Where do you get the idea that Democrats are out of step?

Internal Democratic polling has said as much:

Many of these voters still favor Democrats on economic issues. But they see the Democrats as weak on national security, and on cultural and moral issues, they view Democrats as both inconsistent and hostile to traditional values. “Most referred to Democrats as ‘liberal’ on issues of morality, but some even go so far as to label them ‘immoral,’ ‘morally bankrupt,’ or even ‘anti-religious,’ ” according to the Democracy Corps analysis.

Democrats can keep trying to convince themselves that they’re the party that represents Middle America – but that doesn’t make it true. On cultural and social issues, the Democrats are increasingly radical and increasingly distant from the values of the American public. In fact, one of the single strongest factors in GOP voter identity is being married and having children – and the Democrats are increasingly a coastal party, increasingly liberal (and conservatives outnumber liberals by a significant margin), and increasingly out of step with the needs and concerns of American families on cultural issues.

If “elite” means standing up for equality, freedom, and personal self-determination, then color me a “coastal elite” without the coast. Mark is right to point out that on almost any Main Street in the country, the values they cherish are far more likely to echo Democratic party lines than Republican ones.

Unfortunately for the Republicans, “Main Street values” run decidedly against GOP orthodoxy.

Except for the fact where that isn’t remotely true. If anything, the Democrats are increasingly the party of the coastal elites. The Democrats are far, far, far out of step with the mainstream of the country, and keep embracing their own far left.

Rethinking our positions, are we?

Not yet. If Burns is implicated in anything other than a bad choice of supporters, perhaps, but not at the moment.

You’re almost certainly right that the Abramoff scandal will touch some Democrats as well, but the title of your piece flies in the face of your New Year’s prediction regarding at least one GOP incumbent up to his eyebrows in the Abramoff scandal….Conrad Burns of Montana, who you just declared less-than-vulnerable despite being one of the Abramoff “Fab Four” implicated in early news releases. Rethinking our positions, are we?