As the opposition Party, we need to learn to demagogue.

[unfrigginreal]

See this thread about a provision in the omnibus spending bill to allocate funds to buy back the Presidential Yacht.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1378096

It's a meaningless little provision in the bill and won't make a hill of beans one way or the other, but if this were a Democratic controlled Congress the puke congresscritters and talking heads would be all over this like stink on shit.

Our folks are too damned sensible and we miss many opportunities because of it. Every Democrat with a microphone should be screaming bloody murder about this given the state of our finances. Christ I wish our party would get a clue.

[mhr]

1. Agreed - But With No Megaphone It Would Be Like Pissing In The Wind

The true problem we face is that the mighty Wurlitzer of public opinion making has been wrested from our grasp. Without a media engine who are we going to call?

[VivaKerry]

5. Then the first step, logically, is to take out the media

first, we should stop calling them "the media". That's a minomer. It reduces the sense of responsibility that they have. It also distances them, linguistically, from that 'free press' part of the constitution. We need to call them THE PRESS. Media is the manner of delivery: cd, album, paper, tv, radio.

second, we need to put them out of business. Force them to be accountable.

I see our battle as needing to go after two things DIRECTLY:

1. the press.
2. the corporations.

And to stop pandering and whining and crying to the Congress. They are all whores in DC. They are polluted beyond repair. Take away the govt's megaphone and take away the govts funding. These politicians have only ONE goal: to stay in office and reap all those benefits.

[mhr]

8. Agree Completely - I And Others Have Tried To Organize Efforts

Focused on these tasks and others. The problem is that not enough "worker bees" are intersted in putting in the time and effort to make a difference.

If you have tangible suggestions that can be applied at the local level, let me know.

[VivaKerry]

12. I will keep you posted.

We are our worst enemies (in the best possible sense). Our nature of fighting for diversity creates a crowd not easily organized.

All I can say is, we need a cohesive, national movement. and that's against our natures. Frustrating. Oh, and the idea that we are not ONE ISSUE people like the 'moralists'.

It is my hope that someday our country will develop a collective conscience. But I fear that the majority will have to truly suffer before they take the time to read and think about the constitution as a living document that needs to be safeguarded.

Bread and circuses worked wonderfully here in the usa. Boy will we pay for this.

[VivaKerry]

17. Try this

Here is a link to an organization (it's like two people in Bozeman, MT) but they have the most cogent explanation of corporatism as well as a good handle on what needs to be undone in order to reduce the rise of corporatism. Might be beneficial for you to take a looks-see, maybe there are some ideas there. IMO, if we can remove corporate personhood, we would have a chance of having a country that actually stood for social justice with action.

www.reclaimdemocracy.org

If we could get people in all states talking about what reclaim democracy is talking about and getting that as part of our local, then national, conversation, perhaps people would start to wake up and see things as they are. One small example: all of our sports stadiums today are named after corporations. That is SICK. When I grew up, you named public venues after honored citizens... citizens who contributed to society. It's a small example, but it is representative of a very serious and demented societal value.

[mhr]

21. To Add To This Effort And The Effort Of Others

I would direct you the work of Thom Hartmann.

Corporatism is his main issue.

He has an excellent Internet radio show that can be found here:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/show.shtml

The best of his shows are archived here:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/archives.htm

He has also written an excellent book about the topic called Unequal protection:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/unequalprotection.shtml

Keep up the fight.

[Cadence]

22. Didn't Clinton sign a Bill in 1996

that deregulated the press? Anyone know? I heard someone say the other day they wished Clinton hadn't signed that bill because ever since then the media has gone steadily downhill.

If he did maybe that's where we need to start. A bill to change that again.

[mhr]

23. Actually, Reagan Deregulated The Press In The Mid 80s

by abolishing the fairness doctrine.

Clinton signed the Telecommunications Reform Act - a different beast entirely.

[Cadence]

24. Ok so the one Clinton signed

was just letting companies own as many television stations as they want that type of thing and deregulating cable rates? I wondered wtf? Not that I can't criticize a democrat it just seemed a very unClinton thing to do to sign a bill affecting free press.

But Reagan abolishing the fairness doctrine is the one we would need to focus on. REestablishing or introducing a bill that would give us back the provisions of the fairness doctrine.

[mhr]

25. With A Republican Hegemony In The Congress That Will Never Happen

It is good thought though.

I think that we all need to understand that "traditional" methods of petitioning the government will no longer work under the current regime.

We control virtually nothing.

That is just the way it is folks.

[Cadence]

18. Agreed.

What used to be the "press" has now largely become talk shows. I saw results for a study done last year (can't remember the group but it will come to me) said that last year only 14% of reporting done by the "media" was actual unbiased investigative journalism. The rest was done with opinion interjected in the form of talking points type programming.

I agree it's no longer a "free press" but a consumer driven corporation. So the only way you influence that is by affecting consumption or increasing demand for a different "product" maybe we need to start enforce demanding what we want.

