Message, Money and Manpower: a Game Plan for the 2nd Half

[trillian]

Cross posted from dkos where Eric is live blogging right now.

Message, Money and Manpower: a Game Plan for the Second Half

Massa for Congress

Poll after poll gives Democrats a big lead in the generic ballot and some polls give big leads using actual candidates. (link) But these only measure potential. Election Day is still far away and a lot could happen between now and November. Consider this to be election year half-time and this diary to be a game plan for the second half. Let’s talk about three M’s: Message, Money and Manpower.

Message

Republicans and their allies insist on conflating National Security and Iraq and making that the center of this campaign. There have been few times in my life where I have been more sickened by the politics of our media than I was this week. While all Americans breathed a tense sigh of gratitude towards our British cousins and their success in thwarting what may have been a massive terrorist assault against American and British airliners, the mass media was busy cranking out such vitriolic right wing nonsense that even I could no longer watch their assaults on fellow Americans.

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When I saw that the President actually preceded the announcement of the unsuccessful attack with an attack of his own against his political opposition here in the United States, I saw a national leader place partisan politics over the good of the nation. We can no longer in good faith trust anything that President Bush says because his every word is scripted and contrived for political purposes. In this case the political purpose was to justify his failed foreign policy in Iraq.

Let it be stated very clearly, the thwarting of the bomb attempt in London came about with absolutely no positive input from the operations in Iraq whatsoever. And to justify the further entrenchment of our military forces in Baghdad because the British civil authorities were successful in stopping what seems to be a mostly Pakistani terrorist attack is to conflate two totally non-connected issues and events. In fact, some would state that by building massive permanent bases and by keeping over
100,000 combat troops in Iraq we are stoking the very fires that we are trying to extinguish.


Does anyone really believe that we are going to catch every determined group of terrorists over the next 10 years of military occupation in Iraq? How can we possibly believe that through a single focus of military force we can be successful in changing the very course of the entire Muslim world? And trust me; I’m not advocating a global group hug. Rather, I believe that we must combine a robust military capability with the full and total weight of the combined capabilities of our entire national effort.

That means diplomatic, cultural, economic and military force. We must address, now, the root causes for the thousands and growing numbers of young militant Islamic men who stand to attack us for what they perceive as being the very evil of world. Funded by our continued purchases of Arab oil, mostly Saudi, thousands of schools teach hatred to the very young, saying that what we are systematically assaulting in Iraq is Islam itself. In some nations that claim to be our allies hundreds of thousands of new terrorists are being created. Our insistence on refusing to address the very energy needs that are fueling the tyrannical royal regimes is building the Armies that are raging against us. And yet our President attacks patriotic men and women who disagree with his policies in Iraq because the British were successful in stopping a bomb attack.

I am pleased to see that the Democratic Party has responded with sound statements (link) and an excellent weekly radio address from Senator Mark Pryor. I agree with Markos that General Clark has set the standard on National Security (link):

You see, despite what Joe Lieberman believes, invading Iraq and diverting our attention away from Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden is not being strong on national security. Blind allegiance to George W. Bush and his failed "stay the course" strategy is not being strong on national security. And no, Senator Lieberman, no matter how you demonize your opponents, there is no "antisecurity wing" of the Democratic Party

The Iraq War is not our only issue. We need to talk about health care and economics, energy independence, and a host of other issues that are worse now than when George Bush entered office. Here is a good place to get informed on economic issues. Here is a piece published today in one of the local papers with my basic overall message.


Money

So our main message for the second half has been identified. But there are two other things that we have to focus on: Money and Manpower. Steve Jarding stated the money issue clearly in a diary endorsed by General Clark in the comments (link):

But Jim Webb won't beat George Allen unless he has the financial wherewithal to do so.

I will just say that the same applies to every race. We have done well, on the whole, money-wise. But there are lots of races that are currently in the toss-up columns of many analysts, that can be won if candidates are given the financial wherewithal. We’re currently running an Internet Fundraising Drive, Blast Kuhl Out of the Water; please help by firing an electronic cannonball at the Republicans

Manpower

Sometimes campaigns that are out-funded can win by getting boots on the ground and a good GOTV effort. Tracy Joan recently called for everyone to plan to take off to help local GOTV. (link) I will go further and ask you to spend as much time as you can between now and Election Day helping a candidate near you. Or come to NY29!! It’s a beautiful part of the country and one where you can forget, if only for a moment, the seriousness of the campaign. Here is my link for volunteers. Here is a post by Markos with other donation links. Please donate to the candidate of your choice.

Conclusion
The world has truly turned upside down and not until we are successful in putting a new majority in the House of Representatives will anything change. The mandate is clear, the cause is just and the need is urgent. For the love of all that is actually American, get involved!!! Get your friends and family involved and donate time and/or money in campaigns where we can make a difference