Why the "Party of Responsibility" is brilliant against the Bush Admin?

[Pirate Smile]

On Wednesday, Howard Dean said

"There is a Party of fiscal responsibility... economic responsibility.... social responsibility... civic responsibility... personal responsibility... and moral responsibility.
It's the Democratic Party.

We need to be able to say strongly, firmly, and proudly what we believe.

Because we are what we believe."

One reason this framing of the issue would be extremely effective for the Democratic Party is because BushCo. has made a conscious decision to never admit a mistake, i.e. take responsibility.

According to Jay Dickerson (WH correspondent) on Al Franken today, BushCo. would rather be viewed as stubborn then deal with the follow up questions to admitting a mistake.

There are so many screw-ups that they simply refuse to admit, thereby denying reality, that they look like they are living in an alternative universe.

I really think we can use this to our advantage if we make it part of our mantra, our talking points. It could also be applied to any new issues that come up - there is no limit on its shelf life.

What do you guys think?

[Bouncy Ball]

1. I love it.

Dean's been saying that for a long time. And it's true.

[mistertrickster]

2. Dean was the man and he's still the man. Got a link? I'd like to

read the rest.

[NYCGirl]

4. Link below:

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005637.html

[mistertrickster]

7. Thanks, NYCGirl

[The Traveler]

3. Dean refuses to compromise his beliefs

The essence of integrity.

The Democratic Party needs a new thesis to express its traditional aims. I have long held that we should lock Dean and Clark in a hotel suite together for six months. Provide them with a staff of researchers and necessary technical support. Between the two of them there isn't a policy area they could not approach. I think the results would be amazing, and achievable.

[Johnny Noshoes]

5. Good idear

That's the ticket - fix the damn voting machines so we don't get screwed again - Dean/Clark 08 or Clark/Dean 08 and away we go.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely,the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

[AirAmFan]

8. Love your Mencken quote. The next Prez should put it on the plaque

under Dubya's portrait in the White House!

[Pirate Smile]

6. Remembering Deans speech from yesterday and hearing Dickerson's

comments about how BushCo. is willing to put up with any flack they get for not admitting a mistake makes this seem like an awesome strategy.

We have seen them do this repeatedly and regardless of how obvious the mistake was, they just get defensive. They look like complete assholes.

Let's please put them in that corner as much as possible - and throw darts at them.

Geez, we should run positive ads promoting the Democratic Party as the Party of Responsibility.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. I love the responsibility theme

I wish Kerry's campaign had embraced it. It would have been a perfect critique of the Bush administration and a perfect case for the Democratic Party.

And Kerry, who was always best when he was arguing national security or issues where the Bush folks were CLEARLY irresponsible, would have been a great messenger for it, had he embraced it.

For that matter, I think Dean could have done well, too. Who knows. Personally, I think Dean would still have come up short, but we'll never know, and I don't really feel like playing hypotheticals, especially when there are so many pros and cons to each candidate.

But I really applaud what Dean's been saying, and I say this as a strong Kerry supporter who never backed Dean for President (unless he'd been the nominee, of course).

[Pirate Smile]

10. Yes, I have no interest in revisiting those battles either. I am looking

completely at the future.

I edited the subject line to take Dean's name out of it because I didn't mean for this thread to be on Dean. I wanted to talk about the framing of the issue, the strategy of the Bush Administration and the strategy we should take in the future.

[Johnny Noshoes]

11. Agreed

Refighting old battles is a waste of time - we have too much work to do now.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely,the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

[Lexingtonian]

12. It's a beginning

Good tactic, but it's not enough as a strategy.

Look at the swing voters that went to Bush. Polling shows they liked all the Democratic domestic policy positions and even think that Democrats running the country would do a lot better of a job. But they voted the other way because of problems trusting Democrats and the sense that there was an overriding concern. We've already won the "responsibility" battle- and it's not the thing that is decisive.

One great problem is internal to the Party, and it is the latent conservatives and mere power-centrism that is- or: is easily construed as- unregenerateness or corruption. Once these folks change or no longer exert the control they do, the forming of the Modern Party that The People expects/demands is possible and Democratic credibility/principle is reestablished.

The second great problem is this long-running problematic involvement in the Middle East since ~1948. Everyone knows the present affair in Iraq is yet another horrid and bungled chapter of it by now, but Democrats haven't been able to present The People with a comprehensive analysis/attitude/plan about how to turn things around- how that whole set of conflicts and problems has to be resolved. We all "know" what the solution in I/P will need to be, and what must be in Iraq, but we can't seem to get to where all the parts of the Middle Eastern problem unify into an approach and plausibly achievable resolution.

Bush won those swing voters because they couldn't see Democrats changing things as carefully and drastically as is required domestically because the Party hasn't changed enough (Reason 1), and because the Middle East is still a long term American conflict zone (Reason 2).

I like to think Dean and the DLC could mutually annihilate each other, solving our internal problems with both of them :-) . The Middle Eastern problem is someone else's to solve, not Dean's.

[Pirate Smile]

16. I've thought the problem is people don't know what we stand for or that

we have any conviction about fighting for what we believe (at least the "Party" as an institution).

We discuss things like a bunch of policy proposals without tying the policy to moral convictions such as the immorality of children not being able to see a doctor when they are sick.

We haven't developed that part of our arguments well enough. We all know it is there and discuss it together but I guess we haven't been successful enough at relaying it to the not-yet-convinced people.

[Pirate Smile]

13. Kick

Does a flame war have to start in order for there to be a discussion.

OK - well, yo momma wears combat boots.
:P

[Johnny Noshoes]

14. Oh no

not the combat boots bit :)

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely,the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

[Pirate Smile]

15. I've never really got that one. What would be so bad about it?

[Johnny Noshoes]

18. Nothing

I never understood the supposed insult either. I was just joking about it being an old bit :D

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely,the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

[Califooyah Operative]

17. It's exactly the strategy we should be taking, responsibility

ties in perfectly with dem values, and even cuts into the middleground.

[Pirate Smile]

19. They are dumping everything onto future generations - how completely

irresponsible.

Yet, Bush will use the argument "we can't pass this problem onto our children" when it suits his purposes - completely disingenuous.

[Pirate Smile]

20. kick