Republicans plan on demonizing and calling names once again.

[kentuck]

How should the Democrats handle it? Get angry and call names back at them? Smile and shrug it off as just the strategy of desperate politicians? Of course, this is nothing new. They did it with Kerry the last election - with the "Swift Boat" episodes.

Where do the Republicans go this time? They are already resorting to name-calling, such as "defeatocrats" and "cut and runners". Newt Gingrich referred to the "San Francisco Democrats" the other day, a clear reference to homosexuals and immoral lifestyles. What's next?

Will it work this time for the Republicans. It seems that the people are fed up. In the immortal words of Newt Gingrich himself, they have had enough. It's not even about Party affiliation anymore. It's about what the Republicans have done to our country.

[muntrv]

1. Call the repukes "incompetents." That label describes shrub.

[silverweb]

5. Call them out on the name calling.

Ask them if they're all back in junior high school again and then laugh at them.

[liberaldemocrat7]

9. Call their party the REPUBLIKLAN Party

Call their party the REPUBLIKLAN Party.

"The party of Lincoln turned into the party of George LINCOLN Rockwell."

[silverweb]

14. Better yet...

See Harry Truman's answer:

The recent controversy over the Republicans’ attempt to label the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party" has a precedent.

After he left the presidency, Harry S. Truman was asked by newsman and friend Randall Jessee what he thought about the Republican National Committee’s efforts to rebrand the Democrats in this way. The former president replied:, "Well, I think that’s all right, under one condition: If they’ll make a trade with us and let us call the Republican Party the Publican Party."

He then made a comment about how in the Bible the publicans and big-money boys didn’t come off too well.

Earlier, in the 1948 campaign, Truman referred to the Republican Party as "the party of special privilege" and one that tried to hide the truth about itself from the American people. To those who might doubt that, he assured them: "The leopard has not changed his spots. He has merely hired some public relations experts."

Finally, this brouhaha might also remind us of another Truman maxim: "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know."

(From post #4 _here_)

[Liberal Veteran]

2. On the plus side, they have pretty much lost one thing in their bag...

Even though it pains me to say so, with the majority of states already having voted and gotten passed those appalling anti-gay acts, they no longer have that to whip up the base and drive people to the polls.

[kentuck]

3. They're saving that for the next election..

:shrug: The big one!

[Liberal Veteran]

4. I doubt it.

Given the number of "swing" states that have passed that kind of legislation at the voting booth, I can't see how they can manage to play it with any real success again.

[mitchtv]

15. Coming soon, No Gay Adoptions

They'll never run out of wedges. I suggest we start a few wedge issues of our own.

[DemonFighterLives]

6. They are all failures

Do nothing congress and do nothing pRes. and Newt was a failure also with his contract on America.
On a steady downhill path with a bankrupt country, I don't think they have much to brag about.
:dem:

[neoblues]

7. Like the old story...

what was it, a scorpion and a frog; the scorpion asks the frog to carry him to the other side of the river/lake, frog says "no way, you'll sting me", scorpi says "I won't, if I did, we'd both drown", frog says "that's reasonable, okay, climb aboard"... a few feet short of the other side, the frog feels a sharp stinging and realizes he's been stung by the scorpion... he exclaims "but why? you promised... now we'll both drown...", ol' scorpi says "couldn't help it; it's my nature...".

Republicans don't "resort" to calling names and playing clever games to "smear" their opponents--such unethical behavior, "do anything to win", is their nature! And, it works very well in convincing citizens of the Republican persuasion. Too well.

What to do? I don't have the kind of group dynamics and group psychology understanding of the three different groups, the liberals/Democrats, the indecisive/uncommitted/Independents, and the conservatives/Republicans, to know how best to convince the greatest numbers. I would suspect that the favored approach would differ by group--and we'd either need to present each response to each group in as targeted a fashion as possible, or focus on the group from which we can get the most gain/least loss. However, I know that I personally want very much, a certain kind of response... I want any and every Democrat who is attacked, and especially if "smeared", to object loudly, pointedly and strenuously--and not just the indiviual candidate, but rather the whole Democratic party and public to rise up as one and pound them down. Strenuous rebuttal is necessary or it will make the accusations seem more true or accepted. I don't so much care whether the Democratic candidate attacks the Republican--but I do want them to state the case, the truth--including any "ugly" information about their Republican opponent, clearly and decisively. No "namby/pamby" "mr. nice guy" politics. No need to be rude--one can surely be incisive and strong without appearing violent or lacking a high standard of personal conduct.

[marmar]

8. Goodness knows they've got nothing else to run on...

Iraq? They better leave that one alone, it's a disaster.
They've screwed the middle class, the working class and the poor. They're taken corruption to stratospheric levels. They're bankrupting the country. Their dismantling of Clinton/Gore environmental advances probably means humanity is going to bake or drown at some point. They've increased the division in the country. They've cheerleaded as BushCo has pissed off just about all of our allies.
In other words, they've fucked up in every conceivable way. They've got to demonize because they certainly can't run on their sorry records.

[Ignacio Upton]

10. Tell the voters the truth

We need to REMIND the public WHY they hate the GOP so much right now. We need to talk about a rehash every last governmental failure of the last two years. From Social Security to Katrina. From Iraq to VA benefit cuts. From opposing the Paris Hilton tax, to cutting student loans and medicare. And most importantly, we need to point out Bush's utter FAILURE of policy in the War on Terrorism.

[spanone]

11. It will get ugly, filty, pathetic, immoral. Politics as usual.

There is such serious MONEY involved.

[bridgit]

12. it's the only play they have in their book...

that and "lie & die" :thumbsdown:

[MichiganVote]

13. Again? What's left anyway? Can't think of anything we haven't been called

[wellst0nev0ter]

16. "The Republicans Lost Eye-Rack"

Simple. Easy to understand. Puts them immediately on the defensive. And above all else, it's true as the blue sky.

[TheFriedPiper]

17. I just say: IM NOT SCARED ENOUGH to vote republican!

[longship]

18. Call the Repukes "Desperate". It will be true.

"The Republicans have to name call because all they have is years of failed policy and a vacuum in leadership."

"They can't campaign on their successes because they have none. The only thing the Republicans have is name calling."

Etc. And so it goes.