"Reinventing ourselves as Republicans is the death knell of our party. "

[madfloridian]

Howard Dean's weekly column. This week's topic is The Future of the Democratic Party.

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_15941.shtml

SNIP..."For example, Democrats historically tackle economic issues with bold, common-sense policies. Our last Democratic president created 22 million new jobs in this country. In the last four years, George W. Bush oversaw the loss of over 1.5 million. Democrats balance budgets, Republicans do not. Democrats consistently try to pass legislation that would provide some kind of affordable health care, Republicans do not. Democrats believe we ought to raise the minimum wage to help the average worker keep up with the cost of living, Republicans do not. Democrats believe corporations have too much power over our daily lives; Republicans do not - and to prove it, they have given away billions of dollars of our tax money to the biggest corporations in the world over the last four years.

On each of these issues, the majority of the American people are with Democrats not Republicans. Democrats have the right beliefs to win; we just execute a poor public relations plan. And, despite the enormous improvement in our ground game, the Republicans executed a more effective strategy. Republicans are far more successful because they work in a more unified, disciplined way with local supporters, especially with their base. They also avoid the Democrats chronic pitfall of listening to pundits from inside the Beltway....."

SNIP..."Democrats can win by simply being Democrats. Reinventing ourselves as Republicans is the death knell of our party. We need to get back to basics and start listening to people from outside Washington. Only then can we save the greatest nation on the face of the earth from the twin Republican perils of enormous deficits and constant misadventures abroad...."

[newsguyatl]

1. when will they learn

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I very much agree with that assessment.

Thank you for posting it.:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Are you lovingly coated in lark's vomit?

[janx]

5. Are you joyously rolling in bee semen?

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. No, but then I am not a chocolate.

[janx]

11. Celebrate the waltz of the hive..

Enjoy it!

[Crunchy Frog]

15. No, I'm just a run of the mill

crunchy, raw, unboned, real, dead frog. Coated in chocolate and lovingly frosted with glucose.:9

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Sounds delicious. *g*

[hatrack]

22. Do you take the bones out?

:hi:

[Crunchy Frog]

32. If you took the bones out,

it wouldn't be crunchy, would it?:D

[Andromeda]

26. Gughhhh!

:puke:

[janx]

4. Sounds as if this could be related to the upcoming speech

on Wednesday. He's laying it on the line...DNC?

[jrtruth1]

6. Democrats can win?

Look, aside from Democrats named "Clinton", this has NOT been a good run in terms of national elections. We have lost the Senate and the House of Reps. We have lost most of the presidential elections. And we have lost most of the state governments.

And let's be clear: This year OUR candidate raised more money and ran more ads than Bush.

Well, if you guys want to continue that 'wonderful' legacy, then fine. Personally, I would like to win once in a while.

And we don't have to be "Republicans" to win. That's just an excuse.

[Q]

9. Dems lost the congress in 1994...

...and they've been running to the right ever since. That's a DECADE of Republican-lite politics...that has already destroy our party and driven away untold numbers of progressives.

We're giving away bits and pieces of our CORE VALUES in order to appease the mean old RWingers. If that's not 'becoming Republicans'....it's the closest thing to it.

[jrtruth1]

12. Just excuses - we can win on THESE issues

When we had the supermarket strike in Los Angeles last year, we had a lot of support across the board.

People are worried about jobs, health care and education.


Let's start sticking to the issues and values that have always helped us win elections.

[Q]

14. On what issues? You have to have an opposition party just to be heard...

And if people are so worried about jobs, health care and education...why in the hell did millions of them vote for Bush*?

Exactly what is your argument? You seem to agree that we have to go 'Republican-lite' in order to win and to hell with core values.

[jrtruth1]

18. The rule about getting out of a hole is to stop digging...

LET'S STOP USING ARGUMENTS THAT DO NOT WORK.

Here is a partial list of what DID NOT work in the general election:

Personal attacks and name calling against GWB.
Michael Moore's calling GWB a 'deserter'


I don't care about whether or not the allegations are true or not. The fact that they did not work should be taken as a lesson.

I do not know a single Republican (a real one, by the way) who went to see Moore's 9.11 and had his/her mind changed.

[madfloridian]

20. Still digging out of that hole of denial?

Your last sentence bothers me a lot. I know a lot of Republicans who saw it.

[Sparkly]

21. I doubt "name calling against GWB" swayed anybody against Kerry

Massachussetts liberal, war criminal, liar, traitor, phony, elitist, "French-looking" -- do any of those sound familiar?

We had a convention with a message of unity. Obama's keynote was all about bringing the country together again. What was the Republican keynote like? What were Rudy and Zell shrieking about? How evil and dangerous John Kerry is, that's what.

