Majority don't even know Republicans control congress?!!

[johnnyrocket]

Holy smokes, its more of an uphill battle than I thought, excellent post by MyDD, on one simple fact: THE REPUBLICANS CONTROL CONGRESS!

Nothing to spin, nothing muddled, nothing to dispute. THATS the Dem's message, pure and simple: Republicans are the majority, apparently most of the public hasn't known that since 1998. God help us all.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/2/7/19510/54245

[Clarkie1]

1. kick. This is important.

[AX10]

2. KICK and recomended

[mrcheerful]

3. I thought that was a well know fact after reading some other forums.

Why do you think so many people are blaming democrats for letting shrub get a free ride for the last 5 years. I'm not talking about hard core freepers or those aware of the political scene, the average dumb american joe that goes to work and then sleeps until its time to go back to work, on week ends they are sitting in bars or sitting at home watching sports. I had one of those swear up and down that John Kerry was a republican. Seriously.

[formernaderite]

17. WELL that's what happens when the public can't tell the parties apart

the DLC and third way dems have blurred the lines for those in the public that don't pay attention. And tney don't pay attention because alot of the differences sound like policy wonk wet dreams. Dump the DLC and give them a populist message that will sound different.

[cali]

4. kick and wow

thanks for posting this. Great piece on mydd. Loved his sample ad.

[Wordie]

5. K&R. That would explain a lot, wouldn't it. eom

[TransitJohn]

6. Kicked and nominated

:dem:

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. Given the amount of policy and process stories covered by our

media, I'm amazed many people still realize we have a legislature. You'd think we were a nation of missing blondes.

[leftstreet]

12. If only the Constitution could go missing on Aruba n/t

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Now that would be a great piece for The Onion.

[rodeodance]

8. maybe that is why it is so difficult to get the message--it is a Repug sca

ndal!!!!!!!!!!????????

[ruggerson]

9. Kick

[Arugula Latte]

10. Oh god I'm so depressed.

:banghead:

Never underestimate the stupidity and ignorance of the America populace.

[fujiyama]

11. Damn!

This misconception and complete ignorance seems to have hurt Dems, especially in '02 (by that time DeLay was firmly in control of the House).

I liked the sample ad.

It cuts straight to the point. This cuts to the core of opposing the repuke agenda and the culture of corruption among pukes.

I hope the DNC is smart and does a little educating in those ads.

[Vickers]

14. Here's a little test you can give your RW dumbass friends:

Q: What does the 4th Amendment say?

A: Um, ah, well....

Q: OK, what color was Monica's dress?

A: BLUE!!!

:eyes:

[Raine]

15. People should know this but

since they don't the Democratic Party needs to keep on and on with this that we are not the party in charge.

I wonder if people EVEN KNOW how the government works?!? :-(

[ribrepin]

18. Never miss an opportunity to point out that the repubs are in charge

We need to do our part too.

It's disappointing, but not surprising. The level of ignorance in this country is mind-bending.

[Independent_Liberal]

16. Der Der Derp!

:)

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. done and kick and recommended --

[AtomicKitten]

20. knowledge is power.

The elections in 2006 and 2008 will require boots on the ground educating the public of all that this administration and the media have either kept from them or distorted.

[BigYawn]

22. I don't think that will do it...

That has been tried already in every democratic convention,
every op-ed piece by our leaders, in front of TV camera's
in committee meetings & investigations, in long winded political
speeches.

Like I said in another post on this thread, we need a SIMPLE,
ONE PAGE DOCUMENT listing what WE WILL DO if elected. As long as
we do not emphasize what WE WILL STRIVE TO ACCOMPLISH, Bush could
be caught having sex with his horse, and still won't win us the
congress.

[AtomicKitten]

23. still it needs to be delivered to the masses.

Lots of people don't really pay attention.

But, I agree, a simple message is best.

[sandnsea]

29. Get around the media

If we don't have a method of getting around the media, it won't matter what we have to say.

[AtomicKitten]

37. very true

From an article I wrote between the 2000 and 2004 elections:
(edited to eliminate link to protect anonymity)

Excerpt:
Now the GOP engages in political assassination by virtue of ridicule and control
of the press. Lazy reporting, pack journalism, and GOP spin dominated the press
during the 2000 presidential campaign and election. The mass media technique
of "distort, distract, and trash" continues to enable the right-wing agenda.

CNN's Reliable Sources August 10, 2002 was a genuine eye-opener. Guest
Josh Marshall, webmaster of Talking Points, stated, "...
I think deep down most reporters just have contempt for Al Gore. I
don't even think it's dislike. It's more like disdain and contempt."
None of the talking heads disagreed. Guest Dana Milbank, White House
reporter for the Washington Post offered, "You know what it is? I think
that Gore is sanctimonious and that's sort of the worst thing in the eyes
of the press. And he has been disliked all along and it was because he
gives a sense that he is better than us ... as reporters."

The coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign was much more aggressive
and adversarial than ever seen before. It was at times blatantly
dishonest. The media practiced trivial "gotcha" journalism carried to the
absurd extreme. Gore was mocked. Press releases were FAX'd directly
from the GOP, and the press just didn't care if any of it was accurate.
Gore was misquoted, and reporters passed it on. Some corrections were
run but in an off-handed way and after the fact.

The media focused on every insignificant misstatement or nuance by Gore
in 2000, while never delving in depth into the background of Bush or
the factual evidence of many of his shortcomings as governor of Texas.
Instead of focusing on the issues, the media focused on Al Gore's
alleged "serial exaggerations" and an armchair psychoanalysis of his
wardrobe. Despite the fact that Gore is the quintessential straight-arrow, the
media convinced more Americans that Bush had more integrity even in the
face of Bush's drunk-driving arrest, his insider-trading at Harken, and
being AWOL from the Texas National Guard from 1971-1973. The criticism
of Gore was so harsh, according to the Weekly Standard, "If Gore walked
on water, people would deride him for not being able to swim."

And now that Al Gore has re-entered the political fray, he continues to
be dogged by the same media that stepped on his presidential campaign
in 2000.

The media did a great disservice to this country. We now are all
paying for their failure to responsibly and ethically do their jobs. The
abusive reporting of Al Gore's campaign began with an incident known as
"Floodgate" and continued on until the most recent incident known as
"Ticketgate." Simply put, the GOP employs a destroy and dash maneuver,
reporting false information, spinning it, and when the truth comes to
light the press has moved on to its next lie.

[BigYawn]

21. Democrats will NEVER win majority in congress until.....

We come up with a simple to understand ONE PAGE document,
similar to contract with America circa 1994. A huge chunk
of our population is too busy, too lazy, and with an
attention span smaller than Bush's IQ.

Forget long winded speeches (why Kerry lost), forget 100 page
party platforms, forget wonkish lengthy op-eds, forget 1 hour
speeches at the party conventions.

Just list 10 items democrats will deliver if elected. And keep
harping on those 10 one liners for 6 months before every election.
That will guarantee a majority and even the WH for us. That's how
the republicans and Newtie did it back in 1994.

[sandnsea]

28. "laundry list"

That's what - universal health care, energy independence, college service program, ending corporate pork, securing loose nukes, international cooperation - was called in 2004. It takes a unified attack on their smear campaigns, and I don't see that happening yet. Some gimmick to copy Newt Gingrich isn't going to work either.

[slide to the left]

33. I agree

I want a 5 point plan. Health care for everyone, Better education, Rebuilding the gulf, Homeland security, transparency in government.

Theses are 5 things that I think all Dems can agree on, why don't we have a clear consistent message? In the age of sound bites, we have to play the game.

Its one thing to try and swim upstream, its quite another to try and swim up a waterfall.

[skids]

24. But, But -- The filibuster was "bad press" for Dems

:eyes:

(not that morons that don't know which party controls congress would realize that a filibuster is done by a minority party.)

[flaminbats]

25. the Republican filibusters in 1993 were bad press..

for the Democrats in Congress. Will our party leaders ever learn?

[radio4progressives]

26. geesus people - better come up with something better than that.

this is incredibly pathetic. omfg

[wiley]

27. All I can say

is I keep telling you so you so. Democrats need to speak one on one with any person they even hope will vote for them. American Idol or Sports analogies will probably work best. Talking about a physical ailment like back pain, alcohol consumption or stock tips works when communicating.

If this were Planet of the Apes, we would be the humans.

[LibertyorDeath]

32. LOL!

"If this were Planet of the Apes, we would be the humans."

[Wilms]

30. K&R n/t

[LibertyorDeath]

31. Ah yes catapult the retardation

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.

[HootieMcBoob]

34. Sweet Merciful Crap!

Republicans seized control of the government by never underestimating the ignorance of the American people. Now that they have control they intend to keep our citizens ignorant and confused. It's the only way they can maintain power.

[trof]

35. The "majority" don't know and don't care.

Amazing and appalling.

[rniel]

36. R Skools are Failin

Peple R Sum Dum Fukers

[tex-wyo-dem]

38. We live in a society that has become...

complacent and lazy when it comes to following politics. Most common people don't like politics and don't grasp the fact that their representative government needs to be watched carefully by the public, otherwise things run amok and their best interests don't get served or get completely scuttled.

[tex-wyo-dem]

39. self delete n/t

[CrispyQ]

40. On Christmas Eve I spoke to three conservatives

who initiated a debate with me when one of them saw my "Visualize Impeachment" bumper sticker. They asked why I didn't support the war. I told them because it was based on lies -- we were not in imminent danger of being nuked. They couldn't refute that. Then I told them that if we are going to take our country to the brink of bankruptcy I would prefer to spend the $5 billion a month on U.S. infrastructure, education & health care for the people. These were not well off people -- they are struggling to pay their bills & get by! They were incredulous that we are spending that kind of money in Iraq & asked if my figures were correct. I told them they were & they should go online & verify it for themselves. They were much more subdued about their pro-war stance after that revelation.



:banghead: