WP: Dean Urges Appeal to Moral Values

[DeepModem Mom]

Dean Urges Appeal to Moral Values
DNC Chairman Calls for Democrats to Adopt GOP's Language to Woo Voters

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 12, 2005; Page A05


Unrepentant after a week of controversy over his inflammatory remarks, Democratic chairman Howard Dean told party leaders yesterday that casting traditionally liberal issues in moral terms is a key to breaking Republicans' eight-year hold on the White House.

Dean acknowledged that he sees his party's national campaign apparatus as being "30 years behind" the one fielded in November by the Bush-Cheney campaign, and said the solution is for Democrats to be tough, describe themselves boldly and get organized in all 50 states....

***

The Democratic National Committee's lead pollster, Cornell Belcher, said that religious people who have been stymied economically represent a huge opportunity for the party, and that the challenge is to portray moral values as "not just gay marriage and abortion."...

***

Dean and the pollster provided the most specific blueprint yet for a party where a multitude of factions and potential candidates are competing to point the way back from Sen. John F. Kerry's (D-Mass.) loss to Bush, 19 states to 31 states. "We have not spoken about moral values in this party for a long time," Dean said. "The truth is, we're Democrats because of our moral values. It's a moral value to make sure that kids don't go to bed hungry at night. . . . It is a moral value not to go out on golf trips paid for by lobbyists."

Belcher, the pollster, said the emphasis that many voters placed on moral values in November is "not a call to move to the right." He said that a lot of what he called "faith voters" -- those for whom religion plays an equal or more important role in determining their vote than conventional issues such as education -- "are up for grabs." He said those voters can be reached by acknowledging their fears about raising their children....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/11/AR2005061100609.html

[mcctatas]

1. The Rev. Jim Wallace has been saying that for years.

Thank God Howard has the balls to incorporate it into the party message. The argument may finally be "reframed".

[AX10]

2. Jim Wallace is a REAL CHRISTIAN!

[KittyWampus]

5. As Have I, Myself, Here On DU... For A Few Years Now. And Wes Clark

struck the right note during his primary run.

It's nice to be vindicated but sad it takes people so long to catch on.

[Sapphire Blue]

18. Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis, Editor-In-Chief, Sojourners: http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=about_us.display_staff&staff=wallis

Jim Wallis, Convener and President, Call to Renewal: http://www.calltorenewal.org/about_us/index.cfm/action/display/name/wallis.html

[PSPS]

3. "Unrepentant after a week of controversy over his inflammatory remarks"

Sorry, but that very first sentence in the piece belies the author's agenda. The article is nothing more than a propaganda piece designed to maintain the myth that Bush "won" the election by trotting out the mythical "faith and values" voters again.

[ckramer]

4. "we're Democrats because of our moral values."

Howard Dean is right on this.

It's strange that that selfish, coldhearted, bloodthirsted republicans would have a better character image in voters' mind. That's unacceptable and should be changed.

[Dervill Crow]

8. Darn right!

I have great morals. I'm a Democrat. And I'm even a pagan. How weird is that? NOT WEIRD AT ALL.

[katsy]

6. UNREPENTANT

How I love that description.

It's not "apologetic".

It's not "cowed".

It's UNREPENTANT!!!

[mcctatas]

9. I agree completely.

Maybe we should all get T-shirts with UNREPENTANT DEMOCRAT on them:toast:

[katsy]

13. You're on!

:thumbsup:

[Carolab]

20. I'd rather see, "REPENT, REPUBLICANS!"

They're the ones breaking all of God's laws.

[bahrbearian]

7. "eight-year hold on the White House."???????????

[candy331]

10. Yep, 8 year hold shows they know the shrub will not be impeached

my how calculating these reporters are.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. As long as our morality does not play into a particular religion

I have no problem with that. I'm incensed by the fundies who spin that morality is their specialty as innocent people are murdered and bombed out of their homes, persecuted for their beliefs and non-beliefs, and discriminated against because of their sexuality.

[tavalon]

23. Moral values and religion

are not the same thing. Many atheists are higly moral and well, we have a fine example of amoral in our supposed Christian pResident.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Exactly...

America's religious need to understand that religion and morality do not necessarily walk hand in hand, and need not accompany one another to exist.

