The Democrats need to educate the public

[Onlooker]

When Roosevelt and Kennedy were presidents, they acted not only as leaders, but as teachers. The fact is that liberalism has the better arguments than conservativism. That's why liberal reform ALWAYS wins out in the end. Whether we look at civil rights, social welfare, education, fairness to working people, or protection of the environment, the nation has fairly steadily moved to the left. I do not understand why Obama, the Democrats in Congress, and the well-heeled Democratic donors don't do a better job making the case for liberal politics.

Look at economic policy for instance. Why don't the Democrats use their muslce to point out that most of our taxpayer money gets ultimately invested in private enterprise, and the wealthy are the ones who stand to get much of that money through their investments? That's why their taxes need to be higher. The fact is that when Reagan cut taxes for the rich and privatized more of the federal government, the wealthy invested in private enterprises funded by taxpayer dollars. So, not only did they get lower taxes, they got a bigger return on their taxpayer dollars.

Why don't they point out that using the definition of fairness proposed by Republicans, all taxes are unfair. After all, even under a flat tax a person earning $1 million/year would pay 10x as much as a person earning $100k/year for the same government services. If you want fairness, either have everyone pay the same dollar amount or look elsewhere, as pointed out in my first paragraph.

The Democrats should ask people what they think will happen if we cut food and shelter for the poor, many of whom are disabled or mentally ill. Don't the American people realize that if someone is desperate they may turn to crime, which will require tax increases to fund more police, courts, and prisons? Don't they realize that an increase in crime will lead to declines in property values, as well as in the quality of life? In other words, conservatives don't have to be compassionate to support programs for the poor; it's practical.

The Democrats should point out that every great nation has high taxes. It's expensive to run a nation that's not only a superpower, but has a system where people live long lives, have clean water, safe streets, beautiful parks, good schools, and so on. There are countries with lower taxes, but they are mostly in the third world, and suffer from such weak governments that either they are military dictatorships or anarchism reigns. Ask the Republicans to cite examples of low-tax nations that work. There are none, except those with tiny populations and rich in natural resources.

And why don't the Democrats ask the Republicans why they go after the middle class -- more worried about the person getting unemployment or the government worker who makes a decent wage than other problems in our country? The constant refrain of Republicans is that government employees are lazy and overpaid. Why do we allow these continued attacks on the middle class. Government employees are no lazier than anyone else and their salaries are middle class, with very few exceptions.

Since not a lot is going to get done in the next two years, the Democrats needs to start educating the American people. They need to make the case for liberalism, and to that end people like Obama and Pelosi should challenge Republicans to debates. They are exceptionally bright and well-spoken and American history provides a steady defense of liberalism. People live longer. People's lives are for the most part better. And the nation has steadily enacted liberal policies starting with the Bill of Rights.

[WinkyDink]

1. Yeah, education always works well here.