Why keep fighting in SW MO?

[Lady Freedom]

This is a rep. stronghold. But I keep trying to get the word out.Maybe my friend is right! Just forget it! They have more money and supporters. I'll never get ahead! :(

[Nay]

1. Same thing here in Richmond, VA.

All we can do is send $$$ to ACLU, Dem candidates, etc. The people here won't wake up until they are all living in cardboard boxes. And it will still be Clinton's fault.

[JanMichael]

2. But, but, but...

Isn't there an abundance of poverty there??!!

I was born in Arkansas but my mother was from Caruthersville, what happened?

Didn't the sharecroppers almost revolt in the 30's? Well hell yeah they did! My grandfather was one of them. Poor whites, Blacks, and everyone else, took to making a fuss.

A Repuke stronghold? How the fuck did that happen????????

[alfredo]

12. I tell you what happened, the Southern Strategy.

Reagan played the race card very well. The announcement of his 1980 run for president was staged in Philidelphia Mississippi, the scene of the murder of three civil rights activist.

They say Reagan was the King of symbolism.

[JanMichael]

14. But in the 50's-60's Blacks & Whites....

...were being screwd equally. OK, the Blacks got it a bit worse, but my long dead grandfather took it hard from the mega land owners, he died on a leased field.

You know what?

If it were not for the fact that my recent marriage would never exist in SW MO I'd go there and raise HELL.

Oh man...I guess I can take solice that my future battles will be in mill town devastated NC...

[xray s]

3. Keep on fighting!

Why?

Because it bugs them that they are being challenged in their strongholds.

Because you can make a difference in a close election. I know Jean Carnahan lost the last election, but only by 22,000 votes. It is just as important to get the D vote out in an area that votes 30/70 D as it is in areas that vote 70/30 D.

You really want to get them worried? Recruit D precinct committepeople for every precinct in your township. Organize. March in parades. Smile if they boo you, it drives them crazy.

You live in the belly of the beast, so give it heartburn!

And have fun!

:7

[Lady Freedom]

4. Most of the Dems are leaving the area.

I have been trying to get the Dem. idea out ,but its hard when you see the Reps. giving away stuff and you can barely afford paper to make meeting time posters. :( as for parades, not many happen around here. except for vets. and around here if you are a democrat you have no business in a parade that is patriotic.

[xray s]

6. Start by reaching out to other Dems

Just how strong are the R's in your area? 75/25? If a precinct in your area has 400 voters, that means there are 100 D's living in your precinct. See if the state party can help you find them. If you are not a precinct committeeperson, become one, get a voting list and go door to door to meet D voters (I am presuming Missouri voters register by party in primaries). It is easier than trying to get people to meetings, and it will give you a boost talking to others that live by you and share your beliefs (believe me, they are out there). You will be surprised how other D's will react when someone knocks on their door and says "Hi, I am your new Democratic precinct committeeperson" when they haven't seen one before!

I am talking from experience. I live in a heavily R area too.

[Lady Freedom]

8. more like 80/20

:(

[graphixtech]

7. hang in there!

from a KC neighbor. My grandmother (a zealot) lived in Springfield, so I know of what you speak.

Several months back I spoke with a Springfield woman who was looking into starting up a local Springfield indymedia website (see indymedia.org). Both KC and Lawrence have fledgling indymedias, started within this year (kcindymedia.org).

Could be rather like a local oasis.

[rwheeler31]

5. I live in missouri also it is tuff

nt

[MissouriTeacher]

24. I live about 30 minutes north of Kansas City

There are a lot of Republicans up here, mainly the Christian right-sympathizers, but you also occassionally still see the rural Democratic farmer who sees that the Republicans are just out for big business.

My grandmother is one of those. Unfortunately, I think they're a dying breed. :(

[goforit]

9. Those Cristian Righters?........LOL!!!!................

My advice to you is to just let them do their thing!!

You see, the way I see it is, they pour money into W's pockets.
W just pisses it away cause he and his buddies have never been good with the balance sheet. The CR zombies keep giving more and more and more. So they will run out. In the mean time, unemployment is gonna
soar to higher hights and they will be out of work. They will have no more money to give. They will be living in the streets cause
Pat Robertson and Jerry Fawell will have run off with all their money,
and they won't be able to help.
That is plain and simple KARMA!!!!

They are long due for some hard lessons, and they are coming!!!
SW MO will be one sorry A** of an area in about one year.

So stop your worrying and let it roll.......

[msanger]

10. I'm in northern virginia

and in a very democratic area. but the state last went for a democractic president with LBJ -- I think.

But I figure we have to put up a fight wherever we can. Make them play defense all over, and who knows what will happen.

I'm figuring we can win Virginia in 2004 -- if we don't assume we can win, we can't.

Are there any meetup in your area - dean, or kerry, or anybody? If not, why not post one - and see who shows up.

The internet is a great equalizer - it lets you find "fellow travellers" you might not even know about.

[msanger]

11. sign of the devil

I noticed that was your 666 post. Don't let the so called "christian" right find out about that!

just smiling.

[Lady Freedom]

16. hehehe!

Look at me the evil dem. in there mist! Muhahahahaha!

[JanMichael]

13. Where are you in SW MO?

I have an uncle that'll beat doors down with you in the Caruthersville area. Brown Shoe Co. fucked him and thousands of baby boomers over the last 15 years.

[Lady Freedom]

15. Good ol' Joplin, Mo

I also go to the Univerity here.

[jbm]

17. I feel your pain..

I'm in Missouri also,and we do what we can. Here's my little project for the week...and I could use some ideas. This week is the Missouri State Fair. I went thursday night,and one of the first places I headed was the Dem political tent to see what was going on. There were two little old ladies sitting in a practically empty tent. Next door to it,was the repub tent. It was almost identical to the Dem tent EXCEPT (and this almost made me drop my corndog) right outside the tent was a six foot cardboard cut out of a waving,smiling GW Bushie. The average person would walk right by the Dem tent...but it was IMPOSSIBLE to not see old George standing out there. Sooooo....how do I spice up the Dem tent(and I'm open to suggestions on how to remove George). I have an unused DU bumper sticker and I'm going to ask them if I can put it up in their tent somewhere..but beyond that..any suggestions?

[Lady Freedom]

18. Spit ball shooter sale! hehe

Thats a hard one! That is the same trouble I am running into here!
What do you have going in the tent? give me some imput. And what is in the REP tent?

[jbm]

19. LOL..

I bet the Repubs would holler if we let the Dems start shooting stuff at George..but it would be pretty funny. I'm not personally affiliated with the Dem tent in any way..I was just going to go in and ask them if I could put up my DU bumper sticker..and offer to volunteer my services. During presidential election years both political tents are usually full of campaign buttons and literature and little 'give-aways',but except for George,and the people manning the tents,all that was inside were a few pamphlets on Missouri politicians that seemed to be leftover campaign info from last year. Granted,it was opening day,so they may not have had their act together yet,but I know we can do better then that!

[Lady Freedom]

20. Well alot of people will look at that "thing"...

and think it's tacky. That is what the REPs here have to watch out for. They know I'd be all over it! They don't ever want give me an opening. Wish they would!

[TreasonousBastard]

22. I don't know what you're allowed to do...

at a state fair, but I can pretty well guarantee that if you handed out paintball guns to shoot the big Shrub cutout you'll meet some interesting people in short order. And it won't be pretty.

Is there a Democrat held in high esteem in that area? A cardboard cutout and handing out polaroids of people standing with Truman might work. How about T. Roosevelt, with a sign saying he'd be a Democrat today? He would, you know, and ran as a third party candidate against the pro-business Republican party way back when. Anyone else down there you can think of?

Can you run sound? Ike's military industrial complex speech should spank the crap out of the R's next door.

I'd push for guys with Legion or VFW caps standing around volunteering for the Dem tent, if you can find any. Let 'em sell poppies in your tent because the other guys' cut funding.

Perk up the place. Actors, singers, costumes, clowns, gorilla suits... anything you can get away with without pissing off more people than you entertain.

Get some good looking people in there. Yeah, sexist, agist, yadda, yadda... I know, but attractive people works. This is PR and marketing, not policy wonking. Think auto show.

Those attractive people should also be outgoing, not just sitting around in case someone wants a flyer. Again, think trade show-- everybody in there should be ready with a positive pitch and know how to properly buttonhole anyone who slows down and glances at the tent.

As with any marketing or sales effort, the idea is to leave a good impression with as many people as possible. Let them know you're competent at what you're doing and people worth doing business with. the policy or voting pitch is a soft sell, and comes later in the game.

[TreasonousBastard]

21. OK, I saw a few good ideas mentioned here...

but the main thing is not to give up hope, or the fight.

Getting ahead isn't the point. Just staying around as the opposition isn't such a bad thing in some places.

You are, of course, not going to convert many people over to the Democratic party, but you will find issues that resonate with the locals and can persuade them that it's a few Republicans' fault. That's not all that hard to do, but it is a sales job. Getting a few R's to vote D once in a while is a big start.

You mentioned veteran's parades. Vets are your basic garden-variety R's who are becoming seriously pissed at the treament of the military. They're not going to listen to Shrub-bashing, but they will listen to solutions to their concerns, and the local VFW or Legion hall may be the place to go. Ask them what their concerns are, and come up with some answers when you go back.

How many jobs are being lost to India, Ireland, and China? Forget Mexico-- that's one they blame on Clinton. How many local companies don't pay taxes but still don't hire? How many are cutting benefits?

How are the property taxes there? Here in NJ, everything is paid for by property taxes, and they are getting out of hand, in some cases forcing people to move.

Somehow, I suspect Missouri doesn't have all that many environmentalists or rabid civil libertarians, but I could be wrong. Any that you find are ripe for organizing. Libraries are a good place to look for civil liberties types. The American Library Association is butting heads with Washington on a regular basis now, and librarians around the country are seriously pissed.

Find your people and get organized, even if you don't think you're all that organized. Have regular meetings and gettogethers and dig into issues that resonate. Write letters to the editors and oped pieces taht aren't strident or partisan, but identify common issues and solutions.

The pendulum will swing back. Be there when it does.


You can lose your job, your home, your lover, your money, even your life-- but if you lose hope, you are lost.

[John_H]

23. LBJ: If you do everything you can, you'll win.

believe it, and at least you'll have fought which is better than what 99 percent of the people do.