We "can affect" this election.... we can remove Bush...here's how!

[cthrumatrix]

We take alot of time talking amongst "ourselves" on this board. The objective at this point is "to defeat Bush...period". We are not going to see change unless he is gone.

How do we do that? By engaging other voters... with intelligence everyday. For example, we should have "three reason's" why you won't be voting for Bush this year.

* Make it simple...people can handle three reasons.
* Make them factual.
* And get agreement that they understand.

We can talk about approaches, such as:

* Who party are you leaning towards in '04?
* How do you think Bush is doing?
* etc...


People will ask back...and you have ...I don't trust Bush:

* (examples) Because of the medicare bill and how it will hurt seniors...and the govt will not neotiate with the drug companies like canada...they are not being honest ..again

* I just don't like the "deception" of how the country was decieved on WMD's in Iraq...they had nothing to do with 911...Bush said so.

* reference "bush broken promises" http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/brokenpromises/

* etc...but have three


It's about convincing "others" not to vote for or trust bush. I have found success in sharing that -- there is a repug house and senate.."we need balance" as a country...we need transparency.

With 1000's of DU'ers....talking to a new person each day...and maybe over time changing 20%+ of how people will vote...

We can have an impact...and share our success each day on this board.

What are your thoughts....?

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On edit: we are putting forth alot of energy "calling out" the crooked media. If there is one issue we can get around with the media ...it has to be Black Box Voting and having a verified paper trail. Without this..we have nothing..and without our vote counting..then what is the point.

We should have the media mantra endorse a "verifiable paper trail" for the good of the country !

[rfranklin]

1. "Factual" will not cut it...

The one fact is that facts don't convince most people. That's why the Republicans constantly use smears which are designed to leverage people's fears and prejudices. They have demonized "liberals" even though the majority of Americans are liberal on many issues. They use the race card as a reliable wedge, i.e. "minorities are getting all the jobs through affirmative action and we the white people's party will stop that."

So, we have to figure out what hot buttons can be pushed which make Bush look unacceptable. It ain't gonna be easy because they are going to use the terrorism thing until its ragged--because it works on people's fears.

[cthrumatrix]

3. use what works for you...each person has a "hot button"

like a "conservative" hates Bush's spending and creating a larger govt and larger deficit...that is fiscally irresponsible.

But have more than one point...and share with them the issues the media will not harp on...and at the same time --that person can share without looking like a fool with other repugs

[cthrumatrix]

7. sample "hot button" for vets....Bush cutting benefits

Bush Administration Continues Assault on Veterans
Rep. Peter Defazio
November 5, 2003

snip

In March, House Republicans voted in favor of their budget resolution that cut $14 billion, “B’’ billion dollars, from mandatory veterans benefits over 10 years, including veterans pensions, education and other benefits. That was an hour after we voted to support the troops in Iraq.

Maybe it would have been a better message if we just had not bothered with the words, but had duly voted for the money. But, no, the Republican majority, pushed by President Bush, could not vote for that money, and that budget passed by one vote.

The House Republican budget resolution also cut $14 billion from veterans health care and other discretionary veterans programs. The Republican budget also included the President’s proposal to impose a $250 enrollment fee on our veterans for the free health care that they were promised.

The Republican budget also included the President’s proposal to double the prescription drug copayment from $7 to $15. The President had already raised it from $2 to $7, but, hey, we need money. We have got to send a lot of money over to Iraq, and we cannot ask them to pay any of it back, so we have to double the prescription drug benefit fee for our veterans.


http://www.themeridiannews.com/bushveterans.html

[papau]

14. Only US Media wouldn't laugh at Bush"lousy Econ would be worse w/o tax cut

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html Treasury Secretary Snow will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today and The Note has an exclusive preview of his remarks.
In his prepared remarks, Snow says, "Without the passage of the president's plans, by the second quarter in 2003, the unemployment rate would have been nearly 1 percentage point higher. As many as 1.5 million fewer Americans would be working, and real GDP would have been as much as 2 percent lower."
Snow goes on to say, "What's more, without the president's tax cuts, it is likely that by the end of 2004 the unemployment rate would be as much as 1.6 percentage points higher than it will be. 3 million fewer Americans would be working, and real GDP would be as much as 3.5 to 4 percent lower."
And Snow has this zinger for those who question what Dean has donned the "Bush tax cuts": "Consider this: if the 2001 and 2003 tax relief acts were to expire now, it would raise taxes by an average of $1,544 for 109 million taxpayers in 2003."
"Let me be perfectly clear: failure to make the tax relief permanent would be a huge mistake and would put our recovery in jeopardy."

