Nancy Skinner gets it, and she gets it in a big way. Whenever I hear people say that partisan name-calling is inappropriate, I am always taken aback. "The Republicans always call us on the left commies, weak on defense, pro-Saddam" I want to say, "so what's wrong with hitting back."
Nancy points out that if we hammer home on just those kinds of points, we can put the republicans on the defensive. then, IN LOCKSTEP, we must repeat the allegations. Someone criticized me for this earlier, and I retorted "Why is it OK when Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh do it?"
As Skinner writes, "This is the bludgeon with which to hammer the conservatives into submission:
“The Republicans betrayed our troops in order to enrich themselves. What could be more unpatriotic?”
The lone GOP defense of Bush’s indefensible policies is to insist that anyone who dissents is a traitor. Until the Democrats claim the high moral ground on patriotism, liberals in this country will continue to be marginalized. The medical benefits/tax cuts issue can be used to reverse the momentum of the national dialogue by forcing a long overdue discussion about the true meaning of patriotism." "A bruising confrontation with the right wing on behalf of our military personnel will lead seamlessly into what should be the overriding theme of the Democratic campaign in 2004: whose interests does the government exist to serve? The allegation that Republicans have harmed the troops for personal gain is a viable charge because it taps into the widespread perception that conservatives lack compassion. Once the public understands what the GOP has done to war veterans, that knowledge can be used as a credible link to more conventional issues that will expose to voters the true nature of Republican governance:
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to our children on education…”
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to the elderly on health care…”
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to the middle class on taxes...”
Repetition is the key. Democrats must constantly reinforce the message that Republican politicians are helping themselves at the expense of everyone else. The theme must be ruthlessly pounded home: “If they are so immoral that they steal from our heroes, what makes you think they aren’t stealing from you? Here is the evidence that they are.”
We should take it all away from them. The patriotism issue. The morality issue. The fiscal responsibility issue. They never should have owned these issues, and now the average citizen can be shown which priority was really at the top of the Republican agenda in 2003: sending our kids off to die while picking their pockets.
The Democratic Party should be scouring the countryside for evidence of veterans who are suffering as a result of the vile actions of the GOP. It should be collecting factual and anecdotal ammunition to be used in emotionally powerful commercials that will enlighten voters to the nefarious behavior of the heartless bastards who have a hammerlock on the federal government."
God, I wish in lived in Illinois so I could vote for this woman.
Nancy points out that if we hammer home on just those kinds of points, we can put the republicans on the defensive. then, IN LOCKSTEP, we must repeat the allegations. Someone criticized me for this earlier, and I retorted "Why is it OK when Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh do it?"
As Skinner writes, "This is the bludgeon with which to hammer the conservatives into submission:
“The Republicans betrayed our troops in order to enrich themselves. What could be more unpatriotic?”
The lone GOP defense of Bush’s indefensible policies is to insist that anyone who dissents is a traitor. Until the Democrats claim the high moral ground on patriotism, liberals in this country will continue to be marginalized. The medical benefits/tax cuts issue can be used to reverse the momentum of the national dialogue by forcing a long overdue discussion about the true meaning of patriotism." "A bruising confrontation with the right wing on behalf of our military personnel will lead seamlessly into what should be the overriding theme of the Democratic campaign in 2004: whose interests does the government exist to serve? The allegation that Republicans have harmed the troops for personal gain is a viable charge because it taps into the widespread perception that conservatives lack compassion. Once the public understands what the GOP has done to war veterans, that knowledge can be used as a credible link to more conventional issues that will expose to voters the true nature of Republican governance:
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to our children on education…”
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to the elderly on health care…”
“Just as the Republicans have stabbed our heroes in the back in order to enrich themselves, they have done the same thing to the middle class on taxes...”
Repetition is the key. Democrats must constantly reinforce the message that Republican politicians are helping themselves at the expense of everyone else. The theme must be ruthlessly pounded home: “If they are so immoral that they steal from our heroes, what makes you think they aren’t stealing from you? Here is the evidence that they are.”
We should take it all away from them. The patriotism issue. The morality issue. The fiscal responsibility issue. They never should have owned these issues, and now the average citizen can be shown which priority was really at the top of the Republican agenda in 2003: sending our kids off to die while picking their pockets.
The Democratic Party should be scouring the countryside for evidence of veterans who are suffering as a result of the vile actions of the GOP. It should be collecting factual and anecdotal ammunition to be used in emotionally powerful commercials that will enlighten voters to the nefarious behavior of the heartless bastards who have a hammerlock on the federal government."
God, I wish in lived in Illinois so I could vote for this woman.
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