Why Edwards is the only viable Dem

Vote your brain, not your heart
By Newt Political Cortex

01/17/2008 09:04:39 PM EST

Want change? Don't we all. Each of the Democratic Presidential
candidates has plans for change, with varying ideas on how they'd go
about it. For the most part, the top three candidates use similar
rhetoric, with Barack Obama presenting the most inspirational picture,
Hillary Clinton suggesting notions based on her extensive experience,
and John Edwards detailing the most explicit plans for recovering from
the Bush legacy.

We want change, that's a given. But if Democrats, Independents &
progressives want to win the 2008 presidency and, more importantly,
achieve a landslide takeover of Congress, Democrats need a candidate
that can beat anyone the GOP comes up. In addition to being able to
win, our candidate needs to be one who won't stir up the vindictive
passions of conservatives. Why? Because conservatives are in the minority, yet they continually out-vote progressives when they're angry, fearful or spiteful.
Even with the ongoing Iraq quagmire and recent lying, cheating and
stealing firmly tied to the Bush Administration and its policies (CIA
outing, war profiteering and record oil profits), the Democrats'
showing at the polls is dismal. The left simply doesn't use its
majority political clout to ensure the country is run the way we want
it to be run.

Next year there is more at stake than just the presidency. We have a
potentially historic opportunity to take back the Senate. The
conservative movement is faltering. We need to be careful not to
reinvigorate it with a bad choice in the Democratic primary. Remember
Barry Goldwater? The people who voted for his losing presidential bid
did so as if it were some kind of badge of honor. At least two of our
current candidates in the Democratic pool could inspire that type of
spiteful, negative voting again next fall, which would result in a lost
opportunity to elect new Democrats in Congress as well. If
progressives want to enact real change in Congress and take our
government back, we need to face up to reality before our wishful
thinking sets us up for failure next fall.

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