Democrats followed Weenie rules in response to State of the Union

[yurbud]

Bob Burnett does a good job of summing up why most of us thought Tim Kaine's response to the State of the Union sucked as does the Democrats strategy in general; they follow what Burnett calls the 'four rules of weenie world.'

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0202-31.htm

Published on Thursday, February 2, 2006 by CommonDreams.org

The Democrats' Response - Welcome to Weenie World

by Bob Burnett



The first is Never, never reveal what the Democratic Party stands for. Apparently, since the end of the Clinton Administration, Party insiders have decided that speakers should under no circumstance say what the Dems stand for. They believe that it is sufficient to state, "We're not Republicans."

<snip.

The second rule is Pick a wimpy slogan and say it over and over until everyone knows that it sucks. On Tuesday night, Kaine repeated "There is a better way." In doing so, Kaine implied he actually knows this better way, that managing the US is just like managing the State of Virginia. "In Virginia we're moving ahead by focusing on service, competent management and results. That's how we in Virginia earned the ranking of America's 'Best Managed State.'" Hmm, I haven't been in Virginia recently, but I don't believe that managing it is like running the US. Virginia doesn't have to worry about little things like an imminent Al Qaeda attack.

The third rule in weenie world is Don't push back. Apparently, Democrats feel that it hurts their public image to go after President Bush when he goes on the offensive. They seem to believe that the public expects Dems to be passive, intellectual, even effete. (That's why John Kerry won the hearts of Americans.)


<snip>

The fourth rule in weenie world is When in doubt, imitate the Republicans. Tim Kaine was selected to give this response because he's an outspoken Christian; the Dem "brain trust" thought that he'd convince the electorate that Democrats actually have values...

FULL TEXT: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0202-31.htm

[leftstreet]

1. "I thought it was an infomercial and turned it off."

What a co-worker said when I asked what he thought of the Democratic rebuttal. "You know, some dude in a cheap suit standing in front of a fireplace about to either sell you encyclopedia dvds or greatest hits from the 70s."

[yurbud]

2. the DLC seems determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

[yurbud]

3. the GOP saboutages themselves with over-reaching--Dems with

way, way under-reaching.

[KoKo]

17. lols..........a good one! n/t

[FSogol]

4. WTF? The Pentagon is in Virginia. It was attacked.

Why do so many people feel the need to criticize Tim Kaine. His response was to attract Moderates and Independents, not to act like a liberal version of Rush. Kaine's speech went over well.

[cali]

5. It's the me me me thing

Talk to us. We're being ignored. blah, blah, blah. They don't seem to understand the need to reach out to mod and indy voters. We need those folks to take back the senate and house. A fiery liberal response would have been counter-productive. The press and pukes would have shredded any such utterance. Kaine did a good job and he got good press.

[yurbud]

10. Do you understand the difference between reaching out and groveling?

Why would moderates and indys vote for spineless, mush-mouthed platitudes?

We must present a substantive alternative with a consistent set of values, so people know what they are.

The DLC crowd is aping the GOP at the very time the GOP's appeal is collapsing. And sadly, they don't even ape the right things. They think it's the platitudes people like, but it's really the snarling certainty, which is why the GOP feared Howard Dean so much--he could hit back and wouldn't back down.

[cali]

13. uh, yes.

I grasp the difference. Did you read Kaine's response? He didn't grovel. As for HD, I don't think the GOP fears him, or ever did fear him. I have hopes that come November, they will.

[yurbud]

15. I read it. Good on budget, okay on education & health care, on Iraq,

he said close to nothing except that "We now know that the American people were given inaccurate information about reasons for invading Iraq," we should take care of our troops and fight without sacrificing civil liberties. Both good points, but avoid the central issues of why we are really there, and how that effects when and how we will get out.

The fundamental mistake he makes is being inoffensive. You simply can't hold people's attention with bland platitudes. The DLC obviously lusts for peeling off some of the religious right base. Well, if they want to do that, they should go to an evangelical or charismatic church and see how a pastor talks to his flock. He doesn't speak like a college professor, insurance salesman, or accountant--he talks like it's a matter of life or death. He pounds the podium, throws down the guantlet, and makes sure he has your attention. Most people don't hear the words, they hear the music of what you say. Howard Dean sounded sincere. These other guys sound like they are trying to sell a mutual fund a at a retirement home. As some one posted earlier in this thread, when you hear this approach, you simply switch the channel without giving them a chance.

[IndianaGreen]

22. Kaine couldn't even bring himself to say that Bush BROKE the law

What a weeny!

[IndianaGreen]

21. "Kaine's speech went over well"... on The Daily Show

and as the butt of many late night jokes.

[paulk]

6. "most of us" ????

according to.....

you?

[ixion]

7. Dems need to dump the DLC

it is not their friend, IMO.