[bryant69]

2. Yep.

But the tricky part is moving out among people you don't know as well. I think the key is to stay positive--not necesarily about Bush, of course (hard to be positive about him, except insofar as one is positive he's a dimwit), but about America in general. Fear is the Republicans favorite motivator; ours should be hope.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Mortos]

4. Make it a triple threat

This is a great idea and I would like to carry it one step further. I not only engage people every day in conversations about Bush and my candidate (Dean), I also write to the editorial pages and call local AM talk shows. Many Americans are getting very one sided information from these media outlets. One letter I wrote inspired a local conservative talk show host to call me at home and put me on the air for an hour. I then convinced him to give me another hour so I could better prepare. This Friday at 8:00 am in Oklahoma City, a democrat will have control of the airwaves. The liberal media finally arrives. If you are in OKC it will be on KTOK 1000. I encourage all DU members to engage the media every chance you get but I implore you to have facts and figures and articulately state your case. Nothing is worse than an emotional ill informed liberal being torn apart on the air by the conservative hatchet men who host these shows.

[cthrumatrix]

5. do you have a "sript of facts" that you use...that you can share

or anyone else for that matter.

Each week we can work on "content and delivery" and change accordingly to the times.

We can do this team...we can get Bush out of office...voter by voter.


This is "rove's nightmare" a force that is working daily against bush ....the content is there for peoples minds to change.

[grannylib]

6. I'm in; I agree, keeping it simple is best. Sheeple like sound bites and

not having to think too hard.

I think one good topic for this week would be the DoJ investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame's name, Ashcroft finally recusing his sorry self, and Chimpy testily stating that the AG "doesn't brief me" about what is going on...
Um, anyone besides me wonder why??? And why he would admit it, like it's SOP for the AG to be a loose cannon?

[cthrumatrix]

8. I agree...let's post our three for the week (with data) and see how

we do when we share with people.

We need a common approach...a discussion starter

[leftchick]

9. bush* in 2004 = Draft in 2005

I believe the draft issue if bush* is reselected would make a HUGE difference to most voters. There are lots of facts to back that one up too.

[demon67]

10. Simply running against Bush is a losing strategy

We need to be FOR things. Not just against the war, against tax cuts, against Bush, but FOR something.

Hatred of Bush is good and well and justified and it has propelled Dean to prominence and, likely, the nomination. And while that kind of negative energy might motivate some percentage of primary voters, it will not win the votes of those people that ideologically (and geographically) are in the middle. They don't just need a reason to vote against Bush, they need a reason to vote for someone else -- and need to feel comfortable and positive about doing so.

Aren't we the party of ideas? Of forward-thinking solutions? We need to move beyond "Bush is wrong about " and even beyond "Clinton was right about ." We need to present a coherent and compelling vision of a better America. That is what FDR did. That is what JFK did. And, to a lesser extent, that is what Clinton did, too. At the end of the day, people want to feel good about their country and their future. The candidate that makes them feel that way almost always wins.

Some ideas of what to be "for" include:

1. Tax fairness: We want a tax cut for you (ie. 90% of America), not the rich who will just use it to buy another dozen cases of expensive wine and a fifth luxury car.

2. Access to college: Ensure that every child that wants to can afford to attend college.

3. Homeland security: Actually do something about expanding cargo inspections, installing high tech airport screening technology and training bio-terror first-responders.

4. Energy independence: Create a Manhattan project to convert all energy use to cleaner, domestic-based resources within 10-20 years.

Just my two cents.

[cthrumatrix]

12. good points....it's give and take in a discussion...we need focus

everyone reading this thread...if they just shared an "the above ..or thier points"...we would see results

It's needs to be organized..almost like a Dean meet-up for DU's...and handout or review talking points or approaches.

[Silverhair]

11. You left out a couple of things.

ALWAYS be polite to the person you are talking to. Never ever get into a shouting arguement with them. Disagree if you must, but do it respectfully.

NEVER EVER show condecention in your manner. If the person you are talking to picks up, from you manner, that you think you are an enlighten elite and he/she is a sheeple - YOU HAVE LOST.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

13. the "balance" argument works very well

Very appealing to swing voters and independents.