January 30th, 2006
I’ll continue to fight to get liberals and progressives elected, but the current batch of elected Dems are a bunch of disappointing, unimaginative pansies (not all, of course — but far too many of them). And, please, spare me the rationalization arguments regarding “political reality,” “the obstacles that red state Dems face,” and all that crap that some find convincing and soothing. A monkey with an IQ over 40 understands and is, perhaps, convinced by those rationalizations; it’s just that unlike a monkey with an IQ of 40, I’ve come to expect better from primates of a higher order.
Elected Dems that voted for cloture lack spirit and fight. The political sons and daughters of our greatest president should bow their heads in shame, they don’t deserve such rich legacy:
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace–business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me–and I welcome their hatred.
I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.
FDR - October 31, 1936 [link]
I will fight for liberals and progressives, but I will not fight for anyone that undermines the gains that America made during FDR’s stewardship… I will not fight for anyone that turns their back on their ideological heritage, parentage. Too many of today’s Democrats are turning their back on FDR’s rich legacy.
January 2nd, 2006
Forget all this cutesy talk about re-branding and coming up with a slogan with catchy alliteration. To define the Republican party for what they are all one has to do is have the BALLS to go out there and do that, that is: Talk of Republicans for what they are and as they are — then repeat what you said, defend your statement and do it all over again. Of course, it helps if one has supporters and party members with a spine to back one up, and then magnify the message; and, pretty soon, that meme gets out there in the mouths of pundits and the public.
Here’s Howard Dean on Republicans:
“You can’t trust them with your money,” Dean said. “You can’t trust them to tell the truth. You can’t trust them to manage the war. You can’t trust them if you have a natural disaster. Now tell me why people are going to vote for Republicans?” (link)
That same MSNBC article gets to the heart of the issue facing the Democratic party, that is: there simply aren’t that many prominent Democrats willing to be aggressive against Republicans and, too, equally willing to hand them an anvil as the corrupt Republican party drowns. Here’s the heart of the issue for Democrats:
Whether Democratic candidates will embrace Dean’s proposal for a single national strategy isn’t clear yet. And Republicans will try to use Dean’s tendency to put his foot in his mouth as a reason for voters to shy away. (Emphasis added.)
In the above quote we see the media’s narrative on Dean at work, “Dean’s tendency to put his foot in his mouth as a reason for voters to shy away.” This narrative could be changed by prominent Democrats coming out and repeating Dean’s attacks, er, truth about Republicans, when he makes them. However, the ever timorous, finger-in-the-wind Democratic party insiders and establishment bitches only vacillate and try to distance themselves from anything smacking of truth, aggressiveness and common sense regarding Republicans.
You want to accurately brand Republicans, or, re-brand, as it were? It’s simple, all it takes is for a spokesperson to voice the message and repeat it, and to do it all over again, till it catches on. I’m with Dean when it comes to Republicans:
“You can’t trust them with your money,” Dean said. “You can’t trust them to tell the truth. You can’t trust them to manage the war. You can’t trust them if you have a natural disaster. Now tell me why people are going to vote for Republicans?”
Ultimately, is the pundit class that needs to be targeted… that’s the real audience… because they repeat the messages that come into our homes and our heads. But to reach them, as pundits often like to remind their critics from the left, there need to be prominent Democratic representatives providing the pundits with a narrative… a story for them to parrot.
