Madison Ave Ad Exec tell us how GOP Wins Elections

[samsingh]

This is a fantastic list of suggestions posed on DailyKos (i hope i'm linking correctly and obeying the rules by cliping it here).
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/9/124753/8755

This article clearly explains what we're doing wrong, how bush keeps leaving openings that we somehow keep failing to exploit. Following this advice will let us win elections. WE SHOULD all start using this advice in everything we do related to elections.

----------------------------------------------------------
Madison Ave. Ad Exec Reveals How GOP Wins Elections
by Mr Populist
Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:47:53 AM PDT
The diary entry I'm posting today is not my own but a public domain essay written by an anonymous writer who describes himself as a "high powered Madison Ave. advertising executive." He uses the alias "Coty Jarrett" because many of his clients are Republican politicians and opinion leaders. His motive for writing the essay is simple: he's sympathetic to the Democrats and wants to pass on privileged information on how Republicans win elections. He conveys it in the form of an open letter to all Democratic candidates and campaign managers in elections this fall.

I first saw it on the Huffington blog and saved it because it was a brilliant but cynical essay on the deployment of power in the manner of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. I'm not sure if Coty Jarrett's Rules of Perception has ever been posted on the Daily Kos, but I searched the tagging index and came up empty handed. Even if it's been posted and discussed on the Daily Kos previously, I think it's worth revisiting.

Mr Populist's diary :: ::
Here is his list of rules, in the form of an open letter to all Democratic congressional candidates (and their campaign managers) this fall:

THE RULES OF PERCEPTION

John Kerry went to Vietnam, saved a man's life and was wounded. Somehow, the voters perceived of John Kerry as a coward who never served his country and would not be tough enough as our commander-in-chief. George W. Bush avoided Vietnam and failed to fulfill his National Guard obligation. Somehow, the people of this country perceived of George W. Bush as a heroic military man and a courageous commander-in-chief.

This is called MANAGING PERCEPTION. Not just managing the perception people have of YOUR guy, but more importantly, managing the perception people have of the OTHER guy! In 2004, more people perceived that Kerry was bad and Bush was good. Just enough people for Bush to win the election.
Which brings us to a cold hard fact: if the Democrats want to take back Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008, they must become as good as Karl Rove at managing perception. The good news is, it's not some trick only Karl Rove knows the secret to. Managing perception is not even all that difficult once you know the rules.

RULE ONE
Pick ONE INDIVIDUAL to head up your election team and give this person TOTAL AUTHORITY to manage all advertising messages and perception issues. Whatever he or she says -- goes! And no more discussion.

There were 29 people in charge of Kerry, including Kerry himself. The public heard 29 different viewpoints. The Republicans had one person in charge: Rove. The public heard one viewpoint: Rove's. Americans are used to single-minded powerful selling messages, and they like a single-minded powerful point-of-view.

Hint!
Choose the roughest, toughest person who has ever created wildly successful advertising and PR campaigns. Make damned sure this person is a real marketer, doesn't take any guff from anybody and is NOT a political stooge. Make sure ALL money flows to this one person and all spending is coordinated through this person. (Strong hint: if the DNC drafted Donnie Deutsch, they'd take it all.)

RULE TWO
Learn how to disseminate simple catchphrases the mainstream media can use. Like Rove when he invented "cut and run" -- which Fox and the mainstream media lapped up like a thirsty dog. You need to do this with the same dexterity and speed. You will never exceed Rove in this, but you can do AS WELL as he does, which would basically neutralize his effectiveness in the media.

Just watch Fox News (Official News Channel of the successful invasion of Iraq and media/PR representative for the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth). You may hate them, but they're incredibly effective at spreading the Rovian catchphrase of the day and using it to rally the faithful, while keeping GOP politicians in lockstep and on message!

Hint!
You do not have a media outlet like Fox, so you must work twice as hard to get the mainstream media to carry your message to ALL voters. Importantly, do not believe the mainstream media is for you and against Republicans. They're not. If you somehow think they'll help you win an election, you've already lost.

RULE THREE
When the other side hands you a bone, do not bury the bone! USE IT! The best way to negatively affect the perception of the other side is to use their own bone against them!
"I voted for it before I voted against it" was a bone Karl Rove shook in our face the entire campaign. It perfectly defined Kerry as a "flip-flopper". When Bush said, "I don't think much about Bin Laden," Kerry should have said, "Bin Laden murdered three thousand Americans and you promised you'd kill him! Why didn't you, you flip-flopping coward?"

Hint!
Cheer up. You missed your chance, but there'll be more. Rudy blamed the grunts for missing that weapons cache. Ask the Mayor why he's not supporting the troops!

RULE FOUR
Understand that you are dealing with a target audience that doesn't care enough, or simply refuses to devote the time to learn the real facts regarding the real issues. Instead, their perception has BECOME the facts!

The target audience fervently believed Saddam Hussein WAS behind the 9/11 attacks and there WERE weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Just as they believe today that the second in command of Al Qaeda has been killed or captured at least a dozen times -- AND they've conveniently forgotten that Osama Bin Laden is not only still alive, but happily and calmly planning future attacks against our country.

Hint!
Do not try to change this reality. Work with it. The perception you create IS the reality! Take heart! If they perceive something despite obvious evidence to the contrary, you will be able to make them perceive any number of things! Including your point of view! Rove knows this and uses it -- you must too!

RULE FIVE
Stop playing by "Marquess of Queensberry" rules. Before you get punched, you punch. Hard. Whenever possible, you punch below the belt. And most importantly, even after they are down, you keep punching.

George Bush. Cocaine. Alcohol. The National Guard. Deserter. With 40 days to go before the election, there should have been 40 awful revelations about George Bush -- one each day, each worse than the one before it.

Hint!
Stop being a candy-ass. If you start lamenting, "I'm becoming just like THEM", you have just guaranteed their victory. They currently OWN the playing field. You either play by their rules or YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. Your job is to punch hard and neutralize their negative attacks by being just as nasty. IF you make it back into office, THEN you can start working to reform how people get elected. For now, you must get mean!

RULE SIX
NO MORE NUANCE. The target not only fails to understand even the most obvious nuance, they actually HATE the idea there should be nuance at all (it even sounds French!). Nuance = bad. Black and white = good!

"A marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman" -- George Bush.

"I'm personally against gay marriage, but I feel the states should decide." -- John Kerry (too nuanced by half!)

Hint!
Come off your high horse and forget that issues really DO demand nuance, at least until the election is over. Until November, pick a side on each issue and make sure your target audience understands CLEARLY what that side is. And relax! The only people you'll sound like a simpleton to are already voting for you anyway.

RULE SEVEN
Choose ONE VERY CLEAR LABEL for your candidate and NEVER let go of it. Keep hitting it hard until everyone in America knows it is EXACTLY what your candidate stands for.
George Bush was the "unwavering commander-in-chief who won the war on terror." John Kerry was ____. Whatever he was wasn't as bad as you think, but we're still not able to fill in that blank.

Hint!
Think of a one-word label that your target can quickly grasp. "America, I am the Jobs President!" Don't worry about which label is best. Just choose one and let that be the centerpiece. All other things the candidate talks about should grow out of this one strong position. And remember -- no matter how Rove tries to re-define you (and he will, constantly) -- make sure this one label sticks to you like glue!

