I am starting to think that ABB will hurt Democrats in the long run. It seems to me that at about the same time we all got the Anybody But Bush theory controlling our every campaign thought, Dean started falling and Kerry started rising.
While I am still working this out in my own head, (because, trust me, I do want anyone but Bush) here are my reasons:
- Democrats need to be able to frame this election. If our strategy is just to beat Bush, we get sucked into the faux notion of electability (did you know Microsoft Word spell checker doesn't think "electability" is a word?!?). Right now, I think electability is taking us down the wrong road because it can be knocked down just as quickly as it is created. (See Dean and Iowa)
- I believe that if we pick a candidate based on REAL criteria like issue positions, record, ability to communicate ideas effectively, ability to excite people, passion, honesty, etc then the people/votes/money will come. If we want to really build the Democratic party to include more people and to stand up for certain ideals, we have to stand for something other than beating the other guy. It might work in the short term, but I would rather be part of a party that stands FOR something instead of AGAINST something else.
As a loyal Dean supporter, I realize that I am biased, but I think we can have a dialogue about this that doesn't turn into a Dean/Kerry flame war. I am curious if you guys agree with this and have more reasons why ABB could be a dangerous road to travel. And, is it too late to stop it?