2010 Elections: Democratic Campaign Strategies and Ousting the Incumbents

I've seen a number of blogs encouraging people to vote out incumbents. Although I understand the angry feelings associated with TARP, Health Reform and taxes; and I understand sending a clear message to Congress; I'm not certain voting out incumbents is the best reaction.

For those of you who are not familiar with Thomas Kaim, he is the chairman of the Democratic party. Recently he outlined the Democratic strategy in the upcoming November Congressional elections. Basically he stated that Republicans have blocked passage of bills rather than contributing to those bills.

He apparently feels that the voters can be convinced that the Republicans chose obstruction of progress over doing what is best for the US. Furthermore he blamed the Republicans for the recession. This rhetoric is re-enforced by the Republican claim that they were left out of the process. Hence the Democrats are using the Republican's own words against the Republicans.

The other effective strategy mentions by Kaim was to capture the young vote and get people out to vote.

Does the current move toward getting rid of incumbents help the Democrats? And will it really change anything in Washington D.C?

Kaim made on valid point. He stated that putting new people in Congress results in the absence of long term vision and expertise. That would apply to both Democrats and Republicans. So who will the new Congressmen turn to for advice? Will the ousted Congressmen become consultants showing the new Congressmen the ropes and advising them on the major issues facing the nation? If your answer is no, please respond with a comment explaining why.

My personal opinion is the ousting the incumbents will not end gridlock in Congress. Nor will it stop Congress from acting in the best interests of our nation even when the most vocal segment of voters disagree with the actions of our government.

Many Presidents have gone against the will of the voters. Remember that one of the concerns of our forefathers was that the majority can be wrong. I heard that was one of the many reasons for the establishment of the electoral college.

I heard that the unemployment rate dropped in more than 20 states last month. That will also be a factor in the upcoming elections. Again the Republicans attempted to block the legislation that led to this decrease. The Democrats have plenty of ammunition to win the 2010 elections. Why do Republicans insist on giving the Democrats more ammunition by ousting the very Congressmen who know and understand the issues?