RULE EIGHT
Devote a tremendous amount of time and spend a huge portion of your campaign money finding, recruiting, training and firing up VOLUNTEERS. As odd as it may sound, if you spend $100 million on TV, you MUST spend $200 million creating a massive, incredibly well-coordinated volunteer effort.
Karl Rove used pinpoint research to find and motivate volunteers who went where no campaign had gone before -- into parts of Florida where alligators were more likely to vote than people. In Ohio, Rove's volunteers dragged Republicans out of their corporate meetings to make sure they voted! It's why he won and you lost.

Hint!
Your volunteers MUST BE A MEMBER OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. You need to find volunteers who attend the same church, go to the same stores and like and dislike the same things your target audience does! Remember, you cannot spend TOO MUCH money or do TOO MUCH demographic homework and research making this happen! Just so you know, Republicans do NOT own a patent on this type of research!

RULE NINE
Do not give Karl Rove any help whatsoever. In other words, do not start with a candidate who puts you in a twenty-foot ditch that Rove will never let you fight your way out of. Make damned sure your candidate has the gumption to come out swinging and immediately counter-punch every Swift Boat move Rove tries.

This is no walk in the park, but it is not impossible. Remember, George W. Bush did not have to defeat John Kerry. With Rove calling all the shots, John Kerry defeated John Kerry.

Hint!
Work hard against the nomination of anybody who cannot remain strong and stay firm on base issues while tacking to the center in a convincing, spirited way.

Hint! Hint!
Bill Richardson. Mark Warner. And yeah, Al Gore!

RULE TEN
Stop trying to be ATTAP, or "All Things To All People". You will fail. There is no way in this great country of ours that you will ever be more than 65% of things to 55% of the people. That's your goal, by the way. You reach it and you own Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008.
Karl Rove didn't bother with liberals or most Democrats. He went after his base and the squishy center and didn't waste any time or money on anybody else. He also didn't care what anybody else thought of him or his candidate.

Hint!
By all means, rally your base. Then go figure out what you can actually say to the squishy center and spend MOST of your time and money winning them over. And for heaven's sake, don't worry about what dyed-in-the-wool Republicans think about what you're saying. They're not voting for you anyway.

RULE ELEVEN
Start today. Not later today. NOW! Start figuring out now where you're going to find your own Karl Rove and then get this person started. Any time you waste is going to make it tougher for you to win in 2006 and 2008.

By the time the Democrats got around to throwing a few punches in 2004, they were defensive punches, and way too late. Today, right now, Karl Rove has already picked his candidate and crafted a strategy he is confident will whomp your stupid Democratic butt. And make no mistake about it: he has ALREADY dug up tons of dirt on the 20 people YOU are most likely to nominate.
Hint!
Don't put off your homework for tomorrow morning. Collect data on whoever they might nominate. Spend some time NOW figuring out how to effectively deal with anybody and everybody they might nominate.

RULE TWELVE
Keep a copy of these rules by your pillow and read them every night. When you wake up, make damned sure you follow them every day. If you adhere to these rules, you are going to NEUTRALIZE Rove by making this Rove Versus Rove. That might sound horrible and off-putting, but what it actually means is that the race will NOT come down to perception, but instead, level the playing field, so you might actually have a chance to win!

[blm]

1. Most Americans are tired of being played after Katrina and WANT HONESTY

I think HONESTY and RESPECT are what Democrats should give voters. Both Kerry and Dean have been stressing that point .

This guy does NOT respect the voters in the same way the GOPs don't respect the voters. I just don't think most of the public is in the mood to be disrespected and fooled by rhetoric anymore - not after Katrina.

[samsingh]

3. we're tried to respect the voters - unfortunately the same

logic that makes product marketing campaigns successful applies to politics as well.

Who can logically ever believe that bush is a hero and Kerry was unpatriotic? i find it hard to ever believe that part of the population can every be reasonable or intelligent.

[blm]

6. Except many of us are quite certain millions more people voted for Kerry

over Bush.

And this "advice" is telling us to act like the GOPs at the very same time that MOST of the American people are turned OFF by the tactics of the GOPs.

This advice is PRE-Katrina advice. The GOPs have broken trust and disgusted most of the citizens in this country.

[pinto]

14. Applying some of the logic cited, you have the theme: honesty,

trust and respect. These directly address the Republicans' weakest points in the American consciousness. And, those themes fit a post-Katrina reality well, it seems.

(ed for clarity)

[blm]

26. Both Dean and Kerry have been highlighting it at rallies and speeches and

I think more Democrats should join them. It really is all about RESPECT and sharing ACCURATE INFORMATION with adult citizens so they can better BE citizens.

[liberaldemocrat7]

33. Use this theme.

Republicans stronger than Democrats on national security?

No, that myth exploded and died along with the passengers

that hit the world trade center on Sept 11, 2001.



hit the republicans over and over with it again and again

until they cry uncle sam.

[Leopolds Ghost]

50. Pinto's right - HONESTY, TRUST & RESPECT - Stop Arguing, People!!!!

BOTH sides are right.

We need to give all Americans the benefit of the doubt, but trust that 60% of them are woefully misinformed about politics and have illogical ideas, and are easily manipulated. This is true of people who are LIBERALS! Who are prefessionals and consider themselves enlightened, secular humanists (or whatever!) It is cretainly true of the 15% who voted for BUSH out of SQUISHY REASONING, thus enabling Rove to steal it if necessary.

Split the difference, stop this arguing and make HONESTY, TRUST & RESPECT your label!!!

Forget all other memes until you have hammered home each one!!!

A meme, by definition, should be exclusive! One meme at a time!

If you think most Americans may not deserve respect as independent thinkers, yet nevertheless demand it, make THAT your meme: RESPECT!

"America is too smart to be fooled. I stand for HONESTY, TRUST AND RESPECT!"

That way you cover all your bases -- in case you're WRONG about Americans, as a mass, being able to absorb conplex information contained in multiple different statements filtered thru a hostile media!

I HATE HATE HATE seeing meme posts on DU where half the posters say
"here's another meme"!!!

The idiotic phrase "here's another meme" in and of itself demonstrates that the majority of Americans, left and right, are illogical, sqishy thinkers, just like this ad exec says!

I'm not gonna do it cause I hate this stuff (managing perception).

But at least I understand it for what it is, and why it works.

ON EDIT: Did I mention I HATE HATE HATE the common DU phrase "here's another meme"???

I's like the preponderance of people on the Internet who don't understand sarcasm even when it's explained to them, and post clueless responses to joke threads. (which is another example of how the average person is not as perceptive as you'd think.) Anyone who replis to "suggested talking point" threads with "that's great, here's another one" needs to check their own assumptions about the intelligence of the average American, since they are clearly misinformed about what "talking points" are for, what a "meme" is, and perhaps other things.

[JNelson6563]

117. Ok, here's where you are wrong

The American people are NOT tired of GOP tactics. GOP tactics perfectely fit the mindset, level of interest and average intellect of America.

Americans snap up sound bytes, love "zingers" and latch on to mocking statments.

In your effort to criticize this article because is was critical of your dearest hero's campaign you are missing many salient points. Take the blinders off BLM, you will be much more effective of a team mate.

Julie

[yurbud]

83. what many democrats were doing wasn't "respect" it was Mr. Rogers

marketing--being patronizing and inoffensive and hoping the voters didn't look at the fine print.

Part of respecting voters is speaking plainly and having a set of priorities that you stick to whether they are popular at the moment or not.

Hillary and others current triangulating on the war is the worst example of this behavior.

There are a few simple things that need to be said whenever anyone asks, and instead, she gives the G rated version of the Bush war porn.

[Taverner]

12. K & R!!!

:kick:

[samsingh]

143. does K & R stand for Kick and Read?

[OzarkDem]

36. You can still be honest and very blunt

and never forget to attack. There is no dishonesty in any of that.