[Jdubb32]

8. too much bipartisan talk. He should have talked about

Democratic goals more. Instead of this bipartisan crap. All I ever hear democrats do is bitch and wine about the GOP. Then when they get national coverage, they talk about bipartisan ventures. The Constitution was basically re-written when Alito was confirmed. Iraq, Jack Abramoff, wiretapping and all that weenie talked about is there's a better way. Well no shit theirs a better way, and it isn't going to get any better with weenies like kain doing the talking.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Exactly!

You don't win moderate and conservative voters by saying, "We're not the Republicans but we work really well with them."

What that says is, "The Republicans are the norm and we're pale imitations."

Voters like plain speaking, feistiness, and honesty. They'll vote for someone they don't agree with simply because they like his style.

The Dem response should barely mention the Republicans at all. Say, "If we had a Democratic president, THIS is what the SOTU address would sound like..." Then put forth three or four simply expressed, memorable points that deal with REAL PROBLEMS that this country faces. End with, "You didn't hear these ideas from George W. Bush, because even though the Republicans talk like plain folks and claim to share your values, they're just waving flags and Bibles in your face in the hope that you won't notice that they're ruining this country. Don't fall for their line. Ask yourself who spoke to your real life this evening, George W.Bush, or I? Remember that next November, and vote in a Democratic House and Senate so we can start taking this country back. Thank you."

[Jdubb32]

12. "Democrats defend the status quo long past the time when

the quo has lost its status."

[yurbud]

11. GOP talks about bipartisanship when the are LOSING, Dems when they

are winning.

You can pretty much take everything Bush says about terrorists and apply it to the GOP--they see conciliation as weakness.

[yurbud]

14. Scary DLC parallel in New Zealand:

This is essentially what Tony Blair is doing to Labor in Britain, and the DLC is trying to do to the Democrats here--make the supposedly left opposition party a Trojan horse for domestic neoliberalism, which destroys countries from within so corporations can pick up the pieces.

We are then faced with a choice between a naked corporate party or one in a nice liberal dress, and the real center-left is consigned to impotent third parties.


From the Wikipedia article

...It wasn't until Labour was re-elected to a second term, mostly on the back of its anti-nuclear stance, that considerable divisions over economic policy began to arise within the cabinet. The Minister of Finance, Roger Douglas, was a supporter of free market theories, and sought to implement sweeping reforms ("Rogernomics") to the economy and tax system. Others within the party, however, saw this as a betrayal of the party's left-wing roots.

Opposition to Douglas's reforms remained strong — eventually, a Labour MP, Jim Anderton, left to establish the NewLabour Party, eventually forming the basis of the left-wing Alliance. At the same time, Douglas was pressing onwards, proposing a flat tax rate. Finally, David Lange forced Douglas to resign, and shortly afterwards resigned himself.

Lange was replaced by Geoffrey Palmer. Palmer, however, was unable to counter widespread discontent among Labour's traditional supporters, and a few months before the 1990 election, Palmer was replaced by Mike Moore. The Labour Party suffered its worst defeat since it first took office in 1935.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Labour_Party

[applegrove]

16. I don't think this is the total election platform. And there were about

5 state of the Union pre-responces by Dems. They did a good job.

[yurbud]

18. why not put the best one on TV?

[applegrove]

19. Because they are already in election mode. They don't need to

convince you Bush is bad and Dems are the better alternative. They need to convince and hold those moderate repukes who have just left Bush.

This is you sacrifice for the cause. You will not get much in the way of liberal/progressive talk.

We need to win. Then the investigations can really happen. Bush will be forced to turn over documents.

[yurbud]

20. it's a fallacy to think you can win moderate/undecided by sounding

undecided yourself.

Present your case clearly and unapologetically, so those in the middle know what they are voting for and have a reason to get out of bed on election day.

The Democrats have been pursuing this strategy for a while and the result is Bush & GOP get enough votes to steal elections and plausibly say they won when the Democrats could have won a landslide by putting their cards on the table.

[applegrove]

23. It is called 'an election'. And parties move in one direction or another

'to get elected' all over the world.

[yurbud]

24. It doesn't work when you work the angles so much there's no discernible

core values, or they seem to be loosely held at best.

The GOP does a bit of this by playing the race card and scapegoating minorities in coded instead of direct ways, but their overall message and more importantly, proposals and votes, leave no doubt with the general public about what they are going to do.

[applegrove]

25. So too do Dems have core values. Good governance, environment,

fairness in economy (favoring no one group), integrity, not perpetual war but all policy tools to solve crisis, democracy promotion (a very old tool of liberals), fiscal conservatism (nobody wants to go back to the debts of the 1980s or the economic stagnation. Minority rights. On and on.

And I think Dems will make their message clear. For now - they are for making government work (function, be responsible, governance, competence) which is the complete opposite of the Bush WH in every way.

[yurbud]

26. your list was a bit vague but better than many in Congress would do