Our failure to win more support in the South, in Middle America & rural areas shows failure to communicate to voters motivated by faith and values.

From the 12-03-04 The Washington Post:

Democratic Governors Take Lead -- Under Richardson's Helm, They Discuss Rebuilding State Parties

Democratic governors asserted their role in party politics yesterday, arguing that because they have shown how to win elections in all regions of the country they should now be in the forefront of efforts to revitalize their party.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the new chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), said his colleagues will push to play central roles in shaping and delivering the Democrats' message and in rebuilding state parties, saying the party's center of gravity should move from Washington to the states.

"Our message is basically because of the Democratic governors' ability to win in the heartland, in red and blue states, that we should be the entities that lead the party back, on policy, on message, on organization and on fundraising," Richardson said in an interview shortly before taking over the DGA chairmanship.

Sen. John F. Kerry's loss to President Bush last month has triggered considerable soul-searching among Democrats about their failure to win more support in the South, in Middle America and rural areas. Democrats say they must communicate more effectively to voters who are motivated by faith and values.

At a DGA news conference, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell said the answer does not exist in Washington. "Washington gets caught in what I would call 'Washington-speak' and, as a result, it doesn't understand the significance of how issues are playing in the heartland," he said. "We have gotten away from expressing those core values of our party, and as a result I think we suffered mightily in the presidential campaign and in various Senate campaigns."

But on the first collective decision by the party in defining its future, the February selection of a new Democratic National Committee chairman, the governors were vague about the role they hoped to play. The governors probably would have supported Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, but he decided not to seek the post.

"We don't want to send a message that there should be a coronation," Richardson said. "This should be fully debated in the grass roots."

At their news conference, the governors endorsed a split role for party leadership, calling for a model that includes a national spokesman and a chief executive officer. Several said they preferred to see a centrist as the chief spokesman and demurred when asked about the possible candidacy of former Vermont governor Howard Dean, a past chairman of the DGA.

This is not the first time governors have sought a more central role in intraparty politics. In the 1990s, Republican governors battled repeatedly with congressional Republicans for a larger voice in setting the party's direction and articulating the GOP message. They were often frustrated in those efforts, eventually coalescing behind then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in his bid for the White House in 2000 as a way of wresting power from their congressional colleagues.

Now it is the Democratic governors' turn, as they prepare for gubernatorial races in 38 states over the next two years and begin to look ahead to the 2008 presidential campaign.

Richardson said Democratic governors can help show the way back because they have demonstrated their ability to win states that voted for Bush. Last month, Democrats won governorships in open-seat races in West Virginia and Montana, while North Carolina Gov. Michael Easley was reelected despite Bush's victory over Kerry and Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) there.

Democrats also hold governorships in Arizona, Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming, all of which went solidly for Bush last month. "All of us are balancing our budgets, all of us are tough CEOs and people understand that that's more important than a party label," said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Richardson said that he hopes to highlight the policy successes of the governors and that congressional Democrats will give governors a greater voice. "We're going to want to see, for instance, Democratic governors responding to the State of the Union, being used on the major presidential addresses, in response, that it not just be congressional Democrats," he said. "But that hasn't been worked out."

Richardson praised the outgoing DNC chairman, Terence R. McAuliffe, for leaving the national party solvent and technologically up to date but said the next job is to focus on rebuilding state parties to broaden their focus beyond winning presidential races. "We need to rebuild our state parties, and the DGA should become part of that rebuilding," he said, adding that he expects the DGA staff to grow to help achieve that goal.