Voters want honesty, but they also want people who fight and win.

[blm]

37. Yes - and there's ample evidence that fight still ends up on editting room

floors.

The one thing this OP has right is that the media is NOT our friend and has no interest in telling the truth.

[serryjw]

43. There is nothing dishonest

or disrespectful telling your base what you stand for and will vote for. Can you tell me in under 5 words what the democratic party stands for?
Some on DU love DK, some don't. His message has always been consistent. National Security is more than another bomb.
It's security in a good paying job, it's security in quality affordable health care, it is security in a pension/retirement program

Thanks for posting, great article

[blm]

48. Stronger America at Home and respected in the world and all the while

stressing that we are a stronger nation when our workers are paid fair wages, our healthcare is affordabe for all, and alternative energy frees us from dependency on oil nations.

That was the message of the 2004 campaign. Check the editting room floor of the corporate news channels.

[serryjw]

49. Read the OP

When you have 29 delivery men for our message it gets lost....shorten the message into sound bites that americans understand

[blm]

52. Kerry didn't win the debates by soundbites. Bush LOST with his soundbite

mentality.

If Bush and the GOP campaign so well, then why did they go to all that trouble of buying control of most broadcast media in the 80s and 90s and why work for 4 years between elections to suppress Dem votes, purge voter rolls and rig machines all over the country?

[serryjw]

53. Kerry won the battle

and lost the war. WHY are dems so not willing to learn from the thugs success. The fact remains is that 99% of Americans ( on both sides) don't pay attention. You can't do your good work UNTIL you are elected. F*CK, people can't even find the pacific Ocean...and you want to appeal to their intellect? I challenge you to go to a heavy traffic location in your city and ask 100 people to name ONE SCOTUS Justice...It won't happen. Show them a PIC of Gonzales or Rice, it won't happen. Ask them to locate Iraq on a map, it won't happen. I spent 20 years in sales/marketing.......KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER!

[blm]

55. Thugs "success" is in owning media and the voting machines. Match that

if you want to do what Republicans do to "win" elections.

[serryjw]

56. I have no interest in corrupting the American

system any further..just winning election by talking to our base

[blm]

57. Don't claim they win because they're better campaigners. If they were

they wouldn't have worked for twenty five years to control the media and the voting machines.

[serryjw]

70. NOT better campaigners, BUT

better at framing and delivering a message to their base. Rove has every phone numberof where his base lived, worked and worshipped in EVERY precinct in the country. WE can't even identify WHO we want our base to be. IF we could we would finance DK or Feingold to the millions...They do represent OUR base....sorry, Hiliary,Biden, Kerry don't.

THEY control the media because in the last 20 years it has become their base of donors.

[elehhhhna]

73. BINGO

[elehhhhna]

65. I ran an analysis of a Kerry speech & a Bush speech, here:

http://resources.aellalei.com/tools/writer/sample.php

Kerry's grade level = understood /written by a 12th grader. Bush = 5th Grade.

Gotta play to the audience. Meet them where they are. The intellectuals ALREADY VOTE DEM. Gotta stop "showing off" & talk to Joe Sixpack.

[serryjw]

78. God Bless You!

Can I marry you? Are you male or female? THEY do hate us because we represent thinking people. How can anyone make fun of intellectuals, they have managed to. The 'showing off' is our problem. Clinton was NOT all that liberal, but you ask 75% of the country and they would vote for HIM again. THEY love him.

Senators love the SOUND of their own voice. It's amazing listening to most of them who are ranting about something to an EMPTY chamber!!

[elehhhhna]

96. LOL. Do they HATE us or simply can't freaking follow us?

& sorry, no: I'm heading for a 21st wedding anniversary w/ the smartest, funniest man in the world. But thx for asking!

[serryjw]

110. I'd have to 1st change

sexual orientation! Congrats on 21 years!

[elehhhhna]

114. Super! We can be BFF's ...

:toast:

[pecwae]

102. Spot on.

During training for military Public Information Specialist I was taught to write for no higher than 8th grade education. Otherwise, the message would never be understood.

[elehhhhna]

115. So true. My sis is a bigshot freelance copywriter for several Fort 50's

and when I emailed her that analysis link, she was thrilled. She's been arguing with some techies at a certain client that their copy is too jargony (is jargony a word?) and proved it by popping their text into that site. Their text rated at Ph.d. level. Not good for a mass marketing piece. She won and did a total rewrite, LOL

[yorkiemommie1]

131. Dems message has got to be simple and to the point

I remember being told in school that most newspapers are written for 6th grade reading level. Don't know if that's still true.

I thought that this writing analyzer would interest my bushbot husband. He went BALLISTIC because it required him to READ what the scores MEANT and IMMEDIATELY attacked me for sending it to him, claiming that I put all people into a box.

Bushbots of his kind do NOT want to reflect and analyze. they want little sound bytes to swallow.

[elehhhhna]

62. Vague. Too wordy. That's the problem right there. Needs editing.

Punch it up & dumb it down. Not that hard to do.

[blm]

64. Those were NOT difficult words for ANY eighth grader.

.

[elehhhhna]

71. Read this, please. Your text, analyzed:

"Stronger America at Home and respected in the world and all the while
stressing that we are a stronger nation when our workers are paid fair wages, our healthcare is affordabe for all, and alternative energy frees us from dependency on oil nations."


Flesch Reading Ease: 41.04

20 words per sentence with 1.5 syllables per word yields a Flesch score of 60 and is taken to be plain English. A score in the range of 60-70 corresponds to 8th/9th grade English level. A score between 50 and 60 corresponds to a 10th/12th grade level. Below 30 is college graduate level. To give you a feel for what the different levels are like, most states require scores from 40 to 50 for insurance documents

Fog Scale Level: 23.05

A fog score of 5 is readable, 10 is hard, 15 is difficult, and 20 is very difficult.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 18.47

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level heuristic indicates that the average student in the grade level produced by the scale can read the text.




As I said, Bush speeches comes in at about a 5th grade Flesch-Kincaid grade level.
Is it any wonder he appeals to--or is at least UNDERSTOOD BY--"normal" people?

Much more plus the handy analyzer, here: http://resources.aellalei.com/tools/writer/sample.php

[serryjw]

81. You're amazing

I had no idea how to quantify it. Where did you learn this?

[elehhhhna]

95. Whoa thanks but I'm not amazing: I got it from another DUer!

It is one handy site, no?

[serryjw]

111. Answers a lot of questions

great site, will pass it on.

[blm]

106. There isn't a word used that any eighth grader couldn't understand.

Hell - even a FIFTH grader.

[elehhhhna]

116. Okay, you're right: experts wrong. Got it.

[Toots]

69. Maybe that should be the one thing to stick to our guy

Honesty and Respect. Sounds a lot like Honor and Dignity but we should put forth a person that means it and us as a people need to believe it as well. I believe this little essay has great merit..

[TheFriedPiper]

119. Wrong, most Americans are stupid, hence American Idol

country music, etc.

Rove knows this and plays on thier ignorance.

There is no reason we can't play on their ignorance to get them to believe the truth.

The truth has to be sold just like the lies do.

[ruggerson]

127. Bullshit

YOu don't understand elections or the mass American psyche. You and people like you are the reasons we keep losing elections.

This guy is right on target.

[bluestateguy]

2. Unfortunately, I think Democrats have to get into the dirty tricks business

Like Nixon type of shit. It will have to be done for the good of the country.

[blm]

9. At the VERY TIME that most Americans are disgusted by GOP tactics, you

think Democrats should start ACTING like Republicans and DISRESPECTING voters?

