By Andrea Tantaros
Republican Political Commentator

Dear Democrats,

You still don’t get it. Election Day is weeks away and you appear as discombobulated as Republicans did a few short months ago. Your anger at the GOP, at Bush, at anyone who is unlike you in mindset and values is more than palpable, it’s nauseating, even for the centrists in your party. I know you are ticked at our current President (I can appreciate that sentiment on some fronts) but you are doing major damage to your cause. Your nominee looks weak, his running mate is worthy of a missing person’s report, and your party looks rattled. It is rare that I give you advice, but I can’t help myself.

Tighten up and pick a message. I know McCain effectively yanked the change mantra out of your hands when he selected Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate and your nominee settled on establishment fixture Joe Biden, but you’ve got to get over it. There are other ways to go after Republicans. You tried the John McBush routine. It bombed. There is no plausible way anyone would believe McCain is Bush when conservatives still bristle at the mere mention of his name and resisted warming up to him until two weeks ago. (Remember immigration reform, campaign finance, stem cell research, etc.? Many conservatives do.) You can broaden that theme. (Pssst! We’ve been running the White House for the last eight years.) Run against our brand.

Reign in the lefties. It’s time you told the progressives to stop being so awful. Especially to Sarah Palin. It’s like they have nothing else to do but call people names and insult their choices. Where’s the tolerance you preach? I’m wondering, is this some kind of bizarre revenge on the popular girl who rejected them in junior high manifesting itself? How low do Obama’s poll numbers need to drop before they realize that, just like junior high, taunting the “it” girl to get a reaction doesn’t work. They are hurting the man you want to elect and reversing all of his efforts up until this point. Do Senator Obama a favor: tell them to shut down their laptops and head to anger management for the next two months.

Get off defense. In politics, when you’re explaining, you’re losing. The only thing we’ve heard out of the Obama camp since Denver are excuses on why your candidate didn’t get a bigger bounce after your convention, why the polls are wrong, and why Barack has more experience than Sarah Palin. Senator Obama: you should not be comparing yourself (the top of the ticket) to Palin (the bottom of the Republican ticket). It looks bad. Plus that’s my job.

And what’s with the lipstick on a pig comment? I don’t think you meant to call her a pig but you are being labeled classist, sexist and rude. Rookie mistake.

Democrats, you still have time to turn it around, and not with those veiled jabs at McCain’s age and stability. By executing real discipline. By intelligently going on offensive on this issues you can win, like the economy. And by not letting us distract you so damn much.

This is what you like to call the fierce urgency of now. Simply put: check yourself before you wreck yourself. If your motto is change you can believe in, right now is the time for some change–believe it.

Andrea Tantaros is a Republican political commentator and media consultant and former Press secretary to the House Republican Conference. For more Andrea click here.