Guess what? There are roughly as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans in this great nation of ours. The Democrats vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidate, while the Republicans vote overwhelmingly for the Republican candidate. The election is decided by demography (states like Utah that are majority one-party) and by moderate independents. And you can't win with just Utah (or just Massachussetts).

The Democratic Party is not going to grab the swing votes if they run Kucinich or Edwards. In fact, that's about the only way they lose 2008. The Republicans are doomed if they pick anyone farther right than Rudy -- McCain might pull it off because people outside of the Republican Party seem to like him, but that's probably it.

Let me offer myself as an example. Lifelong Democrat. Pro-choice, prayer-out-of-public-schools, but seriously fiscally conservative. Voted for Clinton, Clinton, Gore, and Kerry in the last 4 presidential elections. Vote in a purple state with a decent number of electoral votes, so folks like me actually matter. And if the Democrats don't give me a choice of either Obama or Clinton (neither of which makes Mr. Krugman a happy man), I vote for either Giuliani or maybe McCain. If the Republicans have gone and picked somebody else, I'm voting independent.

We've been here before. The Goldwater path led the Republicans to electoral annihilation, and this is basically the same silly plan. Trust me, the lurkers do not support you in email.

Lots of you are hardcore progressives in ice-blue states. It's nice that folks like me are further right than anyone you're likely to meet this month. But, believe it or not, you can't win an election with just the Whole Foods vote.

please disabuse yourself of the notion that Democrats are only in ice blue states and are part of the "whole foods" vote who support a progressive agenda. if we had representative/popular presidential elections instead of electoral college fiat (or Judicial, as was the case in 2000) Republicans would never win the presidency, and they know it. This is why they had to align with the southern racist/segregationist/science denying peabrains with whom I grew up down in red america. pitiful. Under republicans can offer something to Americans that will win them votes beyond this constituency, you undermine American principles by voting for Republicans. You think you're voting your pocketbook if you vote for a republican who panders to these folks? That's shortsighted thinking. No only that, it's false. Read up on the Princeton report about the last 50 years of presidential economic performance. Allowing for the repeated ad nauseum claim that Democrats benefit from Republican fiscal policy (shown to be a myth, btw) Democrats are better financially better for ALL Americans except the top 1% 3/4s of that entire time. The only time republicans are better is during election years when they throw others a bone. wise. up.