Winning vs Defeating What is the point of democracy?
It is to choose the better person, with ‘better’ determined by the people who get a vote.

This is why John Kerry lost the election. Many people on his ‘side’ were only there by default: they were NOT on George Bush’s side.

While it’s fair to oppose someone, that’s not the way democracy is supposed to work. Sure, you can prove the other guy’s doing a bad job, but then you have to prove you’ll do a better job. Just harping on someone’s faults isn’t going to work.

It’s human nature. Ever been told ‘don’t look down’? Admit it, you looked down. You can’t help it, it’s the way we are. You go around saying ‘don’t vote Bush’, guess what’s going to happen?

While I’m sure there are a billion examples of people voting against someone, rather than for someone, I think it’s inherently a bad strategy, and a complete anathema to democracy.

Call out the bad record of an opponent, sure, but let your ideas carry the day.
  ¶ 1:17 PM