Reply #2: BUT... will they listen?

[katsy]

I sent my feedback to the email provided. I have mostly cut and paste various posts from the past and left out a very long rant in the beginning.

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To whom it may concern:

<snip to the end>

In short, I don't believe you will learn or hear a word you don't want to hear. The republicans not so much beat you... as you stumbled after your defeat. You react to your opponents as opposed to responding to the needs of your base in a difficult time. You react to defeat as opposed to strengthening your message as an independent UNIFIED VOICE that is heard by all Americans. You could have been a voice of strength even IN defeat. You REACT to a non-existent "morals" debate framed by your opponents by running to the right - - that's right where they want you to run. In their place, and you'll get slaughtered. 300 Spartans defeated thousands of Persians. The Persians just kept coming to their turf. BIG MISTAKE. HAVE you LEARNED NOTHING? You'll lose a good deal of your support by running to the right just because your opponents demand you do so. Are you puppets to your master/opponent or do you represent your loyal base?

The Republicans speak to their base and pander to them quite well (more tax breaks---free, not fair trade---corporate greed is good and divisiveness). They talk to their base of haves and have mores... and you talk to their base as if they'll ever accept the Democratic vision! Who will speak to your base while you're cozying up to theirs?

So how do our Democratic leaders speak to their base? We're subjected to sound bites in the media that you will change your platform to appeal to people on the right. One of you went on television the day after the election and said "GOD" or some such thing twice in a statement that amounted to nothing but a pity party! DUH. Like that wasn't the lamest thing you could do? How many times a day do we have to hear that you're "adrift, in trouble, wavering, lost" in the media? The comical thing is that you play to the republican charge of waffling. "We're progressive... I mean centrist... I mean we are moralists..." STOP IT NOW. GROW SOME ROOTS and stick with a platform that matters to your base!

The message to the media should have been: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH US. YOU MUST BE DELUSIONAL TO ENTERTAIN SUCH NONSENSE. We have a platform that's right for the country and the American people. We'll continue to spread our message. We're not changing one damned thing because we love our country and all Americans. AND next election we'll make sure that our message is heard by even more Americans. We're not the problem, you are. END OF STORY.

What did you do? You went on television and told us, IN FACT if not not in these words, that the republicans are right! That you'll allow American workers to sink into poverty as long as those heathen leftists free health insurance baby-killing heathens are beaten back to hell! You may as well have used those words. YOU painted yourselves as weak by your response. YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON YOUR BASE. NOW FIX IT! STOP REACTING and start attacking! Represent your base proudly. Grow some fangs! Become the populist heroes we thought you were and not the puppets you seem to be!

Also, a week after the election, Donna Brazile accused John Kerry of withholding money from the DNC even though he brought in more money to you than any candidate EVER. This was televised nationally on cable news. Where is your pride? I hope to never see that woman representing the Democratic Party again. She made a fool of the DNC and of us all. Issues such as this did not belong in the public arena. How petty. How foolish. How dare you start petty sniping in public after defeat. Where is the leadership here?

I'm a lifelong Democrat from a family of lifelong Democrats and will probably die a Democrat unless you veer to the right. If our leadership spent more time with their finger on the pulse of average Americans, the less effective the Republicans would be promoting divisive non-issues and winning elections.

One more thing... talk to your constituents by postcard every month. No sound bites. Just tell us what you've done to protect our interests against this administration's policies. Don't include donation envelopes, just use postcards and speak to us constantly... not just when you want our vote or money. Include contact numbers and ask us our opinions about issues.

Lay out what is wrong and what you've done to try to fix it. If you were blocked in Congress, tell us who blocked the good work you're doing. Don't make it a billion words long... just short and sweet. The problem, YOUR fix, their BAD deed. Tell people to get involved and call the bad guy in question to complain. Keep yourselves in our house, on our coffee tables, a note on our to-call list. That's how you invite yourselves into our homes.... not by inane sound bites in the media.

Respectfully,

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