Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

November 04, 2009

Democrats Not Fired Up and Ready to Go

Throughout the campaign, virtually every poll showed a lack of Democratic enthusiasm for their candidates this year. In fact, while Republican turnout yesterday in Virginia and New Jersey was consistent with last year, Democratic turnout collapsed.

Looking ahead to next year's midterm elections, Democrats must energize their base if they hope to do well. There is no better way to get your voters to stay home than by failing to deliver on your agenda. That should be the biggest takeaway from last night's results for Democrats.

The proxy for the broader Democratic agenda right now is health care reform. If Democrats fail to pass health care reform, they will take an absolute beating in the polls next year and could easily lose control of the House and Senate.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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