Reply #147: I have not advocated moving the party to the right [View All]

[Walt Starr]

I have advocated dumping silly ass rhetoric that actually works against us in favor of rhetoric that can move the progressive issues from the left back to the center where they belong.

I sincerely believe that basic human rights is a core value of the majority in this nation, but getting granular on that issue and specifically talking about "gay marriage" turns off the majority of the nation at a visceral level so you lose the debate before it even starts.

Couch the debate in teminology that hits the vast majority at a personal level and you affect the outcome of elections. You do this in a negative light for your opponents issues and a positive light for your issues.

So, deficit spending is an abominable practice that leads to years of servicing a debt when those funds can be better utilized in other programs. Using that terminology in the debate is a loser. Saying the Republicans are passing a birth tax eery time they increase deficit spending is a winner and hits the electorate at a visceral level. Now a core principla is no longer a liberal issue, it is main stream. We have not jettisoned the issue, we've simply reframed the rhtoric utilizeed in support of the issue.

Instead of gay marriage use personal freedom and you turn a losing liberal issue into a winning mainstream issue.