Democrats may be a populist party, but they don't talk like one.

[The Backlash Cometh]

I'm listening to Terry McCullough, Sharpton and another Democrat on Hardball and I'm asking myself, do I trust their answers? The answer is No. Except for Sharpton, they all talked too fast and what they tried to shove into their sentences was way too complicated for the average person. Also, they didn't answer the question. Are they for illegal immigration or not? I realize that they were stopping Chris Matthews from framing the argument, but still, why couldn't they answer the question?

I've reached the conclusion that Dems need to talk to the Dixie Chicks to find out how to talk in a manner that will connect with the American people. Use humor, and get down to basics. There's a difference between right and wrong. Just explain in simple terms your pov. Feingold, for example, did a great job. The president broke the law. How much simpler can you get?

Once these issues are down to basics, it will be easy to bob and weave. Terry McCullough, for example, missed a great opportunity. Matthews was talking about one of the right-wing's talking points: You don't reward a criminal with amnesty. To which Terry should have responded, then why are they bending over backwards to help the president save face on the wiretapping? Instead, he had hardboiled eyes, spewing out the talking point of the security issue re: the ports issue. It was a talking point he repeated so often on the show, it looked desperate.

[rfranklin]

1. Most Democrats are not Democrats...

They are corporate flunkies who pander to the people and kneel down to the Chamber of Commerce.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. I know our old Guard Dems in Florida are like that.

But Sharpton?

[patrice]

15. Most? Otherwise, you're right.

They're like people who go into the ministry for a job.

[Mythsaje]

2. They need to think faster on their feet...

I do better debating this stuff than they do, and I wonder what's up with that?

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. I'm just horrible at thinking fast on my feet...

but I think that Democratic pundits who are going on these talk shows should recognize when they suck at it and just stop. There is so much talent out there. Why do we keep going for the same faces?

[Mythsaje]

5. I can't figure that out...

Democratic spokespeople seem to have a problem getting a coherant message out--they should take every reasonable opportunity to turn the dialogue around on the questioner. I almost think they buy into the whole "liberal media" meme, and don't realize they're dealing with hostile forces for the most part.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Maybe we should force them to write country music for a month or

two before allowing them to get on Hardball?

[Mythsaje]

11. Or just simply teach them to react to misinformation

with a simple response. "That's a flat-out lie. Repeating lies is beneath you, ________."

[patrice]

6. I often think that explaining things is one of their least well-developed

skills. It wouldn't be hard to improve, their baseline is so low. They need to communicate the way more ordinary people do. They should practice answering "Why . . . ." whatever by prioritizing information more effectively. Sometimes I wonder how bright some of them are.

I like Al Sharpton, but then I also like wonk-speak, so I like Al Gore and some other policy wonk types, such as Howard Dean.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. It's time to do that marketing thingie the Republicans are so good at.

They need to get a group of Dem voters in a room and have them do taste tests. Maybe have them write down what jumps out at them.

[patrice]

13. They don't have enought contact with us! That marketing thingie is a good

idea. They are SO out of touch with Reality.

[GreenArrow]

7. heh heh. . .

the Democrats are not a populist party; they are a status quo party.

[Warpy]

10. I've said for MONTHS that they need to talk to Brian Schweitzer

He's the guy who ran as an in-your-face progressive populist and won the governorship in one of the most heavily GOP states in the country, Montana.

Democrats have the perfect wedge issue that the pubbies have handed them on a silver plate: WAGES. It's obvious there is double digit inflation. It's obvious that nobody is able to save and that most of us go a little deeper in debt every month because our wages are flat while prices skyrocket. It's obvious that the main obstacle to any rise in the minimum wage is the Repuglican Party in Congress. They fight it tooth and nail every single time it comes up.

Shoot, they don't even have to confront the multinational corporations on this issue and complain about offshoring.

This issue was absolutely MADE for the Democratic Party. It needs no nuance. Something like 87% of people in all kinds of polls say the minimum wage needs to be raised a LOT. This is where the CENTER is, folks, not somewhere out in lala land talking about the deficit.

Any Democrat who doesn't campaign on this needs to be defeated because he is a fool.

Why are these idiots avoiding this?

[Mythsaje]

12. Good point! n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Really. If you're going for the common man vote, speak in a common

voice and pick issues that the common man understands: Wages. Excellent.