[bluestateguy]

16. Yes I am

because I don't have a whole lot of respect for about 80% of voters. I really dont. They are child-like and will do what they are told. This is about winning, and doing what is best for the country. Not being nice.

If that sounds like leftist Straussianism, so be it.

[blm]

29. At the exact same time most of the country is turning its BACK on those

same tactics YOU want us to startusing them?

That is NOT dealing with the reality of a post Katrina America.

[sandnsea]

19. It's complete trash

I would bet my last doughnut (that I'm not even allowed to eat anymore) that this is a plant from the Warner people. See my post below. The trashing of John Kerry like this ONLY comes from people working for other candidates and the only one I know of who has been in full primary mode is Warner.

[elehhhhna]

45. No. It is absolutely true.

VP, Sales & Mktg here. IT'S all true, whether we like it or not.

[sandnsea]

47. Then you should recognize it for what it is

A planted story to benefit somebody and marginalize John Kerry. Hmmm, who could that be??? Who has been using the internet to further the campaign of their guy? Who is known for scorched earth tactics? What two candidates need to be divided? Pretty simple when you add a little thought to the post.

You should further recognize that no amount of marketing can turn a fart into perfume. That's what this guy is saying, don't worry about the features of the Dem Party or a particular candidate, just sell sell sell. He ought to be able to see the folly in that just by watching Bush and the Repubs crash and burn. It doesn't work forever. Benefits and features, good governance and credibility. We either stick to what makes us better as a party, or we end up the same laughing stocks as the Republicans are now. We do not want to become like them in any way, we want to expose their sham tactics.

This is amateur hour and I would imagine you either don't engage in this or you've yet to have to represent a product for the long haul.

[elehhhhna]

51. You don't have to like it. But marketing can turn a fart into perfume:

Look at GW.

Nowhere in that piece does the author suggest we run a moron.

The examples cited re: Kerry's campaign are imo all spot on. I supported Kerry, and his campaign was imo a shambles.

Perhaps you might re-read it and replace Kerry with Dewey. Or Dukakis.

Ignore the reality of marketing at the party's peril.

[sandnsea]

58. Not for the long haul it can't

Look at GW.

I think the Democratic Party has got enough problems without adding lying and character assassination to the list. No truly GOOD marketer resorts to that shit. If you do, you'll reap what you sow eventually.

[elehhhhna]

59. I AGREE 100%. I'm a bleeding heart lib. Please re-read the OP.

The OP does not instruct us to lie. It does not instruct us to employ character assasination. It, in fact, says to be honest--about our own candidate and the oppositions.

The OP is all about HOW. What, WHO & WHY are ours to decide.

[sandnsea]

68. Well make up your mind

Are you turning farts into perfume or not?

That is a planted divisive trash piece by the Warner campaign. You go right on ahead and lap it up if you want. It didn't work when Joe Trippi engaged in it in 2003, it won't work next year either. Democrats, in the final analysis, are just too smart for it.

[elehhhhna]

72. My mind is made up. Always has been. The OP is dead on.

Some people are willfully ignorant.

Some people ride high horses.

Kerry ran a LOUSY campaign.

And I don't care if the truth comes from a hobo in the gutter or Jesus his own self.

Truth is truth.

[Telly Savalas]

138. A couple of points

1. A more precise characterizaion of what the article is advocating is that we ensure that perfume is being presented as perfume. The GOP uses sophisticated marketing techniques to try to turn our perfume into farts, so we should counter with such techniques to advertise a distortion-free reality.

2. Criticizing Kerry's 2004 campaign isn't necessarily trashing Kerry. There's no law saying that Kerry can't run again in 2008 with different tactics. (And I say this as a guy who can't stand Warner.)

[Raksha]

60. A small correction: People are not disgusted by GOP **TACTICS**

they are disgusted by the GOP. The tactics still work every bit as well as they ever did, and they can work for us too. What happened is that too many voters bought the car and discovered the hard way that it's a lemon.

[blm]

63. Not quite - many now consider terror alerts as PLOYS along

with gas prices and their manipulation - election year tactics.

Post Katrina world now. Post Katrina world.

[elehhhhna]

75. Several of the above tactics helped BigDog beat the crap out of GHWB.

[blm]

108. 1992 media atmosphere is nowhere NEAR the same. And Bush1 acted dumbed

down while it was Clinton who spoke more intellectually during the campaign. Bush1 resorted to horseshoes and pork rinds talk.

Clinton also had a HEALTHY Dem party infrastructure in 92. By 1997 the DNC allowed the Dem party infrastructure to collapse in every crucial purple and red state.

[elehhhhna]

112. Yes, it is a new century. That's why we must ADAPT and STAY AHEAD.

[grasswire]

11. let me tell you a little story

After 2000, a group of very influential people with experience in investigative reporting put together a proposal to open a shop gathering intel on Republicans -- similar to the effort that Larry Flynt bankrolled that took down Livingstone and Newtie and kept Bill Clinton in office. Deep investigative reporting. They went looking for money to finance this effort. There were people in Hollywood who desperately wanted to undertake such an effort. But as much as they desired to do it, they were simply too afraid of what Rove would do to Hollywood. They backed off. The project never happened.

I know about this because one of the investigative reporters is a friend. A person with nine best-selling investigative books.

[bluestateguy]

17. That's very interesting

and I think I might know who that investigative reporter is too.

[Blue_Tires]

22. i'd sign up for it

in a heartbeat!

way back in the 90s when i saw the GOP winning increasingly dirty races i was saying that Dems needed to take off the kid gloves

[elehhhhna]

120. The Bristish during our Rev War refused to employ, let alone acknowledge,

our Patriots' guerrilla tactics. They'd march out in formation, as they'd been trained to do. Snipers, btw, were considered lower than scum. How could anyone possibly be so low as to shoot at the Brits from behind a tree?!!

How'd that work for 'em?

[TheFriedPiper]

128. In Half-Life TFC Snipers ARE lower than scum

But hey, noobies gotta start somewhere!

[Blue_Tires]

140. lol

counter-strike as well!

[Scout1071]

4. I have to say, I agree completely with this guy.

I've said it several times before on this board and others.....as I once heard a head football coach say (paraphrasing) "Knock 'em down, kick 'em in the teeth, step on their throats and don't let up until the game is over."

It's time to play tough. We are the party full of Veterans and working people. We can kick ass like nobody and it's time to get serious and tough.

[samsingh]

10. playing rough and dirty is the only way to defeat the gop

they took an awful event like 911 and used it to ram a far right wing agenda through. they've dismantled the Constition. They've broken the law countless times.

they're started wars by lying and fabricating evidence - causing the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

how can we play 'nice' and 'fair' with such an enemy of liberty and America? We owe it to all those who are suffering to win back one part of one branch of government so that we have tools to scrutize their criminal acts.

[elehhhhna]

121. Nowhere does to OP say "play dirty". If telling the TRUTH in simple,

repetitive terms is considered DIRTY by the RoveBush Fascists, TOO BAD.

THEIR FAULT.

Let the chips fall.

[samsingh]

142. ABC is airing a piece of lying shit on tv and calling it fact all

over the world. BTW - this is critisizing an American President overseas (remember what the Chicks went through)

the same dipshits that didn't want to 'play the blame game' in Katrina find its okay,

the same assholes who wouldn't want a documentary on Reagan aired,

the same traitors who wouldn't distribute Michael Moore's researched film (nobody has ever claimed anything in the film was wrong, only that they didn't think it shouldn't be aired because it made the pResident look bad - talk about censorship),

the same assholes who destroyed the careers of the Dixie Chicks because of an opinion they expressed,

the same morons who thought the GOP was being great when they warned people to watch what they say,

now feel that its okay to lie about the actions of Americans held in the highest office in the 90's.

fight fair, fight dirty, fight persistently, but win because the enemy we face cares only about winning and will destroy huge parts of America to do it. they've done it already.

