computer projections and focus groups and get back to strong, authentic, grassroots campaigning.