Craig Axford Weekly Campaign Update and Invitation

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Weekly Update: Axford Campaign for Chair



March 24, 2005



Fundraising event set for March 31:



www.axfordforchair.org/#donate



On the road: In my continuing effort to visit as many Utahns as possible during my campaign (and afterward), this week I started out with a visit to St. George. Please let me know if you know some Democrats interested in meeting me between now and May 7. I am eager to hear your concerns and share my ideas with you. Just contact the campaign at this email address.



Share your ideas on internet outreach: In response to my campaign’s plans to expand upon and improve the Utah Democratic Party’s internet outreach efforts, several Democrats from around the state are working with my campaign to develop a new internet outreach plan for our party. Thanks to the work of David VanLandingham of Southern Utah Democrats and others a website has now been established at www.utahdemocratsonline.com to facilitate input from all Utah Democrats regarding what they would like to see our party’s internet outreach efforts include in the future.



Out of the information gathered through your participation, an internet outreach plan will be developed by early May and will be presented to the next executive committee. While my campaign is facilitating this effort, I invite my opponents to share in this discussion. This is about sharing ideas that will make the web a more powerful tool in our toolbox, and all Democrats are invited to participate.



Please visit the Utah Democrats Online at www.utahdemocratsonline.com to read more about this inclusive, grassroots online effort and what the internet outreach team hopes to accomplish. All ideas are welcome.



11 Principles Democrats can use:



As I stated last week, over the course of the remaining weeks of the campaign for state party chair, my weekly updates will focus on 11 principles Democrats can use to retake the initiative in Utah and begin building our party both locally and throughout the state. These 11 points are borrowed, with some minor changes, from George Lakoff’s book “Don’t think of an elephant! Know your values and frame the debate.”



Last week’s update featured the first two principles Democrats can use. This week will focus on items 3 & 4. As always, your feedback is valued and I will do my best to respond to any questions you may have about these points or how I would apply them to building a stronger Democratic Party here in Utah.



3) The truth alone will not set you free: Just speaking truth to power doesn’t work. You need to frame the truths effectively from your perspective.



This should not be construed as advocating the strategy of misleading or lying to voters. Nor is it a simple endorsement of the concept of “spin”.



A classic current example of this principle is the debate surrounding Social Security. Merely giving people the true numbers regarding Social Security to debunk the President’s claims that it is on the verge of “bankruptcy” is not an effective strategy. Here the Democrats are doing an increasingly effective job of expressing their opposition to the President’s plans for “reforming” the Social Security system by talking about the facts using language that reflects our values.



Senator Harry Reid, to take one example, has talked about “gambling” with the Social Security trust fund. In a recent article written by Vice Chair candidate Laura Bonham and myself we replaced the term “privatization” with “corporatization” to better articulate the true consequences of what some within the Republican Party are proposing. By using words like these we can better articulate the truth in a way that will get our message across to voters.



4) You need to speak from your moral perspective at all times. Democratic policies follow from Democratic values. Get clear on your values and use the language of values. Drop the language of policy wonks.



For me this particular point can best be summed up with one simple example. So much of what we as Democrats advocate for, universal health care coverage, Social Security, parental leave policies, a living wage, environmental stewardship, etc. stems from our belief in the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is both a religious and ethical metaphor most people readily understand and agree with, yet how often do we as Democrats talk about our policies and proposals using this classic and nearly universal value as our frame of reference?

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I hope you continue to find this discussion helpful in providing you with an understanding of not only the perspective I would bring to the State Party Chair position, but in outlining a possible new direction for our party. Thank you for taking the time to read this update and please, don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas.



Craig Axford

Candidate for Utah State Democratic Party Chair

www.axfordforchair.org