( CNN ) They were not-so-affectionately dubbed the `` bed-wetters '' by then-Obama senior adviser David Plouffe . The definition : Democrats who run to the hills every time there 's a bump in the road . The Chicken Littles . The woe-is-us crowd . Well , they 're at it again . Not surprisingly , it 's because of the Hillary Clinton email brouhaha , an unforced error that is now ricocheting around the political world . And the home team stands in place , just watching , somewhat stunned . But Democrats do n't actually have the luxury of standing by and seeing how this all plays out . Hillary Clinton is their candidate ; their putative nominee . `` Their only viable plan is to make her the best candidate possible , '' says one senior Democratic strategist . `` And from time to time , this may require an intervention . '' Now might be a good time . But while the anxious Democrats shake their heads about the state of affairs — and the lack of serious alternatives in the presidential lineup — they might do well to look at themselves . Over the past six years , there 's been a sharp structural decline of elected Democrats everywhere below the presidential level . Sure , we all know about how the Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2014 , but what about the fact that blue-state governors fell like tent poles ? Or that GOP governors now outnumber the Democrats by almost two-to-one , 31 to 18 . Or that Republicans have complete control of nearly three times as many state legislatures as the Democrats , 30 to 11 . And down the ballot , Democrats under Obama have lost more than 900 state legislative seats : the worst showing of any modern president . That 's eye-popping . So , the conventional judgment that the Clinton behemoth is just too big — too well funded , too well supported , too historic — all helps account for the paucity of alternatives , to be sure . But there 's much , much more to it than the phenom of Bigfoot Hillary . It 's the phenom of Barack Obama , too — and the very strong counterforces he 's generated around the country . The gains at the presidential level have not been cost-free : The country is polarized , the Democrats are often on defense and they 're losing ground . One result : a thin presidential bench , which is painfully evident . Clinton asks State to release emails : What you need to know . And if you take a peek at those blue-state governors who might be president , consider this : At 76 , Jerry Brown , an able leader , is probably past his sell-by date for a presidential bid . New York Gov . Andrew Cuomo has made very few moves to raise his national profile . And Democratic governors are very thin on the ground in the heartland . Any time you have Republicans winning the gubernatorial races in Massachusetts , Illinois and Maryland , Democrats should pay attention . As has been the case with other presidents , for Obama party-building has not been on top of the agenda . But it shows . And so when Hillary Clinton runs into some trouble , the Democrats ought to worry . The Republicans have a deep and varied field ; the Democrats have one real horse in the race no matter how much she stumbles out of the gate . Speaking of Hillary Clinton , part of the problem right now is situational . Those Democrats who want to defend her say there 's a problem -- they 're not quite sure what they 're defending , because they 're not sure exactly what happened , or why . In other words , the wagons are circled , but the surrogates are left outside . Next , while Team Clinton may have considered the upside of waiting to announce her candidacy ( Why not let the GOP battle it out ? No need to give the GOP early target practice ? ) , the downside is now obvious : How do you mount a defense with no real or organized apparatus to respond ? If you 're out there making personal appearances , it looks odd to ignore the elephant in the room . No matter how much you tweet about it . Clinton 's stumbles fuel Democratic critics . Bottom line , there is no organized pushback and there is no Plan B . ( OK , Jim Webb , Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders , we know who you are , and that you 're probably running , but still . ) Or at least no Big Plan B . The pre-presidential league on the Democratic side is not exactly overflowing with big-time candidates . ( Unless you think Vice President Joe Biden is running or Secretary of State John Kerry is running , which they likely are not . Same for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren . ) So `` bed-wetters , '' beware . The truth is simple : Your job is to defend Hillary Clinton , not to bury her . Yes , it can be hard . Even annoying . But think about it this way : If you do n't , her problems become your own .
internet debate : internet debate has no real alternative for voting and its bench is painfully thin . She says it may not be fun , but voters have no choice but to defend themselves on issues like the internet question .