If you control information you control the world. A free press is absolutely vital for democracy to work.

[VivaKerry]

19. Agreed.

Maybe let the talking boxes talk, talk, talk, but demand and work for a FREE PRESS. Educate our countrymen on the fact that there IS no press in this country, free or otherwise. Just talking boxes.

[VivaKerry]

2. When was it that Tom Brokaw stopped his Fleecing of America series?

About the end of clinton's reign?

[joelogan]

3. that is just more partisan hackery

demogogue using economic populism aimed at all working class people regardless of race or gender. Leave the partisan hackery alone. Sell the people on the progressive populist economic agenda. Focus on issues, not people, not campaigns, not politicians.

[unfrigginreal]

4. The demagoguing is part of the salesmanship

How do you think the pukes got in the position they're in today?

[dmac]

6. I agree - there are negative connotations

associated with demagoguery. Protest it but do not invest in demagogue tactics - that would lower us to their level (I believe this is what they do).

[joelogan]

11. that is not what i meant. Demagogue is good, when it is IDEOLOGICAL

But the topic post above is really just attack politics focusing on some particular politician.

That is all the Democrats. The Rightwing OTOH tooks decades to build a paradigm, a worldview to support their issues, and it is centered about low income taxes for upper income earners. That is the OPPOSITE of economic populism, such as is practiced in European countries such as Sweden, Norway, etc.

If the Democrats want to OPPOSE the Republicans, and take them on with respect to the core of the rightwing platform--low income taxes for the upper income earners.

Develop a worldview, a paradigm that OPPOSES the rightwing platform centerpiece. But the Dems choose to focus on partisan hackery. I suppose they do that because they agree with the centerpiece of the GOP paradigm. THey are not an opposition party. They are a stalking horse for the Rightwing, a part of the Rightwing, at least where it counts the most.

[IndianaGreen]

7. "Demagogue," as in shooting a couple of Canada geese in order...

to make people think the candidate supports gun rights? That worked very well, didn't it?

[unfrigginreal]

10. As I understand it, that little show actually helped Kerry

even though the clueless beltway crowd panned it. If you don't believe that marketing is part of campaigning in this day and age then you'll always find yourself on the losing end of the battle.

[VivaKerry]

14. And going on a hunting photo op on ONE DAY

is a whole hell of a lot different than using FEAR as your entire platform.

[IndianaGreen]

28. I saw a photoshop pic of Kerry carrying Daffy Duck

For my part, I found it odd that Kerry did not carry his kill, as did many hunters. I don't believe that anyone was fooled by that stunt.

Kerry Hunts for Votes, Bags Goose in Molnar's Cornfield
Oct 21, 2004 1:35 a.m.

The actual hunt was off-limits to the news media -- too much noise would scare off the geese, reporters were told -- but Kerry and his hunting party walked past reporters and photographers when they returned from the cornfield around 9 a.m.

Kerry announced that everyone in his hunting party killed a goose but he didn’t carry his back. Someone else did “because it was too heavy, and I was too lazy,” he joked.

Kerry was accompanied by U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio 6th), who told newspaper pool reporter David Skolnick of The Vindicator that he never hunted geese before, and hadn’t hunted any kind of animal for 30 years.

http://www.business-journal.com/archives/20041021KerryHunts.asp

[VivaKerry]

9. In college, I took a poli sci test: 1 question: define demagogue

I must not have read that part of the chapter or something. Anyhow, I had no earthly idea what a demagogue was. So I made something up. Oh boy was I wrong. I put something about it being benevolent. Can't remember which. I felt like the biggest dunce in the class as we went over the test answers.

And, now, as an american, i feel like the biggest dunce in the world. We are HAILING demogogues. such irony.

Everytime I hear/see the word, I cringe at my ignorance.

[unfrigginreal]

16. I'm probably using the word incorrectly here as well but

it was the short and sweet way to make the point that we need to use opportunities that the pukes hand us. Instead of taking the sensible position that $2million won't make a damn bit of difference, we should be making the point that the pukes are carelessly spending our money for perks.

[VivaKerry]

20. There ya go. You are right.

I think you are using the word correctly. Appeal to the passions/emotions of the people: well, pointing out the citizenry is being ROBBED appeals to my emotions!

[Gman]

13. EXACTLY!

When we get the cajones to start taking the fight to them we will start winning and not until then.

[VivaKerry]

15. OMG... the pic on your sig line is HILARIOUS!

I needed that laugh.

On edit, I had to come back just to see that pic. LMAO!

[Gman]

26. If you think this pic's funny... check this out:

http://www.liegirls.com/flash.html

[mhr]

27. Now, That Is Scary! Very Scary!

eom

[Democat]

29. Elected Democrats stand up and fight, you have to kidding!

Maybe the next generation will be better - try again in 30 years. :(