Why are they so unwilling to fight back in "soundbytes"average Americans

[KoKo]

can understand?

Going on and on about Health Care with charts and lots of figures doesn't play with the CNN/MSNBC/FAUX soundbyte crowd. Americans are now used to "ATTACK." They learned to love the taste of blood during the Clinton years and now the beast needs to be fed regularly. Bush/Cheney provide the blood for the beast, so far we are trying to feed the best with facts and reason. Trying to turn an "attack happy" America into one which appreciates being "reasoned with" at this late date just isn't working. We are too far gone with our love of the "Sport" of politics and the blood on the opposing teams uniforms.

So far, it's barely keeping us above water whether the polls are lying or not Kerry, with truth on his side, should be comfortably ahead by now. :shrug:

[depakid]

1. AWOL on healthcare, AWOL on the economy, etc

This should be repeated by every surrogate every time the issues are discussed.

[KoKo]

5. AWOL just brings folks back to all the stuff going on with "Swift Boats,

medals, TANG, etc., though. He needs something that is more hard hitting that AWOL... So many DU'ers have come up with clever ways Kerry could reach the average citizen. I wish he'd hire some of the best minds and DU who've posted great "talking points/soundbytes" and get rid of whoever is thinking up these slogans like: "W stands for Wrong" and "Excuses." His Campaign should be able to do better than that. Hire a top notch advertising group who can market his message and not whomever has been doing it in the campaign...:shrug:

[sangh0]

2. Why don't you take your own advice?

I'll read your post when you have the skill to reduce your ideas to "soundbytes"

It's not easy

[ieoeja]

9. I can do that for KoKo

Keep it simple, Kerry!

[sangh0]

11. There ya go!

I can find no fault with that. Good work, ieoeja!!

[KoKo]

12. Attack Bush....Don't Focus on Yourself...Move it to Bush...he Drove us

into Debt and now wants to pay that debt off with YOUR Social Security, YOUR Health Care and YOUR Jobs! Are we going to let him do that...cue to crowd...NOOOOOOOO! Tell a joke then go on the attack again. Stop listing numbers...unless it has Bush in it.

Bush's "COOKING THE BOOKS" like the failed CEO he was he's running the country on borrowed money from FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Are we gonna let him do that? ...cue to the crowd....Noooooooo!

[sangh0]

18. You're getting warmer, KoKo01!!!

Keep at it. You're making quick progress!!

[ieoeja]

13. Tougher for Kerry, but

Jobs. 401k. Security. Has W done anything right?

[tjdee]

3. Who are the top 2% of wage earners?

You are of course correct.

WHY don't they just saying "Rollback the tax cut if you make over 325K a year"? (If that's even it, cause I don't know!)

WHY?

Why do they fuck around with this "Top 2%"?

Do you know how many middle class people are sitting in the suburbs think Kerry is going to cut their measly 150K combined incomes?

It drives me up a wall every single time.

Consider your audience: That's something I learned in Public Relations 101.

[DURHAM D]

8. Yeah, I read the other day that 16% of the taxpayers think

they are in the top 2%. Kerry needs to put a dollar number on this because he is missing out on 14% of the potential voting pool.

[necso]

17. I read some time ago

that like 36% (30-something) of the people believed that they were in the top 1% or likely to go there. If I remember correctly the larger group was "likely". Given this I am not sure that using an exact number will work. I guess all these people figure on hitting the Lotto or becoming "superstars" -- because how else they are going to break out of that $7 an hour job, I don't know.

When you test American's knowledge of common facts, the results are appalling. Huge numbers believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth and crap like that.

Kerry is not being well advised in my opinion. Sure some pretty serious and weighty stuff needs to be out there. But if you can't convey your message in a small number of commonly used words in a way that sticks in people's heads, you are losing the "marketing edge".

Unfortunately it isn't really about performance, or policy, or character or values. It is about perceptions.

We aren't as good at this game, but the neos aren't as good as you might think -- they just hire people who are. And it is a despicable thing how these people have dumbed everything down. Besides the "machine" is at their disposal.

We could use some good jingles, so lets put our "thinking" caps on, people.

Is the door open? -- I feel a draft.

Where the Hell is Iraq anyway? Mexico would have been a lot closer.

I'm sure glad that we grabbed all that oil, cause I love that $1 a gallon gas.

I hope to go to China some day -- I would like to visit my old job -- you know, the one that paid well!

If I get sick, I figure that I still have Dr Bankruptcy... or Dr Bullet.

