Maybe there's nothing the matter with Kansas! Dems rise in the heartland.

[marmar]

Democrat resurgence in the Republican heartland
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2006-06-29 16:05. Elections
From Kansas to South Carolina, Republican moderates are turning their backs on the neocons and defecting to the enemy
By Paul Harris, THE OBSERVER , TOPEKA, KANSAS

The squat, bunker-like building in a south Topeka suburb does not look like a place to turn US politics on its head. Nor does Mark Parkinson, a tall, affable man, look too much like a revolutionary. But here, deep in the American heartland, are the warning signs of a political earthquake.

The two-story office block is Parkinson's campaign headquarters as he runs as Democrat candidate for deputy governor. So far, so normal. Except that only a few weeks ago Parkinson was a Republican.

In fact, he was Kansas Republican party chairman.

His defection to the Democrats sent shockwaves through a state deeply associated with the national Republican cause and the evangelical conservatives at its base. Nor was it just Parkinson's leave-taking that left Republicans spluttering with rage and talking of betrayal. It was that as he left Parkinson lambasted his former party's obsession with conservative and religious issues such as gay marriage, evolution and abortion.

Sitting in his headquarters, the new Democrat is sticking to his guns. Republicans in Kansas, he says, have let down their people.

"They were fixated on ideological issues that really don't matter to people's everyday lives. What mat-ters is improving schools and creating jobs," he said. "I got tired of the theological debate over whether Charles Darwin was right."

This is music to Democratic ears and has profound potential implications for November's mid-term elections. Kansas has been an iconic state for the Republican right, a symbol for issues such as teaching creationism in schools and fighting abortion rights.

The rest of the article is at: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/12556

[welshTerrier2]

1. a few points and a challenge ...

well, there's an interesting "political hint" for the Democrats ... suppose instead of all this "moving to the center" crap and all this "big tent, we can be all things to all people" crap, we tried something like: "you may disagree with the Democratic Party on certain social issues like gay marriage, evolution, and abortion but we hope that you agree on the everyday issues that affect your families and your everyday lives like improving schools and creating jobs" ...

instead of proving that we stand for nothing, which is how i see the current strategy of fake centrism and phony appeasement, why not stick to our guns and tell people what we really believe in ... embrace the disagreements but point out that Democrats have the right values and the right ideas and the right programs when it comes to making life better for all Americans ... that would show a deeper commitment to our beliefs and would earn more respect than the politically motivated wishy-washyness we're now offering ... this approach won't win everyone but i think it would greatly strengthen our hand and i also think it would help reunify the party's center and its progressive wing ...

here's the challenge, however ...

we can't just say we will make the schools better and create jobs; we need a real plan to do it ... we might get some mileage out of this sales pitch because most Americans already think the Democrats are better on these "domestic" issues ... the problem is, though, it's not at all clear to me we actually have a real plan to accomplish these objectives ... committed to the idea? sure ... but a real plan? not so sure ...

the challenge is: can anyone actually state how the Democrats would make the schools better and create jobs??

[Demeter]

2. Raise Taxes, Hire Competent People, Pass Good Laws, and Stand Back

It's the way anything good ever happens.

[welshTerrier2]

4. well, OK ... but ...

i was looking for something a bit more specific and a bit more convincing ...

you want to run on "raise taxes"? that's a tough sell ...

competent people is an excellent part of our message ... republicans have hired industry people who are hostile to the very government departments they serve in ... they've been hired to tear down programs rather than build them up ... maybe the emphasis shouldn't only be on "competent people" but it should also be on getting people who believe government has a role to play in instituting policies that make our lives better ... we often seem to fail to make this fundamental argument ...

as for good laws, here's where i think your response is not adequately specific ... i don't think a campaign of "we will pass good laws to make the schools better and create jobs" has adequate specificity ... i think we need to offer something tangible to the voters so that we don't sound like an empty sales pitch ...

if Democrats have real solutions to these national problems, the time to make Americans aware of what we will do is NOW ... campaigns should be about real issues and real ideas; not about "trust us, we'll fix everything" ... what bothers me about the party right now is that i don't think the ideas on key issues are either a. formulated at all or b. are being effectively communicated to the public ... that has to change if we're going to win big this November ...

[marmar]

6. Good food for thought...

A well-honed message with details is something that can really elevate Dems. It's theirs for the taking, but people are going to need more than "Repugs suck, vote for us."

[gratuitous]

3. Address real issues, meet people's needs

And suddenly you're getting votes. Interesting concept.

[marmar]

5. I know, what a concept right?

Proof of how quickly they get disconnected from real people when they get elected to office.