[avenueb]

12. go Dean!

kick ass and take no prisoners, just what the doctor ordered.

Have to agree with his framing it this way.

[leQ]

14. i sure hope this is only the beginning of a new generation

he's gotta take control and make sure the media eats it up.

[depakid]

15. Pravda on the Potomic is at it again

Their writing is always just chock full of loaded language and innuendo meant to bolster and reinforce the far right. I kinda wish people would stop posting their drivel here. The Post has ZERO credibility anymore and quite frankly, they've become an embarrassment.

Catherine Graham must be rolling over in her grave....

[Frances]

16. I think there is hope in her grandson Benjamin

The few articles that I have seen with his byline have been very fair.

I don't like the powers that are guiding the paper now but I think there is a chance that when Benjamin is in charge that the paper will be better.

I also think that with Dean in charge of the DNC there is a chance that the country will come to its senses.

Of course I am an optimist by nature. I can't help it.

[MaineDem]

17. The RNC has 15 full-time employees working on Religious Outreach

The DNC has just started the same (although not on the same scale) effort and is reaching out to all states to do the same.

Cornell was absolutely right yesterday as was Dean. "Faith voters" need to know that the Democratic Party will protect their rights and their values. We just have to make sure they KNOW that and that
is where our work is cut out for us.

Keep hammering this issue, Chairman Dean.

[cascadiance]

19. DON'T MESS WITH DR. DEAN!

[AirAmFan]

21. I wonder whether Dean, Reid, et al are reading 'Moral Politics:

How Liberals and Conservatives Think', by George Lakoff

A decade ago, Lakoff thought this through and came up with a fairly complete framework and strategy for injecting progressive notions of morality into politics, to counteract Republican posturing on "moral family values". IMHO, Lakoff's notion of progressive moral politics sounds a lot like John Edwards's presidential campaign:

From http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Political/Moral_Politics.html :

"p33: At the center of the conservative woridview is a Strict Father model. ... Self-discipline, self-reliance, and respect for legitimate authority are the crucial things that children must learn. Once children are mature, they are on their own and must depend on their acquired self-discipline to survive. Their self-reliance gives them authority over their own destinies, and parents are not to meddle in their lives.

The liberal woridview centers on a very different ideal of family life, the Nurturant Parent model: Love, empathy, and nurturance are primary, and children become responsible, self-disciplined and self-reliant through being cared for, respected, and caring for others, both in their family and in their community.... The obedience of children comes out of their love and respect for their parents and their community, not out of the fear of punishment. ... Questioning by children is seen as positive, since children need to learn why their parents do what they do and since children often have good ideas that should be taken seriously.... A fulfilling life is assumed to be, in significant part, a nurturant life--one committed to family and community responsibility. What children need to learn most is empathy for others, the capacity for nurturance, and the maintenance of social ties, which cannot be done without the strength, respect, self-discipline, and self-reliance that comes through being cared for.... When children are respected, nurtured, and communicated with from birth, they gradually enter into a lifetime relationship of mutual respect, communication, and caring with their parents.

"p35 Strict Father morality assigns highest priorities to such things as ... respect for and obedience to authority, the setting and following of strict guidelines and behavioral norms.... Nurturant Parent morality has a different set of priorities. Moral nurturance requires empathy for others and the helping of those who need help...."

[Larkspur]

27. Dean wrote the forward to Lakoff's book "How not to think of an Elephant?"

Dean is a fan of Lakoff.

[tavalon]

22. He's been talking to George Lakoff

That's some well spent time!

[AirAmFan]

25. Democracy, freedom, fairness, inclusion, and making work pay

are REAL moral values the Republicans can be shown not to respect.

They dovetail nicely with the three short-term legislative agenda items in a recent strategy memo on Reid's website: a federal minimum wage increase, legalized drug reimportation, and federal funding of stem cell research.

[napi21]

24. I watched the DNC meeting twice on cspan. Dean was great!

He explained just how buisy he's been establishing a Dem infrastructure in many states, and he's not stopping until he has it done in all 50!

He also explained what moral values really means, and it's not only a womans right to choose her own health care and gay marriage!

I don't know if cspan is going to archive it or not, but if they do, it's well worth watching!