[Dinger]

5. Excellent Post, Thanks

:patriot:

[OneBlueSky]

7. Rule Thirteen: When all else fails, STEAL . . . n/t

.

[Cygnusx2112]

8. Wow...amazing article. Everyone should read this. n/t

[leftchick]

13. This assumes way too much

first, we have not had an honest election result in six years because of dirty tricks and electronic voting machines.

second, the Democrats have just about zero positive coverage on the corporate/repuke run media in this country. Think of Howard Dean and the 'scream' as a perfect example of their destruction of a wonderful campaign.

So I can not see how most of these hints would help in any fashion.

[Cygnusx2112]

23. If what we're doing isn't making much of an impact...

and these hints wouldn't help in any fashion, what WOULD help?

The GOP is organized and disciplined when it comes to their message (nevermind their actual bs policies), while the Dems seem too nice and too nuanced.

Taking a page out of their playbook while not stooping to their level ESPECIALLY RULE #3.

They give us their bullshit talking points to use EVERY DAY and instead of responding to it ("Well, here's what I think..."), DEMS should throw it directly back in their faces

"Some Democrats want to appease Bin Laden."
"Excuse me, which Democrats are they and can you cite specifically where they said that?"
(Errr...ummm...uncomfortable silence...).
"Yeah, I thought so, now shut up."

:)


THAT is what we should be doing...

[leftchick]

30. organized and diciplined is great

but it means nothing if candy crowely on cnn repeatedly says "the dems don't have a message". So trying to overcome the rightwing sound machine seems pretty futile to me.

Election Fraud would be where to start. I suggested, oh about four fucking years ago, that Democrats try and address the election fraud issue. I worked for two years on verified voting in my state and I have to say the Democrats STILL have their heads in their asses about the whole issue.

Can you tell I don't have a lot of hope anymore? :(

[KoKo]

118. Dems should have come out loud and early right after 2000 Selection.

It should have been hammered home about Repug Ops down in Florida, about James Baker's influence and Ken Lay's airplane ferring people around. The fraud in Florida throwing thousands off the voting roles along with hanging chads, etc. should have had the Dems working hard to make sure this never happened again. It's shameful how Gore was not supported by our Party and how it was all whitewashed over.

Agree...that to this day we can't get folks in our Dem Party to really back those of us working on election reform and calling attention to what has been done now in three elections to disenfranchise Dem and probably Independent voters.

Until Election reform is taken on as a major issue by Democrats with full support...I too fear that nothing we can do is going to make a difference. That and Taking Back the Media are the issue Dems could have gone after an won on. But, the "head in the sand" attitude blaming things on "Fringe Internet Bloggers" whenever any questions about election fraud, media complicity or questions about what happened on "9/11" is a losing strategy.
It seems we follow the same playbook over and over with only minor changes.

Whatever we think about Carville and Begala today ..they knew how to market a President. It's sad that no other team has emerged that could duplicate that.

[Leopolds Ghost]

54. Many Dem Activists and most Americans don't even understand

what a talking point is, as evidenced by the constant use of the phrase

"that's a good one, here's another meme!"

every election year.

NOT "I disagree, we should be pushing this talking point instead, and ignore whatever current events your talking point refers to..."

but

"I agree, your talking point is cool! We should also be talking about all the other issues, at every opportunity! Here's some more memes we should be using!"

Not at different points in the campaign, but simultaneously!

"Especially that last issue which I care so much about. Who cares if it doesn't make a good talking point? The truth must be told, so lets draw up a checklist of approved issues which we simply must address at random!"

Like at demonstrations where otherwise prominent, intelligent and educated fools get up and decide to say "look at what Bush has done to Katrina -- and don't forget Palestine!"

They don't understand how to put out a consistent message, they don't understand you can't focus on multiple unrelated slogans just because you, unlike most Americans, are willing to dwell on multiple political controversies at once!

[elehhhhna]

97. YES! 99.9% of their bs can easily be countered with one or more of these

Give me an example or retract your statement.
Why?
When?
Who said that?
YOU ARE LYING!
Show me proof or retract.
Define your terms. (i.e. 'abortion pill' etc.)
and my favorite: I'm SHOCKED! YOU HAVE INSULTED ME/The People/African Americans/ Our Troops/the Constitution/Our EUROPEAN ALLIES/etc. ad nauseum

[OnionPatch]

24. You sure have a point there

I think the one factor the Dems need to address (after election fraud) is the media. No matter what the Dems do, the media we have now will manipulate it or ignore it as pleases and suits their GOP masters. I think the left is crazy for not pouring as much money and effort into media reform or the creation of new and fair media as they can. It doesn't have to be a mirror of the right, (slanted) it just has to be fair and honest. If the media were fair and honest, I honestly don't believe the GOP would ever have more than 10% or 20% following. (The rich and the racists will never leave the GOP.)

[OzarkDem]

35. Dems have to fight back or the media and GOP will control their message

We need to have a new catch phrase and new attack on the GOP every single day. That will minimize the damage of things like the Dean scream.

[elehhhhna]

122. Hard for the media to ignore if all Dems say the exact same thing

daily, right?

[msongs]

15. oh c'mon, Mein Kampf is just a book. Hitler won't actually do those things

he talks about when he gains power. get real, we don't need to start acting propagandizing like hitler. it is wrong to do what the opposition is doing because we are better than that, so we will win and hitler will not take over. Let's all be nice and he will go away.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[sandnsea]

18. More divisiveness from Warner people??

Hmmm, Warner and... Gore??? What better way to get Gore people to take another look at Warner - put them together in the same "fighter" pool and push John Kerry out all together. Very clever. And then pretend you "care" about the party as a whole. What bullshit. The best way to win in 2008 would be to remind people our presidential candidate in 2004 was RIGHT about everything. Instead, this yahoo wants to assist in the right wing "perception" that Democrats are weak. What a fool.

The bulk of what this guy has to say will never work for one reason the guy completely overlooks - it's designed to appeal to THEIR base who will never vote for us anyway - and the second we employ some of this black/white bullshit we'll lose OUR base. There's value in some of this, we do need to brand ourselves, we do need a more unified voice, - but again, the difference between the far left and red state Dems makes that pretty tough to do too.

If this person really "cared" or understood the problems in the party, he'd know we need either a unity platform or a "hands across the country" reaching out platform to bring city and rural Dems together. But he obviously doesn't care about the party at all because his trashing of Kerry is WAY too obvious, especially on the day John Kerry delivered a powerful national security speech with Gary Hart in tow.

Amateur hour, really.

[Occulus]

31. Did you THINK about what he said, though?

Because he seemed, to me, to say exactly what you're complaining about him not saying.

Did you read the part about the candidate having one central position, from which all other positions could grow? Does that ring a bell to you at all?

Terrorism? 9/11? Elections/campaign messages? And all policies flowed from there, right?

Why can't we use those same tools to get out a good message, a message of hope? "I am the candidate that will return jobs to this country", and go from there. "I am the candidate who will ensure cradle to grave health care coverage for you and your family", and go from there.

