"Why They Won"

[debatepro]

Snip

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=6588
by Thomas Frank

To short-circuit the Republican appeals to blue-collar constituents, Democrats must confront the cultural populism of the wedge issues with genuine economic populism. They must dust off their own majoritarian militancy instead of suppressing it; sharpen the distinctions between the parties instead of minimizing them; emphasize the contradictions of culture-war populism instead of ignoring them; and speak forthrightly about who gains and who loses from conservative economic policy.

What is more likely, of course, is that Democratic officialdom will simply see this week's disaster as a reason to redouble their efforts to move to the right. They will give in on, say, Social Security privatization or income tax "reform" and will continue to dream their happy dreams about becoming the party of the enlightened corporate class. And they will be surprised all over again two or four years from now when the conservative populists of the Red America, poorer and angrier than ever, deal the "party of the people" yet another stunning blow.

Snip

Thomas Frank is the author, most recently, of "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America."

[Touchdown]

1. We're going to have to neutralize the "Class warfare" dismissal

rhetoric the repugs use every time we bring it up. It's short, it's stupid, and it has no basis in reality, but it IS effective at shutting down any debate on the issues of the economic divide.

Mousy, intellectual liberal: "When we have salaries lowering steadily, compared to inflation over the last 30 years, we have to...
Charles Krauthammer interrupting: "I usually dont diagnose mental stability on TV, but I am a Psychiatrist, and I would say you are a paranoid schizophrenic for bringing up class warfare at a time of such economic prosperity."
Morton Kondracke: "Next up, more fair and balanced news analysis. Just how much does the Democrats hate America? We report, you decide."

[annabanana]

2. "corporate welfare"

the original "special interests" were the big companies... Now the multi-nationals have the mantle. They have no country, no allegiance to anything but the bottom line.