After this stinging loss (even if due to electronic thievery), we must face the fundamental questions: Should the party move more to the center, or further to the left?
What did we do wrong? How can we pick up more votes?
These questions naturally culminate in the formation of two seperate camps- the ones who think we lost because we need to appeal more to the center, and the folks who believe we lost because we didn't appeal to the disenfranchised and non-voters.
I believe that people like Howard Dean, Carol Moseley Braun, and Barack Obama should be the faces of the new party. I think that we have tried and failed at the centrist routine for too long now. Clinton was really the only one who could pull that off, for various reasons including his Southern appeal. The above-mentioned people are touted as hard leftists, which is inaccurate. They are centrist in their policies, but still unafraid to stand up when nasty republicans try to pull one over. That's why they get the leftist tag- they take no B.S. Contrast that with Kerry conceding at the first sign of possible defeat. I respect and like Kerry, but I'm frustrated with his lack of leadership since the election. I'm upset that he hasn't addressed his supporters more after the sweat that was put into his campaign. I wish he would take a leadership role in proving or disproving vote fraud. Sure, he doesn't want to be painted with the 'sore loser' brush, but he doesn't have to do it in that way.
There'd be no need to fix it if it wasn't broken, but I'm tired of losing.