If Dems had an extra $100 million to $200 million just lying around, they might be able to match the media blitz being waged by the Republican Super Pacs. You know, the one that goes
Dems created the deficit. Dems destroyed your jobs. Dems cut Medicare. Dems raise taxes. Dems are Socialists. Jobs and Freedom! However, the billionaire progressives are sitting this one out. Why? Maybe they secretly like the thought of gridlock in Washington. The status quo has been pretty good for them. Maybe it is a matter of principle. Rove’s campaign is basically a reworking of the Nazi’s “Bread and Freedom” radio blitz from the early 1930s. The thought of running a “No, Buy
Our Bread and Freedom, instead!” campaign may not sit well with progressives.
How can Democrats counter the endlessly repeated
Big Lie ? Give the American people what they want. Hint: folks who are out of a job, on the street starving and sick do not want to hear how bad things are in Washington. They do not want to hear that Democrats are just as bad as Republicans. They do not want the party of
No! .
Folks in trouble want to know that someone
cares . They want to be told that they are not powerless. They want to believe that Washington answers to them. They want a pep talk.
President Obama is doing his part with his poverty and unemployment tour of America. Nothing says
I care more than a chief executive who rolls up his sleeves and goes out to listen to the people. (Italics mine)
And so people are frustrated and they’re angry and they’re anxious about the future. I understand that.
Snip
Instead of coming together like past generations did to build a better country for our children and grandchildren, their argument is that we should let insurance companies go back to denying care for folks who are sick, or let credit card companies go back to raising rates without any reason. Instead of setting our sights higher, they’re asking us to settle for a status quo of stagnant growth and eroding competitiveness and a shrinking middle class.
snip
I believe it’s the drive and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs, our small businesses; the skill and dedication of our workers -- (applause) -- that’s made us the wealthiest nation on Earth. (Applause.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/us/politics/09obama-text.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1Dems may not have the money to plaster their message on every billboard in town. They may not be swimming in so much cash that they can practically
buy television and radio stations. However, if their message rings true, folks will listen to it.
I am not saying to go easy on the opposition. There are a few key points that will doom them this fall. Here are the
big truths Democrats should talk about.
1.
The new Right Wing is racist to its core. Note that the Tea Parties used overt anti-Black racism to attract members before the Republican primaries. Now that they have entered the general election, they are careful only to attack
white Democratic politicians in their television ads. Why? They know that they will lose the suburban soccer mom vote, if she gets an eyeful of those Obama in tribal garb pics. Only about 25% of Americans will cast a vote for racism. At least 50% remember the Civil Rights movement as one of America’s greatest moments. They will not be caught dead voting for anyone who reminds them of the Alabama police officers with the fire hoses and German Shepherds.
2.
The GOP has the backing of Bankers and Oil Companies. I can not think of any two groups of businessmen who are detested as much as these guys right now. The Banksters took our money---and then took our homes and credit. The Petrochemical Industry price gouged with $4/gallon gas and started a war for oil and ruined the Gulf.
3.
The GOP is the party of Herbert Hoover. Bush and the GOP got us into this mess with tax cuts for the rich and a war for oil. They have obstructed Democratic efforts to get us out of it. Just give us a few more Democrats in Congress and we can get the Second New Deal going. Show pics of FDR, the most famous Democratic president of the last century. People know in their hearts that Republicans bring recession and Dems bring back jobs.
And remember,
always begin and end with a message of compassion and optimism and praise for the American worker.
PS Almost forgot. Howard Dean does this one real well. Maybe doctors understand what makes people tick.