A common sentiment around here is that a Democrat can win anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE, as long as we articulate what we are for. If we are proud of our liberalism, then we can win any race we try hard enough to. Many here obviously don't believe all of that, but basically, the message from everybody is that Democrats will be better off if they don't moderate.
Whenever a Blue Dog or Obama (although I am not associating those two) does something conservative that's not popular, and if they lose, we say the reason is because they pissed off the liberal base, and a common repetition, is Harry Truman's famous line, "Given a choice between a fake Republican and a real one, the public will choose the real Republican every time."
Now, I know I may get some flack for this, but I doubt Harry Truman meant what you think he meant, if he ever said it at all. It's not that I don't believe people here, but it's because
A) That quote is constantly mangled and misquoted. Every website I find it, it's a different quote. That, of course, doesn't mean he didn't say it. I looked it up, and he supposedly said it at an Americans for Democratic Action convention. He was rallying the base! He wasn't giving campaign advice or saying what he learned. So even though he did say it, the context does not apply to the neutral political world.
B) Conservatives say the same thing about their party. Several conservative blogs say the polar opposite of what we say, that "Given a choice between a fake Democrat and a real one, the public will choose the real Democrat every time." Such mirror images of impressions about voters implies that Harry Truman's sentiment is no different from any other member of the political elite.
C) It's likely not true.
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