An important distinction to make

[Son of California]

Most Republicans that we bump into on the internet are hard-core cool-aid drinking freepers that will never see the light.
I think this re-enforces a prejudice that is incorrect.
Not all Republican voters are freeper robots. Thinking that way will only have us losing over and over again.
The point is to get people who didn't vote for us last time to vote for us next time...

-There is a way to win these people over without sacrificing our core values as Democrats a la Bush-lite.

Listen, next time when you are ranting, make the distinction: say Republican POLITICIANS, the GOP/Republicans LEADERSHIP. Don't just say Republican - that's painting with a broad brush: to the average listener, that's saying ALL Republicans, right down to every single last voter! and a lot of regular joe Repub voters on the street think you mean that THEY themselves personally are crazy, baby-eating, cold-hearted fascists -or in the very least willing enablers. I don't think any of us think that about EVERY Republican voter and when regular people hear diatribe like that, they shut off and don't listen. That's the last thing we want.
I mean come on! If you did think all Republicans are inherantly evil, you would be just as bad as what you are fighting! Blues are smarter than that!

Don't all of us have at least one really close friend or relative who is Republican? I do, and I know a lot of you do too. Don't we love them just the same? Do we think that they are totally crazy? or do we rather prefer to think that they love their team and have trouble admitting to themselves that their team is fucking up right now?

I live in a really Republican town, and I play the fly on the wall and hear a lot, and let me give you a hint: a lot of those quasi-lower class, workin man Repub voters know that Bush fucked up - a lot are starting to think he lied. They are pissed about the war, really pissed. They feel like the POLITICIANS calling themselves Republicans have on some levels really betrayed them.

Now call me crazy, but I think we can squeeze a lot of Dem votes out of these people if we can learn how to respectfully make the argument that their party is leaving them behind, that we are angry at the Republican POLITICIANS -not them. That we don't think they are stupid or crazy for thinking a little different from us on some issues, but that we as a party value honestly a lot more than the GOP LEADERSHIP.

We have to let them know that we don't think it is inherantly evil to be conservative or Republican. IT TAKES ALL KINDS. We respect and want to protect their freedom to live whatever lifestyle they want, conservative, liberal, whatever. Example: ok, you think abortion is wrong? -great, teach that belief to your kids, talk about it in church, try your best to convince your fellow Americans that you are right -cool,

What we need to do is start using a vocabulary that makes it clear to anyone listening that we are capable of seeing the different between the POLITICIANS and the voters. One of the most effective lines Bush used in 04 was, "You may not always agree with me, but you know where I stand." all the fuck-the-Bush-lite aside -this is a very effective method -why aren't we telling Republican voters, "Ok, we disagree on some stuff, but we didn't lie to you about the war, we didn't gut the surplus -It was those assholes who lied to you and said they were Republicans when they really weren't, they betrayed US."

Infact, refer to yourself and them together as "US" as much as possible. Say things like, "WE ARE ALL AMERICANS -WE DISAGREE ON THE TECHNICALITIES, BUT IN THE END, WE ALL WANT OUR COUNTRY TO BE THE BEST IT CAN." Use the word "THEM" when you are talking about Republican POLITICIANS.

make it ever more clear that We are angry Bush BECAUSE HE LIED TO ALL OF US, NOT BECAUSE HE IS A REPUBLICAN.

Don't let the freepers fool you into being arrogant and self-righteous and treating people like morons for disagreeing with you -WE ARE ALL JUST PEOPLE, and the more that our words reflect that, the more Repub voters we will cherry pick in the coming elections.