***How the Democratic Party Can WIN Again...***

[Totally Committed]

Finally, we have a Party Chairman who is talking about things like poverty and class and loss of hope! Finally!

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=52955

The national dialogue that needs to happen about these issues will never happen under the Neo-Con government. It's all about wealth, wealth for corporations, wealth for white Christians, wealth at the expense of everyone else... money, money, money, and more money for them and all their special interests. Money, and the complete annihilation of The Democratic Party.

So, it is crunch time for us here in the Democratic Party.... They have beaten us to the ground, and "leaders" we elected have allowed it. How can we rise up, and WIN again? Talking about the things Howard Dean talks about here in this speech is a really good start, but to WIN, they need to be taken further.

As a Party, if we can appeal to people on a human level, and talk to them about their children, their children's education, their communities, their aspirations, the hopes and dreams they have for their children as they grow up... these are the things the Democratic Party needs to be talking about with people, face-to-face. This is where the Democratic Party differs in light-years from the Bush Administration. We care about things like poverty and class. We care that children are being under-educated, under-nourished, and under-protected. We care about hopelessness, and loss of the American Dream. WE CARE.

The talk about corporatism, frankly, is a huge turn-off when there are those among us who can't feed our families. The talk about special interests if an utter abomination when our children's schools are falling apart. The talk about "playing nicely with the Republicans" is highly offensive when there are so many of us without a voice, or anyone who cares so much about what is happening to the poorest of the poor that they will stand up, with no thought at all about their political viability, and scream "ENOUGH!" at these monsters.

We have been heeding the siren call of Corporatism for so long, we have forgotten the "little guy", and all the hopes and dreams that have disappeared while we've been trying to win elections again the Republicans by becoming more like them. Unfeeling, uncaring, greedy, and without compassion. We will never win another election in this country if we try to be MORE LIKE the greedy, corporate-mongering, I'm-in-this-for-me Republicans. I know it is a temptation for the Democrats who, under Bill Clinton, saw their families do well, and could invest, and buy bigger and better homes, and bigger cars to want to hold onto as much of that affluence as possible. But, to do it so cynically, and on the backs of those who are so poor, and with out safety nets. Let's be honest, the loss of those safety nets started in 1996 with Bill Clinton's Welfare Reform... a program which works only (and, even then, not very well) if there are decent, well-paying jobs for people to move from Welfare into in the first place. Under Bush, these jobs have disappeared. There have been tax cuts for the rich, but no raise in the minimum wage. There has been a massive move to out-source even middle-class jobs to Asia and elsewhere, and there were still Democrats in the House who voted for CAFTA. We have lost our way. We truly have lost our way.

The Republicans have a secret to winning elections (no, it's not Karl Rove) -- they never forget who their base is, and their "appeal" to this base is unwavering. We need to get back to taking care of our "base" -- our true base. Where have we been, as a Party, for the poor? Where have we been, as a Party, for the African-American Community? Have we done enough for the other ethnic groups who struggle here in this country every day? And, what about our Native Americans? Have we stepped up to the plate in any real way at all for Gays and Lesbians? have we given up completely on the Reproductive Rights of Women? All of these groups, righteously, feel The Democratic Party has abandoned them. So, this is a way in which we should mimic the Republicans. By embracing our base, and talking to them as human beings, we can begin to win back those who have left us in disgust and hopelessness.

We need to return to the issues and ideals that made us different from the Republicans in the first place. Poverty has no place in a country that is home to seven out of the ten richest people in the world.. the wealthiest of the wealthy. The dominance of one religion has no place in a country that was founded on religious freedom. The absense of real science has no place in a society that was the first to put a man on the moon, that "cured" Polio, and still has cancer and AIDS to "cure". The absense of universal healthcare has no place in a society where the best healthcare in the world is available, and where such wealth and riches abound -- no industrialized country with the wealth of this country neglects its citizens as we do -- healthcare should be universal in America. All children should be equally educated, well-nourished, equally safe, decently housed, and cherished... talk to me about abolishing Affirmative Action only when the playing field has truly been leveled for all. When we embrace our base again, when we let them know we have not forgotten them, when we prove we have returned to take them by the hand, and walk with them to a better life, then, and only then will we have returned to where we started.

When we become Democrats again -- REAL, MOUTHY, COURAGEOUS, IN-THEIR-FACES-AND-POLITENESS-BE-DAMNED DEMOCRATS -- we will start to win elections again. Why should we be polite and play nice with an adversary who is intent on destroying us? Resist ANYONE who tells you to turn the other cheek at this point. My friends, there are no more cheeks to be turned, so it's time to get bloody if we must. If a foreign army invaded our neighborhoods, and was marching down the street hurting our children, tearing down the churches where we saw fit to worship, abusing women's rights, outlawing lifestyles not compatible with theirs, and killing poor people whose faces were not white, wouldn't we -- even those of us who are true pacifists -- take up weapons and fight to the death against such an enemy, and such tyranny? I say we would. And, as melodramatic as you may think that sounds -- that is the truth of what is happening RIGHT NOW to our Party, and our country. We will win against this "enemy" only if they are seen as such, and treated accordingly.

