The Democrats have lost the last two presidential elections and they have no one to blame except themselves, according to Democratic political strategist Steve Jarding.

Instead of focusing on Republican mishaps, Democrats have allowed the GOP to define what issues are on the voters’ mind, Jarding told an attentive audience in the Kirkland House Senior Common Room on April 3.

The event, hosted by the Harvard College Democrats, promoted Jarding’s new book “Foxes in the Henhouse: How the Republicans Stole the South and the Heartland and What the Democrats Must Do to Run ‘em Out,” which he co-authored with Dave “Mudcat” Stevens (see review).

Jarding, dressed casually in jeans with his sleeves rolled up, spoke in front of a large cardboard blow-up of the book’s loud and colorful cover. A stack of hardcovers sat on a nearby table ready for purchase.

According to Jarding, one problem has been the party’s inability to counter the negative stereotypes promoted by Republicans. For instance, Democrats are still characterized as big spenders even though the deficit has increased more under Republican administrations, Jarding said.

Presidential candidate John F. Kerry also failed to adequately respond to attacks on his Vietnam service record by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 campaign, Jarding said.

“[Kerry] had a responsibility to say, ‘Mr. President, I won’t allow it,’” he said.

“The 2004 election was John Kerry’s to lose,” Jarding said, adding, “And he reached his zenith, and he lost.”

According to Jarding, Republicans were able to set the issue agenda, pushing abortion and gay rights onto center stage, and shuffling the burgeoning deficit and the war in Iraq into the wings. Democrats need to redefine what issues are important, he said.

“Democrats, if you don’t pick up the ball, then you don’t deserve it,” Jarding said. “Throw the Democrats out.”

While Jarding lambasted the Democrats, he also ripped into the Republicans and the Bush administration. He criticized the president’s $1.7 trillion tax cut—42 percent of which went to the richest one percent of the public, he said.

“That’s shameful,” Jarding said.

Jarding started his speech in a soft voice, but he soon began shouting as he slammed the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and the role of lobbyists in Congress.

He was interrupted by the arrival of former Virginia governor Mark Warner, clad in a blue shirt and orange tie. As Warner’s campaign manager in 2001, Jarding had helped the Democratic businessman win in a predominantly conservative state.

Warner mostly sat and watched, but he provided some comedic relief when Jarding was explaining that pollution has led officials to declare all fish in Ohio rivers inedible.

“Anybody here from Ohio?” Jarding asked. The audience sat silent.

“I’m interested in Ohio,” Warner said, raising his hand to laughter from the crowd.

Toward the end of the event, Warner, who is a potential presidential candidate in 2008, also offered some insights into how the Democrats can capture the White House.

He said that the party cannot concede the votes of Southerners who enjoy NASCAR. While the Democratic candidate does not necessarily have to be part of that culture, he or she must embrace it, Warner said.

“You have to have people who are comfortable in those settings,” he said, adding that voters are turned off by the arrogance of some liberals.

Both Jarding and Warner said that Democrats must restore the people’s faith in the government.

Warner said, “We’re going to win again if we give them hope.”

—Staff writer David Zhou can be reached at dzhou@fas.harvard.edu.