On issues, polls have shown a majority of voters do agree with the Democrats' positions. I don't think we need to move toward Republican positions on anything.

However, I think we need to work on the "framing," message, discipline and strategy -- just as Dean says, and as Lakoff points out. We do need to appeal to people who've voted Republican in the recent past -- but not by changing issues. And certainly not by being "nicer."

[Andromeda]

27. I could't disagree with you more.

We need to be more vocal and we should tell it like it is if we are going to get anybody to listen.

People are not stupid and Democrats have played nice for too long. We can't be like Republicans and win elections.

Kerry didn't attack Bush enough. * is a deserter and more should have been made out of that. Instead, Kerry was trying to ignore the Swiftie liars and trying to take the high road and that didn't work, did it?

We don't have to be pitbulls but for Gawd sakes we need to be STRONG. And we don't come off that way.

[jrtruth1]

33. It's not enough just to get peoples attention with loud accusations...

You have to make your point in a persuasive manner. None of my Rep. and moderate Dem. friends cared about the "deserter" issue or any of the other more strident points.

In my opinion the only bad argument is one that does not work. Clearly, many of the attacks on GWB had no effect.

And let's be honest, people did hear all about the more strident issues in 9.11 and the MoveOn.org (etc) ads.

They heard the arguments. They just didn't care.

[madfloridian]

34. You see a different world than I do.

I see people beginning to question. I see Republicans in our God-loving conservative county starting to wonder what they have done.

I do agree with you on one thing. A lot of Americans are so dumbed down by Rushism and Hannityism and a lousy MSM that they really do not care.....they don't care because they don't know.

[Q]

29. Ah...that's so cute that you don't like 'name-calling' against GWB...

...but many 'name's apply to him...including DESERTER. He's also a war criminal, profiteer and liar.

One doesn't make 'allegations' based on whether they 'work'...but whether they're true. And Moore isn't a Democrat. He's an indpendent film producer and the first amendment gives him the right to express his opinion.

Any other Republican positions you'd like to spout?

[charlie]

10. Democrats United Against Michael Moore?

Whoo, that puts your credibility as a prognosticator somewhere below the basement.

http://www.duamm.blogspot.com/

[janx]

13. Dems won the state house and senate in my state.

And we gained a U.S. Dem Congressman and Senator as well.

From the bottom up, babee! It's useless to keep throwing the brass ring at D.C. and hoping something will stick, especially when those in D.C. aren't anxious to leave their feathered nests...

[MrBenchley]

8. I agree 100%

He makes a lot of sense.

[Piperay]

17. The party is not getting another dime

from me until they show that they are REAL Democrats and support REAL Democratic ideals and principles. :mad:

[Sparkly]

19. I think he's exactly right.

Absolutely!!

[Stinky The Clown]

23. Howard for DNC Chair! Give 'em Hell, Howard!

Fight with a disciplined message for the principles that are at the core of every democrat. No changing. No moving right.

Get the message right and preach it long and loud.

Be ready for a fight, and not a fair one. A street fight. Pipes and chains. Switchblade knives. Calling Mr. Brazza .... Mr. Luca Brazza.

Common Sense! How sweet that sounds.

America!

Patriotism is the province of the Democrats. America's best has always been under Democrats. In war and in peace.

Right on, Howard!!! Yeeeearrrrggggghhhhh!

(As a side note, I think 'the scream" can be used to huge advantage once it gets some time to settle and mellow in the American consciousness. Celebrate the scream. It means passion for an ideal and Howard had that in spades. Passion is what this party needs.)

[LimpingLib]

24. And the sad thing is this guy was yesterdays moderate.

Thats what really sucks about all this.

[Andromeda]

25. Will they listen?

Maybe, but only after much repetition. Such a simple and reasonable statement: "Democrats can win by simply being Democrats."

Why don't they get it?

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Q]

30. Gun control is not an issue that sways many voters...

...unless they're one-issue voters who care nothing about the dozens of other issues important to all Americans.

There is seldom 'abuse of welfare'...unless you're talking about corporate welfare.

[cali]

31. As if the poor's

getting so much now. Ugh. So not true. The poor and the middle class are getting screwed. Pell Grants cut. Cuts for SS disability. Rising property taxes and college tuitions and fees. A stagnant and miserly minimum wage. I don't know who you've been talking to, but I disagree with you that these folks who want the government to take less of their money are an important voting faction. Many, many polls indicated that having tax cuts weren't that important to most middle class people. The last thing we need are further tax cuts. We're in a war that's not only immoral, it's expensive.

Finally we need to run candidates who believe in democratic values- yes there's room to negotiate on issues like gun control, but not on economic sanity and justice, not on civil rights, not on a sane foreign policy.