Strategists: Dems' beliefs vexing in 2010

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The 2010 elections place Democrats in their biennial quandary of whether to appeal to the center or remain faithful to their liberal origins, observers said.

The unpopularity of former President George W. Bush and the meteoric rise of Barack Obama kept the party's internal struggle out of play in last year's election, but falling polls and several key congressional retirements have put the question back on the table, Politico reported Wednesday.

William Daley, Commerce secretary for President Bill Clinton and a moderate voice in the party, wrote of centrists' concerns in a commentary published in The Washington Post.

"Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come," he wrote.

Democrats need to recognize that "the agenda of the party's most liberal supporters has not won the support of a majority of Americans," Daley said, citing the need for a more moderate stance on issues such as healthcare, the economy, the environment and Afghanistan.

In a commentary published Tuesday in Politico, Democratic strategist and former top AFL-CIO official Steve Rosenthal said Democrats need to stop whining over wouldas, couldas and shouldas, and "(start) legislating, start organizing and start mobilizing."

Freshman Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., told Politico Democrats of all stripes must to do one thing.

"We have to marry a progressive agenda with fiscal moderation and responsibility," Connolly said.