How to turn red into blue.

[Arkana]

I have a basic idea. Tell me if you think it's good.

Through four years of Bush, we have witnessed the "dumbing" of America. People have been coerced to vote against their own economic interests, they have believed the one-liners churned out by the Bush juggernaut, and they bought the lies of people like the Smear Boat Liars.

What if we started a "counter-campaign?" If the Bush junta wants to dumb down America, I believe that the Democrats could potentially succeed with a smarter America. Push the message that Republicans think their voters are stupid. Nothing pisses off Joe Sixpack more than being called stupid--am I right?

Remember Adlai Stevenson--at a rally in 1952, a woman in the crowd shouted to him, "You have the vote of every thinking person in this country!" Stevenson replied, "That's not enough, madam--we need a majority!"

The basic premise is to push the message that Republicans think their voters are morons, and thus they pander to them with sound bites. We can tell them that they're not stupid, and provide a viable alternative.

This is open to suggestion. What do you think?

[mondo joe]

1. What I think we need are more wedge issues

I don't think your idea is a BAD one - but I think we need something more sharp. I think we need to exploit divisions between the moderates and the far rights.

[xequals]

11. Liberals don't like "wedge issues" and "divisiveness"

Since liberals took full control of the party in 1968, Dems have wanted to appeal to "everyone". That doesn't work in politics. Wedge issues give people a reason to be passionate so they're not only voting for you, they're voting against the other side. Repubs are so riled up because Dems are not just policy makers to them, but the enemy. A party is only successful when it can project a sense of moral clarity, by not being afraid to say what they think is right and wrong, by not being afraid to "demonize" the opposition.

The Dems won't play hardball until some other faction takes power from the liberals. Clinton was tougher because he wasn't a liberal, and it didn't bother him to fight dirty.

[MsTryska]

2. Yes yes yes!

plus we need to trot out those lovely Christian nuggets, like

Republicans are the moneylenders in the temples, the dissolute roman emprie that persecuted jesus and eventually crucified him for being a liberal, and blah blah ad nauseum.

we need to talk about how THEY only care about their Rich friends, and tried to make the public believe it.

that THEY've run a "who are you gonna believe? me or your lying eyes?!" campaign, because they think we're all stupid.

We also need to preface every campaigns season with PAC funded ad, basically busting the campaign tactic bubble before the Repubs start.


"They will lie to you, and try to disgrace their opponent, but don't believe it, they think we're stupid and we will believe it. Look what they did to this long line of Veterans"....somethign really just laying bare the campaign tactics. and then exhort the populace to be vigilant against the manipulation and dirty tricks.

[auburngrad82]

3. "Haves vs Have Nots"

I'm all for turning this into class warfare. We need to get minorities and poor whites to vote. They feel left out and as if they have no say. Unfortunately, they're the ones that are hurt most by Bush's policies.

The income differential between whites and minorities gets worse every year. It was getting better until Reagan came along. Then a brief respite with Big Dog, and now it's getting worse again.

National sales tax would be devistating to the lower income families.

If there is a draft (and I think there will be) minorities and poor whites will be the first ones drafted. Same as Vietnam...

We need to anger minorities and lower income whites so that they will actually vote. If they don't vote they lose. Puff Daddy's motto was very accurate. "Vote or Die."

I'm not above turning this into class warfare. Gimme the power to get the message out and I'll do it. I'll be nastier than Karl Rove if I have to be. Except I'll use the truth rather than lies.

[Arkana]

4. Amen.

They bitch about class warfare--let's give 'em some.

[SoCalDem]

5. Let them stew in their own juices.. After 4 more years of * they will be

ready for change..

[auburngrad82]

6. I'd hate to think what damage they'll do over the next four years.

I really think we need to start now to discredit the GOP as the party of rich, fat white guys that don't give a damn about anyone except themselves. I want people to hate them by 2006 and to despise them by 2008. By 2010 I want them all in jail for fraud.

Can you tell I'm pissed?

[mtnsnake]

7. I agree, mainly because there ARE so many stupid repuke voters, BUT

I'm not so sure if repukes will even want to associate themselves with a "smart" party. I think they enjoy being dumb just because they're too lazy to ever start thinking on their own.

[opstachuck]

8. well, they are morons...

we need to breed more liberals. we should pump chomsky for all his love juice, if there's any left, and start a leftist breeding clinic. just a thought.

[caffefwee]

9. The map is way too red

[hughee99]

10. My state (Massachusetts) is all BLUE!!! n/t

[lawladyprof]

12. Catching more flies

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Just ask yourself what strategy might (note "might") make some of these people see the error of their ways. And remember if we want to teach compassion we have to model. One poster suggested tying memes to scripture. In this case a newspaper ad might include "We are mindful of Jesus's admonition to do good to those who have harmed you. We believe your vote for Bush harmed us but we are genuinely sorry for your troubles and hardship."

"O'h dear, how terrible for you. We were afraid this woud happen to our fellow 'Muricans and that's why we couldn't bring ourselves to vote for Bush. We know how scared you are and how your families will suffer. You voted for Bush but even we on the other side don't want our fellow citizens to suffer from his policies. We really believed his re-election (note no sense getting their backs up over 2000--one battle at a time) would mean this kind of outsourcing. We are sorry for you and your town. We'd really like to help but now we have work so hard now to make sure it doesn't happen to more and more people in our country. Although it would be very small because we are just ordinary people with families and jobs like yours, we would like to help."