There's a lot of truth to what's said here. Not because I necessarily agree that that's they only "right" formula, but advertising works, and works for certain reasons. For example, we all complain that because most of America gets its newsytainment from the Great Glass Teat, voters in America are uninformed about the facts. Yet we go on camera and talk and talk and talk and people just yawn and change the channel. Republicans, by contrast, are very good from a production standpoint at getting their clear and consice message- however factually incorrect it may be- deep into the minds of the viewers.

This isn't black magic; they're simply using tried and true advertising techniques, techniques they know from years of experience- and form the years of experience they've hired in from advertising firms- work, and work well.

As much as you or I may hate it, this country's voters don't want facts, or figures, or a deeply caring message; they want to buy something. We have to start packaging ourselves as if we had something to sell them.

[sandnsea]

32. There isn't ONE advertising strategy

If there were, there would be only ONE firm. There are MANY strategies and it is all dependent on who the target market is. Rove's strategy works for THEIR market. It isn't going to work for OUR voters because OUR voters already reject their simple-minded strategy. Our voters want quality and credibility, they will not buy the image, they reject Bush as "all hat no cattle", remember?

[OzarkDem]

38. It appeals to the average voter who is easily swayed

by GOP and media manipulation.

As he points out, our voters will already support us. You have to be blunt, simple, persuasvie and competitive every single day to get through to the rest of the voters.

People are too busy to sit down and read a position statement or look a candidates policies in detail. You have to sell yourself, period.

[sandnsea]

41. But no, our voters WON'T support us

Look how easily they run for the Green as it is. And if it's not them, it's the red state Dem who bolts for the Repub. The Democratic Party will only win by being the party of credibility and appealing to people's desire for deeper meaning and solutions. That certainly can be ramped up into a brand, but not with black/white slogans and baseless mud slinging like the right does. That tactic actually takes away from the very thing we are "selling". The OP is amateur hour and I'll say it again, it's a political ploy and quite obvious at that. In fact, it's classic Dem back-biting that I saw time and again throughout 2003, the BIGGEST problem our party has.

[Occulus]

20. I'm pausing my reading of this to blush something for its truth:

Hint!
Stop being a candy-ass. If you start lamenting, "I'm becoming just like THEM", you have just guaranteed their victory. They currently OWN the playing field. You either play by their rules or YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. Your job is to punch hard and neutralize their negative attacks by being just as nasty. IF you make it back into office, THEN you can start working to reform how people get elected. For now, you must get mean!

The next time I hear someone say "we'll be just like them" I'm pasting that into my response. It's a dangerous, ultimately self-destructive position to take and it's said far too often on this board.

We should be wearing verbal brass knuckles. We should be willing to bend whatever rules we can get away with bending. We should be willing to dredge up personal issues. We should be willing to use the candidate's son who has been arrested twice for drunk driving against the candidate. We should be willing to make them cry when they're in bed with their spouse.

"Marquess of Queensbury" rules, indeed.

[elehhhhna]

67. He never said "LIE" He said be fast & nasty. The TRUTH is nasty enough.

Who needs to lie about all the crap the Reeps have done?

Good God, I can't even make up stuff that tops their criminal stunts.

[Occulus]

134. Neither did I

Bending the rules diesn't mean you have to lie. Make 'em cry 'cause we're daring to tell the truth about them. :)

[NoodleyAppendage]

21. This is so important, but of course we won't follow the advice.

We have the blueprint. The problem is following it in a party where intelligence is valued. The blueprints come natural to those who are given to "black and white" thinking and unquestioning idiocy.

J

[bullimiami]

25. WRONG. This is what they do to maximize their support.

It HAS NOT WON THE ELECTIONS. It took criminal corruption of the voting systems and officials to do that.

[Nikki Stone 1]

28. And Diebold.

kick

[OzarkDem]

39. Baloney

This is what it takes to get a wider margin of support.

Face it voters don't understand what Dems stand for because we don't have the news media helping us as the GOP does and we have to work twice as hard to get our message out. It has to be clear and simple and powerful every single day.

[elehhhhna]

123. Yep. This will also seperate the DLC frauds from the real Democrats.

It will be very easy to I.D. the chuckleheads who are off message.

(Paging Donna Brazile: update your resume.)

[Nikki Stone 1]

27. The scariest line:

"Americans are used to single-minded powerful selling messages"

In other words, Americans don't think. They follow propaganda.

[elehhhhna]

98. It's true of all humans and has been long before television.

does the word SLOGAN ring a bell?

[OzarkDem]

34. This is very good advice - we should follow it

worry about the nuances after Dems are in power again.

Today we fight and fight hard. Every day. Until election day. Period.

[EstimatedProphet]

40. Too many people are talking about disrespecting voters here

There's not one word in here about disrespecting voters. What the author is talking about is being firm, not allowing talking points to stand without refuting them, fighting slander - all these things are good strategies. For example, it isn't Republican to hold Bush accountable for the fact that 9/11 happened on his watch, and that he hasn't done anything about it to speak of. We don't have to make up facts to show Bush is horrible as a president - most everyone in the country already knows that!

Think of campaigning as an extended job interview. You don't go into the interview and talk about mistakes you made in a previous job, or how the last employer was unfair, even if it's true. You go in and deciseively tell the employers how you would be better for the job than anyone else.

[OzarkDem]

61. Agree, Dems don't need to lie to attack the GOP

The fuel to wage a tough campaign against them is already abundant. It would take a generation of campaigns to use it all up.

[Cygnusx2112]

42. AT THE VERY LEAST - the DEMS should QUESTION ...

Everything.

Everything they say, and everything they do. Back them into a corner, get them on record, ask pointed and intelligent questions and then point out what

%#()%*#()*%)#%

hypocrites they are.

Do it on Hardball, do it on Hannity and Colmes (Gen. Clarke), do it on Scarborough.
Ask the hosts rhetorical questions...get THEM on record.

You can do that without being a jerk.

[Cobalt-60]

44. This is the good stuff : use it!

Just one correction: when they're down Kick, don't punch.
It's a heavier blow and you don't have to lean over them.

[elehhhhna]

46. K& REC'D

[CarlVK]

66. Pretty sick. We're down to PR campaigns instead of.....

an enlightened public weighing the positions on issues by two candidates.

This piece, true as it may be in nailing the current reality of winning an election, actually is a stained epitaph mocking honest, intelligent analysis. It sustains the notion that we have become so dumbed down that there may be no coming back.

[elehhhhna]

74. And? If we're gong to prattle on about being the "reality based community"

we might have to face reality, pragmatically, on occasion.

Y'all can sit here & cry & lament the unfairness of it all but it is not going away.

[CarlVK]

86. I wasn't waving any white flag, dude.

I was making a comment on the sick state of our national democratic spirit. Don't think that's some sort of resignation. I'm hoping that we can change our course and evolve somewhat, actually. But in the meantime, yes, we have to be able to play the current game, as long as we don't forget a bigger picture when we get some power back.

[elehhhhna]

94. Sorry -- my comment was aimed at some whining upthread, not you.

[CarlVK]

146. oh, ok. no worries.

[OzarkDem]

80. An enlightened public

is not anything you're going to get any time soon given GOP monopoly of the news media.

Our product is good, sell it.

Its much easier to enlighten the public when you're in power, much harder when you're the underdog minority.

[yurbud]

76. He had me until Bill Richardson and Mark Warner

I've heard both speak and they sound more like the slippery DLC types than tough, no-nonsense, bare-knuckled street brawlers.

[FUGW]

77. Oh please, we will win if we play by Roves rules? Tell that to Bill C.

[OzarkDem]

79. It's not "playing by Rove's rules"

its learning how to compete on his playing field.

