This should serve as a warning for Democrats: don't take your core constituencies for granted".
"It troubles us that Ford is making it easier for them and harder for its core constituency," says Donald Russell, president of Klamath Water Users Association, a group of ranchers and farmers in Oregon.
"It troubles us that Ford is making it easier for them and harder for its core constituency," says Donald Russell, president of Oregon's Klamath Water Users Association, a group of ranchers and farmers.
Some Democrats said today that tapping into that energy for confirmation battles was but the first step in mobilizing core constituencies for longer-term political battles -- over future Supreme Court nominations by Mr. Bush as well as the House and Senate elections in 2002.
Instead, they decided it was more important to legislate for a core constituency rather than to legislate for the country.
Abortion was not expected to be a major issue in this election year beyond its usual function as a rallying point for each party's core constituencies.
But they dare not suggest specific bold solutions for fear of alienating core constituencies: they shy away from ideas to deal with the persistent failure of black students, for example, to avoid offending teachers' unions, and they yield to urban leaders opposed to plans aimed at moving inner-city dwellers to areas that offer better job and educational opportunities.
The Fox News Channel, the highest-rated cable news network in the country, arrives this week at the Republican National Convention with an opportunity to serve up ample red meat for its core constituency.
Legislating for a core constituency is passing a totally partisan bill that sends a message to a targeted group but has virtually no chance of implementation.
So, basically what this seems to say is that while the priorities message is a good one for core Democratic constituencies, the security message has a broader appeal to the swing constituency that is necessary for a general election.
