Moronmeter.com

Yesterday, Thomas Edsall had a very interesting piece on the Huffington Post titled, “Dems’ Only Hope For 2010: Make The Race About The Other Guy.”

I found the whole piece very enlightening.

Money shot passage:

So what should Democratic candidates do to survive 2010? A strong consensus has emerged among Democratic operatives, based on a strategy developed under the guidance of pollster Geoff Garin. Garin declined to be interviewed for this story, but other party strategists say the most crucial order of business in each contest is to prevent Republican challengers from turning the race into a referendum on the Democratic candidate, the Democratic Party, President Obama, or all three. Rather, they say, Democrats need to turn the public’s attention to the failings of the Republican candidate and the national GOP.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says that as soon as her clients know who their opponents will be, her advice is “to get them [the Republican candidates] defined.” Democratic candidates, Lake and others say, should pre-empt Republicans seeking to present a positive image to the public. Among the techniques to achieve this goal are floating negative stories in the press, taking full advantage of sympathetic bloggers to create a hostile portrait of the GOP opponent, and actively using “less visible” means of communication such as phone banks, direct mail, and canvassers.

In this atmosphere, consultants say the key advice for Democratic incumbents is: “Don’t get on the defensive, don’t allow [the Republican] to define you.” Along similar lines, Joe Trippi, who has managed a host of campaigns, including overseeing Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential bid, says that any incumbent facing a challenger emerging from the Sarah Palin, Tea Party wing of the GOP “should make sure that’s known right away, before they get up populist steam.”

Another Democratic consultant with clients running in House, Senate and gubernatorial races, speaking on background, says “basically it comes down to one thing. You’ve got to kick the shit out of somebody.”

The burden for a Democratic incumbent is to “make it a ‘choice’ not a ‘retention’ election. The voters need to be thinking a whole lot about the other guy, not about you,” this consultant says. Party operatives agree that an election conducted on disputes over the deficit, health care legislation, the stimulus, the bank bailout, and/or climate change will work to the disadvantage of Democrats.

It seems to be saying that the only way Democrats can hold on to power in 2010 is if they don’t run as Democrats.

If that is the best idea Democrats can come up with, the only thing I can say about the 2010 election possibilities for the Democrats is… Ouch!