Ebay sounds like a good idea to me -- too bad I can't sell my body parts there.

The economy sure is booming -- my job just blew up the other day.

Things are sure getting ugly in America -- but hey we have the return of lynching to look forward to.

We are at yellow alert so often, why don't they just paint yellow stripes down everyone's back?

I hear the war in Iraq is going so well, that we don't even bother patrolling in a lot of places any more.

So do you think that the war in Iran will go better or worse than the one in Iraq.

What are those North Koreans thinking -- that we are afraid of being incinerated?

Looked up hypocrite in the dictionary the other day, maybe those damn Democrats have a point.

I am appalling bad at this sort of thing, and I am embarrassed to write such crap. But I think that the larger problem is that our side can never just pick up a thing and run with it. They have to fuss and whine and preen and display just how wonderful they are.

I like "editorial" cartoons and I see a lot of Kerry bashing going on... from the left!

Pat Oliphant had a great one a while back, but couldn't refrain from bashing Kerry at the same time. It seems that it has disappeared into the archive at Ucomics -- but for "fans", it was the one with Bush and Cheney in a semi with the wheels coming off... and Kerry standing around being indecisive. (Now, if you know me, you might realize that I have a few words to say to Mr Oliphant -- but it can wait. And, hey, I just won a "prize" -- lucky me.)

And if think that this doesn't hurt then you are wrong. Let me caution my good friends on the left. If we lose this one, the Party isn't going left (quit dreaming) or right -- it is going populist. And they had better be careful what they are wishing for. Liberalism appeals to the educated, and our people are not. You always have to frame your message in ways that appeal to the centrist (conservative) and not-that-deep American people. Arguing that the American people are liberal is just saying that you (the left) are right. -- This is not helpful.

To me it doesn't make a lot of sense to face these ruthless men from lala land with PC types from their version of the same place. We need an assortment of types appealing to people across the spectrum, including some "thugs" who will match the scum blow for blow.

And not all of this is Kerry's job.

But what do I know.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

4. Why is the media controlling what we see and hear? Think about that....

...in response to your comments.

[tjdee]

6. Why don't they go AROUND the media?

I've said this before, it's like Democrats just can't possibly imagine WHAT to do with this problem of the media.

They should be working day and night until they catch a clue then, huh?

Does ANYONE in their employ hold a degree in Public Relations or Marketing?

It would seem to me to be a basic problem which should have already been solved, particularly after 2000. edited: Not a basic problem, but it shouldn't be as bad as it is. Think outside the box here, people.

[mbali]

15. What do you think they're doing every day out on the campaign trail?

[antigop]

7. You want two sound bytes? Here they are:

John Kerry:

I'll SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY.
I'LL SAVE MEDICARE.

[KoKo]

10. You got it! That's what he needs to say. That's what folks want to hear.

Get the big points out there, then target that Bush won't and what Bush is planning. Get the focus on Bush and Kerry won't need to go with the charts and numbers. Show what Bush has done. Tell how much he's wasted on Iraq that didn't go to our troops. Those are numbers people can understand.

Right now he's trying to get a message out that focuses on what he, Kerry would do.

Focus it ALL back on Bush's head. This guy lied to Congress and the American People to take them into a war that has cost, etc., etc., etc.

They are taking money from your parents and grandparents health care and
Social Security accounts that they paid into for Decades....etc., etc.

He doesn't do this. I've heard most all of his speeches...

[no name no slogan]

14. Unfortunately, it's time to go negative on Bush

He really hasn't been attacking Shrub yet-- not in any meaningful way, like BushCo has been attacking him. I'm not a fan of negative campaigning, but he needs to start hitting back-- HARD and FAST.

For example, did you know there were more cops on the streets of NYC during the RNC than were originally sent into Afghanistan to get BinLaden?

What about the fact that even Herbert Hoover created more jobs than Shrub?

Or that he lied about the cost of his Medicare "reform"?

Or that he lied about going into Iraq?

Or the fact that Dubya's tax cuts did more to help the luxury yacht industry than they did to help regular Americans?

If Kerry goes negative now, he can still get positive in mid-October and come out smelling like a rose. Right now, he's running a very Dukakis-esque campaign. He's pulling his punches while Bush clobbers him with every swing. Hopefully he won't wait until the last week before the election to start punching back, like Dukakis did.

Otherwise I have a feeling we'll have a repeat of 1988 on our hands...

[faithfulcitizen]

16. Idea for bumper sticker- One Nation Under George!

could be turned into a sound byte :shrug: