Pioneers, Progressives, and Politics

[demwing]

I've heard it asked how we know that the Republican's negative ads will not work.

There is no proof that the lies they are telling won't work. None. The only evidence that we will ever have will come after the fact, and that will remain mere evidence. Proof is much more difficult to come by.

I'll say this though - negative campaigning seems to play into the Republican's hand by demoralizing voters and dampening voter turnout. Low voter turnout favors Republicans more often than not, because when voter turnout is low, it's usually lowest amongst swing voters, moderate Dems, and minority groups.

Therefore, from an outside perspective, it pays for Republicans to go negative when they are losing or when the race is tight, because it eats away at the Dem base, and it only pays for Dems ty go negative during the primary season (in other words, its "OK" to go negative against other Dems...lol).

So, how can the Dems counter negativity? Easier than you might think! When the Repug goes neg, the Dem has remain positive but become VERY aggressive. Fight back, but with a positive face towards the furture. Fight back, but with your head held high, and with the courage and strength to kick some ass.

Fuck the high road AND the low road--let us forge our own road!

American's love to see new ground broken. We're pioneers at heart, all of us. It is in our blood, we're the product of a great natural selection process that favors the progressive soul. From the first Europeans that set out to explore and cultivate a new world, through the western and northern expansions that gave us the California Gold Rush and the Yukon Territory, to the exploration of outerspace and the Internet, we've always been at our most successful when we tap into our pioneer spirit.

And though we've often sacrificed compassion for progress in the past, that desire for growth and progress can now be turned inward as well as outward. We are maturing as a country, and we now stand in a unique position - we can use our pioneering spirit to reform this country into a resevoir of the progressive spirit.

That is how you fight back againt the Republican politics of conservativism and negativity--two antiquated ideas that should have been left behind when we created a new world and a new country--you fight and defend yourself fiercely, but without ever letting that fight become the object of your greater effort. We are pioneers. We have a vision of the future and for the future, and we are forever focused on that vision.

If we fight (and fight back!) with that spirit, I don't see how we can ever lose.

[demwing]

1. kick

I can't let this get booted from page #1 this quickly. ;)

[demwing]

5. I wrote all this before I heard Kerry's speech

so it made me smile hearing him reflect back some of what I was thinking. Kerry is a much better pol than I gave him credit. He has the potential to become that "all things to all people" kind of leader, without watering down his message.

Hell, 4 years from now he'll have that rosey-cheeked grandfatherly look that Reagan projected so well. Get him in office, he'll be a given for re-election. I really feel that Kerry has it in him to be the best president of my lifetime.

[BootinUp]

2. a positive message

can work wonders, nicely put!

[MrBenchley]

3. On Scarborough Country

Scarborough and Frum aren't repeating the attacks...they're fretting over why Kerry's response is so weak...

That to me says the attcks were a disaster with undecideds and moderates...and that Kerry's positive message scares the crap out of them...

[demwing]

4. Kerry Fights Back

and this is EXACTLY what I was talking about above -

http://atrios.blogspot.com /

The Vice President even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.

Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without healthcare makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi Royal Family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America...

[demwing]

6. Im giving this one last kick

because the fervor over last night has diminished