We will win when we are DEMOCRATS again. We will win when we stand up for ourselves, what is right, and the least fortunate of our brothers and sisters. We will not win if we continue to engage them in the boardrooms of the large corporations. We will not win if we try to challenge them only on the stock exchange. We will not win if we continue to elect those who tell us we can only win if we are MORE LIKE the Republicans. When you hear that, if you're first thought isn't "BULLSHIT!", you haven't been paying attention.

TC

[StayOutTheBushes]

1. Plus, he has proven that he can generate the votes!

[OneBlueSky]

2. the theme of the campaign should be that . . .

the Bush administration is a disaster . . . people will understand, without any elaboration . . .

[Totally Committed]

4. Would those would be the same people who crossed Party Lines

to vote for Bush in record numbers?

Or would they be the people who are so tired after working three jobs they just want to zone out in fron tof the tv instead of staying informed about Bush?

Or would those be the people so beaten down andd hopeless that they don't even vote anymore?

Or would those be the people who feel the Democrats don't stand for anything because they have stood for NOTHING for so long?

Or, maybe, you mean the people who are tired of seeing this Party vote against their interests for so long they couldn't be bothered any longer?

WAKE UP... AMERICA NEEDS TO HEAR A MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATS -- CLEAR, AND UNWAIVERING ABOUT WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT, BETTER, AND CARE MORE THAN THE OTHER SIDE.

THE ABSENSE OF A MESSAGE IS NO MESSAGE AT ALL.

TC

[Armstead]

3. The "base" can and should be expanded

I agree with what you say. I would point out one thing though.

One of the big fallicies that has been perpetuated over the last 30 years is that the intreests of the poor and other "special interest groups" is contrary to those of the middle and working class. It has diveded and conquered the majority of the population.

But the interests of a middle manager and blue-collar worker are the same as the poor and minorities, when confronted with the ugly reality of concentrated wealth and power.

The right-wing and status-quo Corporatist Conservative ethic that too many Democrats have also embraced created the illusion that giving more monmey and power to a few will benefit everyone.

"Fighting poverty" also means "preventing poverty" which is something that more and more American are starting to learn the hard way.

[Totally Committed]

5. When you say:

One of the big fallicies that has been perpetuated over the last 30 years is that the intreests of the poor and other "special interest groups" is contrary to those of the middle and working class. It has diveded and conquered the majority of the population.

It is seen as a fallacy only if it is treated as such. The removal of safety nets for the poor, and the abandonment of the true ideals of the middle class is what has divided us. We need to be able to show we are for a society where a middle class can flourish while ALL CITIZENS have what they need to have a better life.

Why is that so hard for so many to understand?

Currently there are several threads on this board about Karen Hughes' appointment as head of the Depratment of Diplomacy. We readily ridicule Bush's speech in which he speaks about her compassion. We are perfectly prepared to do that, and then come to a thread like this and speak with none of our own.

This is where we are at right now as a Party, as a peaople, and as a society. It's always someone else who should be more compassionate, and give a shit. We have become smug in our righteousness. Maybe we just haven't lost ENOUGH yet.

TC

[Armstead]

10. The diference of interests is a fallacy

The GOP right wing and the Corporatists have successfully gutted the entire system of public services and safety net and economic protections by creating a phony difference between social compassion and personal self-interest.

But, altruism aside, they are one and the same in the big picture. IMO the Democrats need to stop buying into that false dichotomy, and instead come out stroingly for the basic principle that "We all do better when everyone does better."

A loss of real opportunity to either support yourself with a job or start and maintain a business due to concentrations of wealth and power is an issue for both the middle class and for the poor.

The inability to afford healthcare is an issue for families with jobs struggling with high bills as well as for poor families who can't afford any coverage. It's especially problematic for those in-between, who are not officially eligible for public benefits but still cannot get insurane.

As Katrina demonstrated, the loss of a safety net can be catstrophic for people in the middle as well as the poor when an individual or mass calamity occurs.

[kentuck]

6. First of all, it shouldn't be about the Democratic Party...

It should be about America. If it is only about the Democrats, we will lose.

[Totally Committed]

7. I'm saying, obviously not well...

Is that we need to speak to ALL AMERICANS about who and what we are as a Party.

Of course we'll lose if we don't. But, we will win if we do. WE need to tell people we are a Party that can and will care about them and their families. We are a Party that will make them safe again. We are a Party that will give them hope again.

Did I just write a bad essay, or is everyone finding this so painful, they are refusing to understand?

I'll go back and re-read. But, I stand by the overriding message of the OP.

TC

[kentuck]

8. You said it well...

I was trying to validate your comments....not so well. :)

[Totally Committed]

9. Thanks, kentuck...

YOu are a sweet soul for setting that straight. :)

TC