Dems have to be much smarter about highlighting their strengths. This is a good plan. Read it again, it doesn't say anything about conducting smear campaigns or lying about opponents.

But it does talk about playing smarter and tougher in order to beat him.

[serryjw]

85. Thanks for explaining

Dems on DU have a distorted preception on how much the average Joe/Jane pays attention to politics or current events. The average people want

To live in peace
have a good job/fair wages
have affordable health care
have some form of retirement that they can look forward to in the future
take a vacation every once in awhile
make sure their kids get educated and have a future

Do you REALLY believe they THINK about our Bill of Rights?There was so little outrage over gas prices. Americans figure out how to survive and don't complain.

[Name removed]

87. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[yurbud]

82. RULE THIRTEEN: It's possible to look tough without starting a war

Simply kick some powerful interests in the nuts (not blacks, Latinos, gays, or Muslims--the GOP has dibs on them and they aren't powerful). Flatly call oil companies and/or health insurance and companies and big pharma the economic terrorists that they are. They cannot be allowed to dictate our health policy or in the case of big oil, when we go to war.

A variation on this is standing to elected officials when they are popular, instead of agreeing with them when they are popular and kicking them when they are down. Possibly the only thing that looks more cowardly than not standing up to a bully is waiting until he has a seizure before you kick him in the teeth.

[FUGW]

84. 13 use peoples beliefs to get them to vote against their own interests.

This guy is a piece of shit, if we do this we will get another GWB.

[elehhhhna]

please read the op again for comprehension.

[elehhhhna]

99. please read the op again for comprehension.

[AspenRose]

88. Wow....just, wow.

(If this isn't a 'herding cats' thread, I don't know what is....)

Democrats are independent, intelligent, and brilliant. But that brilliance is a two-edged sword.

I don't think I'll ever see Democrats letting just ONE person manage perception....or biting the bullet to appeal to the average voter (which, yes, unfortunately, DOES mean dumbing down a bit). It's almost like Dems are too proud to do those sorts of things...like it's stooping to some sort of level that we can't withstand for the sake of winning an election.

But our country is desperate for checks and balances. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

[mnhtnbb]

89. Focus. Discipline. Play to Win. Makes sense.

[FUGW]

90. We are "F"ed if this is what it takes to lead this country.

[Dora]

91. Oh, honey, THAT is EXACTLY what has been leading this country, since 2000.

And yes, fucked is a good word for how it's been since then.

[tomreedtoon]

92. This is what has led this country for DECADES!!!

Only thing is, there were Democrats before our time that understood the facts of life. Especially this: idealism may occasionally gain power, but it never holds it for long.

Ever read European history? Does the name Garibaldi mean anything to you? He had to use treachery and deceit and possibly worse things to unite all those fractured parts of Italy into a working nation. There were lots of idealists wanting to do the same thing. It took someone with the will to win, and an understanding of how human beings really work. Not some stuff taught in a church or argued over cups of cappucino in a cute little cafe.

It will take that and more to unite America.

[Raksha]

93. RULE #13 or #14, or something:

Figure out what the other side DOESN'T want to talk about...and then TALK ABOUT IT!

There's another thread here (see link) about how Bush still has plans to privatize Social Security, and will push for it again if he gets a Republican majority. That's a very good example of what I mean.

We Democrats are so used to functioning in reactive (defensive) mode that it's practically a conditioned reflex. I know I do it, and it's almost an unconscious thing. We keep waiting for THEM to set the agenda, waiting to see what kind of dirty tricks Karl Rove has up his sleeve, etc. Like the ABC/Disney mockumentary, the October surprise that came in September. I'm just as upset about it as anyone else, but there's no law saying we always have to react to their agenda. We can have an agenda of own for a change, and force THEM to react to it.

So every Democratic candidate should pin his/her opponent down on Social Security. Get in their faces and challenge them about it! Ask them what they intend to do about Bush's plan to privatize Social Security if the Republicans retain control of the House and Senate. It's an issue they can never win on, and they know it and we know it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2094778
Edited to add link

[elehhhhna]

100. Psssst.......I fig'd out what the other side DOESN'T want to talk about

shhhhhhhhhhh...scroll down...


























FACTS

[The Count]

101. Sooo...Bush won???That's news to me. Until you stop believing this BS,

everything else is lost.
Now Madison avenue is in charge of Democracy and we applaud...sheesh....More smoke and mirrors.

[blm]

109. EXACTLY - distracts from the TRUTH - ELECTION FRAUD and MEDIA COMPLICITY

Look the other way, Dems - don't look at the TRUTH about GOP control of media and vote counts - you have to act like Republicans and move to the center to win.

That's what it boils down to.

[elehhhhna]

124. Why do you hate reality?

[symbolman]

103. Tanned and ready to report for work

Okay, let's go get them then. I've been employing this kind of attitude for about 5 years now at Takebackthemedia.com and have devoted those years to creating dozens of Flash ads online since 2000 to SPANK these assholes, drag them to the light and make them wither like the Vampires they are :)

Many people have complained because I don't play the ATTAP game and say what I mean (just like Bush), but I've always felt like I was being honest, and was just as Honest when I made "ARMY OF ONE" which asks at the end "If WE support the Troops, Why can't BUSH?" while the video showed a flag covered coffin. THis commercial was shown 3000 times on the east coast during the Primaries, CNN, FOX and others.

Been on the O'Reilly show once and Scarborough's show twice and from all reports did pretty well, some folks wrote to me of their whole family standing up and Cheering over some of the things I said, Like when Scarborough threatened to turn off my microphone, and when I told him "We've seen this kind of think before, it's called RED BAITING.." Shut his ass right up.

C'mon, give me a shot, I'll roast these guys.. you kick the TRUTH their way and they fold up like Lawnchairs. They are PUNKS and SISSIES, who blather on and speak only in sound bytes. I can offer sound bytes to.. Like when Rove Invented "Cut and Run", I came up with "Well those complaining on the right about Cut and Run are the sames ones who RAN AND HID during Vietnam.."

It's easy, I do that kind of stuff all day long. Pops right in the head. I can eat right wing brains two fisted all day long, and I've READ the Prince Machiavelli instead of just talking about it. There's another book the Left needs to read, how to create Propaganda by Geobbles. It really WORKS and as the author of the article says above, DO IT, and don't cry that YOU are becoming them. You can't, YOU are NOT INSANE.

Thanks for your support all these years and I'll get off my soapbox now, hey, thanks for the Posting, I really have been saying a lot of these same things for years, and have been attacked for it :)

Meanwhile while we all argue about DISNEY (yeah, it's BAD Propaganda) BUSH IS walking away CLEAN from a FIVE YEAR Anniversary of HIS TOTAL FUCKUP.. anyone else noticing that?

DO NOTICE Please and start talking about HIM - they are DEFLECTING the issue that BUSH FAILED.

[opihimoimoi]

104. Out of the Trenches and firing Truth Bullets....using a Trebuchet

firing Chit for Bombs...Lets go git um

Sending lau laus and poi to all vols.

[elehhhhna]

130. Can i hava lomi lomi right ...about...there?

Thanks,

Queen Kaman'awanalei'a

[opihimoimoi]

135. UUUUUHHHhhhhhhhh, one Lomi lomi coming up for da Queen

My Lomi's cover 100%....we will reach over there in due time

Come, its time :smoke: :toast:

[elehhhhna]

113. I'm right behind you, S'man! Lemme at at 'em!

[Danascot]

105. "Had Enough Yet?"

would be a good simple campaign slogan, not only to reference B*sh but the whole litany of GOP corruption and malfeasance.

