How do we connect the republican party to the fringe right?

[vi5]

I was tossing this around in my head this weekend. For some reason, the far left in this country and the democratic party have been linked in the minds of many people in this country. The problem is that many on the far left don't consider themselves democrats (they may vote as such but more often than not over the past 15-20 years the further left you are the more dissapointed you've found yourself with the democratic party. Yet the right has succeeded in portraying the democratic party as being led by the far left (Yeah, right...I wish).

Meanwhile the republican party is run by the religious right in this country. A religious right which a vast majority of americans find offensive and frightening, perhaps even more so than the far left "PC".

The problem is that somehow many people, especially those not political junkies, view the religious right and fringe right as being such a small part of the republican party.

Bottom line, people don't like evangelica radical christian conservatives and they don't like "politically correct" (ugh...) bleeding heart liberals. Yet they see the latter group as running the democratic party, whereas they see the former group as being a lunatic fringe of the republican party and having no power. And the cold hard facts are that it is the exact opposite.

So how do we change this? I think this is one of the most fundamental aspects of what we are facing today but I can't think of any way to change it. Especially with the media the way it is. As long as they continue to portray the parties thusly, I don't see how we ever get beyond it.

And for the record, in case you didn't derive it from my parenthetical insertions and quotations, I don't subscribe to the concept of "politically correct" or bleeding heart liberals. I think these are made up terms to tar and feather the basic compassionate beliefs of the left in this country.

[Jack Rabbit]

1. I don't think we have to

The GOP and the far right have done a good job of it without our help.

[vi5]

16. No, I mean in the minds of the average voter...

I don't think they view the religious right as a force in their lives.

[jdj]

19. My first thought was "buy the media, that's what they did."

I don't know if it's possible without a fair media.

The media disconnects them from the fringe daily, if it weren't for the professional propagandists like Rupert Murdoch and censorship, then the connections would already be made.

I think the only hope is to go after sensationalistic gossipy stories that the public loves and smear them. This sells much better than people hiding cash behind the bible.

[BrainRants]

2. Better question: How do we not? n/t

[cornermouse]

3. Is there a difference?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I've been talking with conservatives

you know, the kind that used to consider themselves Republicans but think things have gone waaaaay too far to the right. I even convinced some of them to vote Kerry this last time. From what these folks tell me, there seems to be less and less room for them under the GOP "big tent". I think as the Repukes become more extreme, more and more of these conservatives will be taking a long hard look at what the Democrats are offering.

[The Doctor.]

6. DING! DING!

That's why I'm here boys and girls.

Well said.

(Now if I can just wake my parents up...)

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

10. DING! DING! #2

That's why I'm here too. I realized the fringe right-wing zealots long before the 2004 election. There is nothing wrong with the Dem message but I think investing in some high power marketing techniques from a NYC firm starting now would be a good idea. Trying to cram your message, along with too many stats, in a limited period of time during a campaign is information overload for the TV generation. IMHO.

[stray cat]

5. We have to get better at packaging the republicans

They sure have given us plenty of ammunition. They don't believe in fiscal responsibility, a middle class, supporting our troops if it costs money or responsible planning for minor details like war.

I don't know what to do about the corporate media?

[drm604]

11. Re: We have to get better at packaging the republicans

Check out DUs "Frame the Debate" group here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=252

The Repubs been controlling the debate and defining the playing field for decades. We have to learn how they do it and how we can counter them and do it ourselves.
Look here:
http://www.demspeak.com/

and here:
http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/

and buy or borrow this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1931498717

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

12. Thank you for the links...

I didn't know this existed on DU and have been asking in the past few days about talking points/quick facts for hot button issues like SS, tort reform, taxes, voting reform, etc. but wasn't able to find it. Thanks. I'll review it to better educate myself.

[American Tragedy]

7. It wouldn't have been hard - but the Democrats didn't even try

This past election cycle was astonishing. Nobody labelled the extremism for what it was, even when it was wildly blatant.

[Taxloss]

8. Just use the same language.

Whenever you refer to the Repubs, don't say "right-wing". Say:

Extreme right

Extremist right

Fundamentalist right

Hard right

Ultra-right

Deep right

... and so on. The beautty of this is that you can combine it with a friendly gesture, just as the RW has: "I have a lot of respect for the Republican party, but since it's been captured by the extreme right ..."

This is best done by word of mouth. Then, when your friend is talking with a friend who shares his beliefs, who he can admit doubts to, he might use the phrase. "Y'know, Bush is great and all, but I worry the party's been captured by the extreme right." And a talking point is born.

[SmartBomb]

9. I'm more interested in how we connect them to a live electric fence. n/t

[catgirl]

13. We need to get real news to them

with the monopoly on MSM, it will be hard to reach
out to anyone. People believe the news and our news
outlets lie. The question should be...how do we fix
this prolem with MSM so we can reach out.

If people saw what was really going on in our
country, through critical media, Bush would be
in jail. Actually he'd still be sitting in a local pub
everyday bragging (to much laughter) that he
is going to be President some day.

[sandnsea]

14. Pull the Liberal Republicans out

We force the "moderate" Republicans out from behind their cover on liberal issues like the environment, abortion rights and gay rights. Make them choose to be identified with the Talibornagains or the Liberal Republicans. Never use the word "moderate", ever again. We reclaim the word "liberal" in the process.

After that, we split the religous vote by showing all the money connections between the Ralph Reed type groups and Bush. Kind of like they just did with Armstrong.

After that, we turn the local working people against the Republican business owner with illegal immigration.

It wouldn't even be hard and we would promote our own Democratic values in the process.

[Just Me]

15. They "beat up" on anyone,...other than themselves,...and profit from it,..

,...by figure or fraud.

They IMPOSE standards they fail to embrace in their own actions.

They EXPECT sacrifice,...while profiteering from others' sacrifice.

They are cold/empty-hearted predators who have NO principles when it comes to their own people. In other words, they would SELL our people to profit.

[Santa Cruz]

17. My humble opinion

is that there is already not only an association but an affiliation. Perhaps the question should be, how do we deprogram the fucking idiots of the Republican Party.

Unless their kids are blown away in this and the next war Bush will start, and unless they themselves aren't blown away by a Terrorist attck, they ain't going to fudge. And even under those extreme circumstances, remember, they are on a crusade and true believers. Scary stuff.

Perhaps there is a trained Doctor out there who could lend some light on Cultists, because that in essence, is was the Republican Party has become.

[Stevepol]

18. What difference does it make how people view the Repubs?

With the voting machines being programmed to elect Repubs, no matter who runs for them, that person will be elected. No matter who runs for the Dems, that person will be defeated. A better question is "How do we get people, Repubs and Dems, to realize that the voting machines are rigged and any voting system is unfair that does not have a means of auditing elections and where audits are not conducted for every election everywhere BY LAW?"