Democrats can’t use the tactics of 2008 to reach out to Latino voters in 2010

Posted on: January 26, 2010
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The news that the White House had brought back David Plouffe, Obama’s former campaign manager, and the one person largely credited for getting Obama the presidency, had me wondering just what was he going to do to help Obama regain political traction.

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“He (David Plouffe) brings value added to our operation as we look forward, in terms of strategy and tactics,” senior adviser David Axelrod said on ABC’s This Week.

Part of that value was how Plouffe was able to organize Internet-driven grass-roots campaigns and how he reached out to young adults like no one had ever done before.

David Plouffe,Obama’s former presidential campaign manager

It seems he’s reverting to that tried-and-true, and now tired, strategy.

In my Inbox this morning, I received an e-mail sent out by The Democratic Party on behalf of Plouffe. It was like deja-vu from the presidential campaign. It was an appeal to get a watch party together with friends, families and neighbors for the President’s State of the Union address.

The e-mail began:

On Wednesday evening, President Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address. It comes at a critical moment.

We must regroup, refocus, and re-engage on the vital work ahead. So let’s watch it together at a State of the Union Watch Party in your neighborhood.

Yet, this e-mail to mobilize a Neighborhood Watch Party just didn’t instill in me the same kind of excitement that similar requests made during the presidential campaign did.

I don’t think I’m alone.

If the Massachusetts win by Republican candidate Brown is any indication, chances are there are a lot less “inspired” voters than what turned out for the 2008 presidential election.

In fact, these “uninspired” voters are projected to be the 2010 election drop-off voters and according to an excellent analysis by Women’s Voices, Women Vote, the Democrats may have a steeper uphill battle to climb than just bringing back David Plouffe.

According to Women’s Voices, Women Vote, (WVWV) what was seen in the mid-term elections in New Jersey, Virginia, and Massachusetts, with lower voter turnouts, is an indication of a larger trend happening among voters described as the Rising American Electorate or RAE.

The RAE are defined as being: “Unmarried Women, Youths (ages 18-29), African Americans, Latinos, and all other non-white races.”

RAE voters account for more than half of the voting-eligible population in America (52%). It’s this population that has become “uninspired” to vote since Obama’s win.

It’s not that RAE voters disagree with Obama’s policies or how he’s conducted himself in office, it’s just that RAE voters don’t feel compelled to vote like they did in the presidential race.

WVWV project drop-off voting rates among the RAE to double versus the rate for Non-RAE voters. There are now 22 million fewer RAE voters than in 2008 reveals the WVWV analysis.

The WVWV did a

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