Give Us Reasons, Alison. "Ditch Mitch" Isn't Enough

People who hate President Obama won't vote for you or any other Democratic candidate for love nor money. Ever.

But the Democratic voters who could hand you a win - the formerly disappointed ones who are now pinching themselves with disbelief at the change Obamacare has made in their lives - aren't going to vote for you or any other Democratic candidate who seems to hate President Obama, too.

David Atkins at Hullabaloo:

This election is going to hinge on whether Democratic and progressive base voters feel inspired enough by Democratic candidates to bother coming out to vote.

Now, one could wish that left-leaning base voters understood the stakes better. But it's also up to elected officials and other party leaders to provide people the incentive to get out and vote. When President Obama took office he acted to curb many of the evils the Bush Administration was actively perpetrating. But outside of providing somewhat less expensive health insurance to around 20 million people, there hasn't been a lot of action that directly impacted people's lives or even provided some sense of accountability and justice to the people who crashed the economy. When the President promised hope and change, people really expected their lives to get measurably and demonstrably better. If people don't think their lives are going to get better, they're not going to be likely to dash to the polling place between jobs, dinner and childcare to vote for down-ballot Democrats most of them are barely aware of.

If Democratic candidates want to win in 2014, they're going to have to give their base a reason to come out to vote beyond the notion that they're better than the GOP.