Democrats don't move to the right, move the center to us...

[rndmprsn]

thanks to some other DU members for their insightful posts and for suggesting george lakoff's new book...it should be required reading.

Let me make a few suggestions...

To help this democratic party move into the future without fear and to regain its moral authority...as a first big step, i honestly think that we need to start seriously funding and creating progressive think-tanks (READ: IDEAS) to come up with smart and effective solutions to our problems that have evolved organically and by design, this is only a first step, much much more needs to be done in synch and concurrently. The republicans have a good 30-40 year and 100 billion dollar head start on us, the real-word results of which are that now almost 80% of the talking heads and pundits on TV, who have enormous influence over public debate, come from conservative think-tanks...80%!!

They are out there everyday on right-wing media and main-stream media knocking us over the head with such deviously-brlliant terms as: tax-relief, clean skies initiative, healty forests, tort-reform, frivilous lawsuits, and most surreally...no child left behind...Orwellian indeed, effective, you bet.

Conservative think-tanks are well funded by ENORMOUS block-grants, they not only come up with policy and media frames for those policies, but they spend VAST amounts to continue to build their already impressive infrastructure...they have the future of their own one-party system in mind and they are doing everything to make this vision a reality.

By contrast, the few moderate and progressive foundations spend most of their rather small grants on immediate and direct ways to help people in need...although this is noble, no doubt about it...it addresses short term needs out of necessity rather than addressing long-term strategy and infrastructure building. The people and organizations that fund these foundations have attach many string with a single-mindedness to NOT duplicate efforts in order to make their money more effective and so...our progressive foundations are forced into very NARROW and ISOLATED initiatives.

The republicans have been rewarded MANY MANY times over with their investments into their organizations...they have managed to frame the debate and control the message and language...the greatest and most direct result is that they have won the "values" game and have connected with the working-poor and lower income suburbanites, who are our NATURAL ALLIES, in ways that convince them to vote against their OWN economic interest. These organizations working hand in hand with the right-wing media, which is another powerful conservative investment, they have replaced facts with emotion...emotions are very powerful, more powerful than numbers and statistics and almost always win out in the end, it just does.

Their think-tanks, their IDEA people, have also created wedge issues that divide us from OUR base and they have created strategic-intiatives, like tort-reform, who's PRIMARY reason for being is to DRY UP funding for the democratic party. Trial lawyers are BIG contributers to our party, without them the party shrinks from lack of resources and cannot fight for vulnerable citizens or defend against these assaults, much less go on the offense. The secondary results will be the loosening of environmental regulations and consumer protection laws which will INCREASE their OWN funding by limiting the amount of money a person, who has been rightly awarded by a jury of peers, can sue for...these corporations can then go about doing whatever they want with less fear of regulations and they will be able to make doing WRONG an ACCEPTABLE and PLANNED risk.

We need to come up with our own wedge issues, and strategic initiatives, not just to be able to fight the republicans on equal terms like they do...but BECUASE they are OUR PRINCIPLES and VALUES.

they value STRONG DEFENSE...we value a STRONG AMERICA
they value SMALL GOVT...we value EFFECTIVE GOVT
they value LOWER TAXES...we value a BETTER FUTURE
they value FAMILY VALUES...we value MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY
they value FREE MARKETS...we value BROAD PROSPERITY

Fairness, opportunity, hard wark, personal freedom and responsibility these are our values...and we should certainly never, never compromise these CORE beliefs...we should NOT move to the right out of mistaken political pragmatism, but rather we should move the center to us and with hard and smart work, we can...becuase our values are MAIN STREAM american values.

We all understand and passionately cling to our principles, but we have lost the communications game and haven't connected to the masses...and in a way we need to change the way WE think...STOP PUTTING THE RURAL WORKING-POOR DOWN, they know we look down on them so why in the world would the ever vote for us?

we've got SO much to do and so little TIME to do them in...but a huge first step in OUR vision is an investment in IDEAS which come from all of us and our OWN progressive think-tanks.

So...roll up your sleeves and stop the mourning, tomorrow is another day where we can begin to take this country back!

Here are a couple links to progressive foundations and initiatives...please support them morally and with your pocketbooks:

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/

http://www.apolloalliance.org/

peace

[PATRICK]

1. Populism was the right idea

The losing mindset of the current leadership in clear, critical areas demands they step down. I think Dean was only beginning to get it because he was excluded from their box. I don't think any strategy ruminated by Lieberman would ever have any value, do you.

Go ahead and then if there is to be any hope another and real party can form. The disaster there will be as it was for the dean campaign. The old coalition must be drawn along with all its support structure and practical wisdom. But newer politicians.

The USPS would send its managers to Oklahoma and they'd come back addled with the wrong ideas. So too the DLC, spitting back the talent ruined in key ways for the battle ahead, those talents ignorant of their natural gifts being better than the baloney that leeched after them. The DLC "way" is a broad path to destruction, a narrow path to success for some(Bayh). Now the few can be wiped out at will, one by one, the difference between themselves and actual GOP(which, just as phony, rarely exists either) insignificant in political capital.

We have restored the losing pattern of the pseudo populist W J Bryant in all but the rhetorical courage. The cheating of the GOP and its media buried him four times in a row. We have made it insitutional without the despairing excitement of the Dean like Bryant. In the Gilded Age we simply waited for it all to collapse into the great Depression. What would happen this time would be far far far worse than the Great Depression. Don't wait for miracles.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. I already came up with a great wedge issue

especially for the red state West.

Medical marijuana and industrial hemp.

Montana just passed a MMJ initiative 62% to 38% and a couple of years ago the former Repub. legislature and Governor passed an industrial hemp bill.

The Rap? Value added Farm products, sick people in need, (and the true wedge aspects) personal freedom as in doctor/patient and a Farmer knows what crop is right for him/her and States Rights.

We need to claim this wedge issue as our own while Bush and Ashcroft are still raiding little old ladies with cancer who find relief in medical marijuana.

Like any good wedge issue this topic his emotions/values that are bigger and wider than the issue itself.