I think it would resonate not only with our base but with most of the folks in the squishy middle. I think enough people are fed up with the shenanigans of the party in power to dominate 2006 and 2008.

Under this heading we could run a glaring example of GOP evil every day between now and election day 2008 and not run out of material.

By the time we hammered it home a couple hundred times, nobody in America could forget it.

Not only that but it has the beauty that every word could be unembellished truth.

[elehhhhna]

125. Good but Not good enough. Too negative. We the Peeps want HOPE.

Morning in America, Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, etc.

[dogday]

107. Having the MSM on their side is what is

killing us.... The Media plays us down while playing them up... The swift-boating of John Kerry was the MSM's fault as they continued to play it non-stop 24/7 for weeks....

[elehhhhna]

126. Yep. Let's just bag it and move to Holland.

[goclark]

137. The MSM likes quick sound bites

and that's what ROVE gives them.

The MSM likes their ratings and that is what ROVE gives them. He had his SWIFT BOATS and he gave the MSM Smoke and Mirrors for ten days while the Democrats sat back and complained.

They did nothing dramatic that I recall.

For example, do you remember when Clinton was "Impeached" and all the Democrats dressed in Black and spoke on the lawn of the WH?

That's what I'm talking about! MSM likes drama! Give it to them!

[ruggerson]

129. Kick n/t

[elehhhhna]

132. kick

:dem:

[ruggerson]

139. KICK

[Beelzebud]

133. Every beltway Dem should be forced to read this! Brilliant!

[goclark]

136. Democrats TALK too much!

I agree with the poster's article in many respects....

RepubliCONS are smart enough to know that Democrats take too long to say something!

I believe: Memes work folks, they work!

Leave the long winded messages to the bloggers like us, give STRONG, TRUTHFUL,SHORT messages for the average folks that don't take the time to read all the stuff.

For example: This week, the best MEME(and I don't have a problem with the word other than I prefer, "STICKIE"- something that STICKS to your brain) was this....


"President Clinton said PULL it or CHANGE IT" in referring to the 911 LIESHOW.

That sends a signal to my weary eyes that CLINTON DOES NOT LIKE THE SHOW and that is good enough to make me know I too want them to " PULL IT OR CHANGE IT."

My major concern with DU is that the average IQ must be over 120. IMO that means that we get a thrill out of reading a variety of sources and comparing what we have learned. That is what A and B students love to do.

That is great for DU but it is way over the heads of most. Why do we need to hear John Kerry or anyone go on and on and on! Say it for the general audience as " PULL IT or CHANGE IT!"

If we don't come out SHORT, TRUTHFUL and QUICK and demand respect with our statements, ROVE will win the day again.

Recall that , meme or not, the MSM is still telling us that 30% of Americans still believe "there were WMD in Iraq!" IMO,that can not possibly be true but they keep repeating that over and over again.

My other point that worked for Clinton's outrage about the 911 LIESHOW is that he came out fighting! That is what you have to do when you deal with bullies!


Don't forget the 4 magical words by someone well trained by President Clinton...

The Senator was brave and understood how you deal with bullies when she said
"VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY" that was one of the best!

[Raksha]

141. I agree with you that Democrats talk too much,

but to a very great extent they force us to do it! I guess I better explain what I mean by that. They force us to do it by using a variation of the Big Lie technique. They use The Lie as a smokescreen, as a way of kicking sand in our face. It can be and often is some OLD discredited lie, and the purpose is nothing more than playing for time, so they can make their escape while we are distracted. That's ALL it is, but it works more often than I want to think about. Even when you are well aware of what they're doing.

Last night on another board a freeper actually trotted out the "Clintons had Vince Foster murdered" shtick on a thread about the ABC propaganda extravaganza. This steaming pile has been discredited by how many law enforcement agencies now? So this morning the moderator of that same board posted a list of all the law enforcement agencies that have investigated his death and found it to be a suicide. He must have had the list in a file on his hard drive for just such an occasion. I would have had to waste time googling it, which I was not willing to do.

But if I had taken the bait, my motive would not have been to try to convince this bitch of anything. For one thing, she already knows Vince Foster's death was a suicide as well as I do, and for another thing she isn't going to vote Democratic no matter what I prove or don't prove. The reason the Dems on that board (including me) take the bait as often as we do is simply to let the Repukes know they aren't putting anything over on us. Maybe they know this?

The point I'm trying to make is that you can't--or I can't anyway--allow your opponent to think you're an idiot or that you don't have an answer to something like that. But to respond adequately and put them in their place, you have to get WORDY! Sometimes very wordy, because Big Lies can only be refuted with FACTS. And to explain the facts, even if you're just copying and pasting from another source, takes a lot of words. A lot MORE words than the concise, open-ended, bullshit accusation.

"Name one lie that Bush has told."

I'm series!!!1! A freeper posted that on the other forum just yesterday, and it stunned me. Where do you start? I couldn't think of just ONE lie, and at that moment I couldn't even single out ONE lie from the endless list that crowded into my head at the same time. I was speechless, and I ended up not replying to the post at all, which was probably the best response under the circumstances.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's very easy to talk in sound bites if you don't care about the truth. The lie is concise and memorable, but the truth is often long-winded, and therefore it's BORING! It depends on facts nobody is going to remember 30 seconds later and it makes people's eyes glaze over if you present too many of them at once.

So what do you do about this? I'm getting more and more frustrated with the lie-as-smokescreen tactic and the truth-is-wordy-and-boring phenomenon. If anyone has developed any way of dealing with this I'm open to suggestion.

[goclark]

144. That is exactly what ROVE expects us to do and say

and he goes right along with his LIES.

We must come back strong!

Hillary did not have to use a lot of words to explain it ~

Word #1 = They

Word # 2= are

# 3 = a

# 4 = VAST

# 5 = RIGHT

# 6 = WING

# 7 = CONSPIRACY !!!!!!! Bingo, she said it, she meant it and she never took it back.

Her words have lives forever.

[samsingh]

145. kick

[TheWatcher]

147. He Forgot Rule 13

[EstimatedProphet]

148. Here's a true life example of just what this guy says

This morning we were listening to Bob and Tom on the radio. Typical morning show - they have all sorts of wacky stuff, joke callers, etc. They were talking about doing keg stands. "Bill Clinton" calls in, and starts talking about his college days doing keg stands, chasing women, acting like a frat boy, etc.

The real Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar. He studied in Europe. He was by definition the cream of American students - you don't just get to be a Rhodes Scholar.

Our Great Leader was a cheerleader at Yale. He had a C average. He was known for frat boy parties and drinking to the point of brain damage. He had a DUI at one point.

So, does the character REALLY sound like Bill Clinton? Yet, to millions of Americans, that is the image they have of Bill Clinton, and the one they have of Bush is of a serious student and thoughtful man. Even though we know how patently stupid that is, there's a large percentage of the public that votes based on those thoughts, and similar thoughts. And the reason that things are this way is because we didn't adequately fight the vile pigs that make media image into reality for the average unthinking American. We have to play the perception game, because if we don't, and we simply try to debate on the issues alone, the vile pigs that want America to be a corporate indentured state will convince every person who doesn't have the time or inclination to thoroughly think out an issue that black is white and up is down, and we will never be able to right things again.

This is what it is going to take. We aren't lying to the people, or disrespecting them. The other side is. We're trying to undo the lies they spread. If we don't, get used to the idea of McAmerica, because you'll be selling yourself to the company store.

[Swamp Rat]

149. I wish I could recommend this thread.

:kick: