Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Letter To a Tennessee Democratic Politician

Sure...I would love to get together and trade ideas about electing Democrats in 2012. Just for starters this should get you riled up.

Democrats have a muddled message right now that is essentially Republican Lite with their main slogan being "We don't suck as bad as those other guys". Frankly, I think the conservative Democrat's time has passed. We saw Congressman Lincoln Davis, as conservative a Dem as ever existed (and a personal friend of mine), get slammed by an incapable incompetent nobody. There was no message there other than that other guy is a creep (which he was...and is). Where did that get Lincoln? Why should anyone vote for a conservative Democrat when they can have a real foam at the mouth ideological maggot?

Democrats let Republicans run a dog whistle, catch phrase, campaign. We should have been working to destroy "pro-life" and "pro-gun" as campaign rhetoric instead of pretending to be sorta pro-life and sorta pro-gun. The message has to be something like, "How can you claim to be pro life when you don't support good quality health care for our people?"

While people were standing around letting Republicans scare them into believing Democrats were going to take their guns, Republicans took their jobs. (Just so you know...I got guns and I'm a danged good shot. But I keep them in a safe place instead of a 2nd Amendment shrine.)

Now...You want jobs? You have to elect Democrats...Real ones! Democrats who understand that it's the little guys who create jobs in America and Tennessee. Democrats who understand that TN Senator Bob Corker isn't helping us when he filibusters a bill that would end the tax breaks for big corporations who take jobs away from Tennesseans and send them to China. Democrats who understand that the giant corporations who run the heath care system in Tennessee don't give a rat's ass about whether you and you child live or die as long as they can gobble up nearly 20% of the Gross Domestic Product of this nation and still give us medical care that is 34th from the top but twice as expensive as the country that is number one. (You listening, Phil?)

And so on.

These are not easy messages. They have to be said and re-said and shouted over and over. You and every politician who wants to claim that they are a Democrat have to buy into the program and quit trying be fake conservatives. If you care about people and want to make their lives better, you can't be a conservative.

Conservatives have no plan for better health care...But They do have a plan to make insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies richer and richer.

Conservatives don't have a plan for a healthier environment that won't give you cancer if you drink the water, or breathe the air, or want to eat the fish you catch...But They do have a plan to make big coal corporations richer and richer.

Conservatives don't have a plan to make sure every child has the opportunity for a good education that prepares them for a productive and happy life...But They do have a plan to destroy the public school system while sending their own children to expensive private schools.

Conservatives don't have a plan for creating jobs in America...But, They have been absolutely awesome at creating jobs...in China, just not in Tennessee.

Democrats cannot keep reading polls and deciding what image or persona they will pretend to be. Democrats have to craft and deliver a message that will drive the polls to what we are...The Party of the People. The Democratic Party that cares about the school your child goes to. The party that cares about you and your children's health and well being. The Democratic Party that will create a good competitive business environment that will produce jobs for your children after they get that good education we will work to provide them.

Democrats cannot be roosters that see the light coming over the horizon, squawk their heads off, and think they are done for the day because the sun comes up. That's what Republicans do. That's what Democrats have tried to be in Tennessee for the last decade. Look, Republicans are better at that than we are. Let's let the Republicans be Republicans and let's you and me be Democrats, how 'bout it? We have work to do at first light and we'll stop for a little breakfast later, and then get back to work.

Now the mechanics of all this aren't simple. It will take strong leadership at the state level and some shake up of our party. If the Democratic party wants to compete with the Republicans to see who can best serve the Devil, you can count me out. The conservative lite message is a loser.

We are faced with a virulent strain of conservatism in this country, one funded by huge corporate cash reserves. We can beat them, though. Obama proved it in 2008 with an internet fundraising machine that out raised his opponents with small number donations from millions instead of million dollar donations from a small number.

We have to have a strong media presence and it doesn't have to cost too much money. It takes a good message and all of us barking the same bark at the same bear over and over. We have to show ourselves to be on the side of the middle class while pointing out that Republicans are doing all they can to destroy the middle class.

We have to have a strong online presence, with a paid staff that posts comments at every news and blog site, instead of letting Mike Duncan and his lackeys control that idea space.

We have to challenge reporters and moderators by asking them to do their jobs! "Why are you making ME point out that this Republican is Lying? Isn't that your job?...Don't you care about the First Amendment and Truth? When Republicans lie...Call them liars! It's the job of a free press in America! The press is not doing its job when it makes US state facts instead of calling Republicans out when they lie. I hereby call you on this!"

Now, we can't rely on the party leaders at the top to do all this. We have to have strong local leadership that will do the work on the ground. That's where you and I come in. Ive been working my tail off for years now, frankly, and it's about time you and all the other Democratic politicians I've been supporting with money and time jump on the Peace Train.

Got you going yet?

I have to run but we can get together in the next few weeks and see where our ideas overlap and where we can do some good.

Have a good new year and don't party too hard. The sun is going to come up whether the rooster crows or not. The important thing is to make sure the light shines on us.

Cheers,

Steve

13 comments:

  1. Oh hell yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Bravo, I am sending this to my email list!!!

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  2. Good stuff, and lets not forget how much the State party patted itself on the back over "recruitment" of good candidates. the guy they found to run against Josh Evans ran the worst campaign I ever saw, and he had the money, the staff, and the volunteer base at his disposal!

    The only thing I'll add is that we still lack outlets for our message, and I'm afraid that no matter how well honed it is, it will still be drowned out by the noise machine of Valentine, Gill, et al.

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  3. I forgot to tell you this: I voted for Josh Evans, and I hate his positions on almost everything. But, at least he picked a side, and called himself a Republican. What does that tell you about his sorry opponent?

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  4. This kicks ass! Why are the folks at TNDP not getting this message? How many elections do they have to lose before they realize that what they've always done just isn't working anymore?

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  5. Well said, I'll be sure to pass this along.

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  6. You go, my friend. Texas needs this message, too!

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  7. Thank you for breaking down some of the mechanics.

    "The truth is really pretty simple. It's the mechanics of making it work that breaks men down." HST

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  8. On target and inspirational to true believers. In my opinion, you propose telling the truth and explaining an issue in a logically, compelling and persuasive manner.

    This will, over time, erode our opponents' credibility. Keep espousing our positions rationally with our evidence-based arguments. In my view this will highlight the Republicans deceit and the hypocrisy of their positions on issues that matter to us all.

    Bravo!
    Tom & Kat

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  9. Omit Democrat and Republican references and fill in those blanks with "politicians". I hope the person to whom you have directed your comments understands what we need are representatives of the people, not career politicians.

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  10. Arizona needs this message, BIG TIME! Be prepared to be swamped with readers in search of common sense!

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  11. I understand and support the reasoning and beliefs behind the rant, but it's all wrong.

    Most Republicans are not "FOR" the rich getting richer. They are not against being rich, and they want everyone to have that opportunity. They bought the argument that the Democrats want to redistribute wealth,and they are against that.

    Republicans are not against health care; they just believe in the free market system. They bought the idea that government is incapable of administering a fair and efficient system. We didn't teach them that the administrative costs of Medicare run around 4% versus 30% for similar privately managed systems. We chose to argue about the wrong thing.

    Democrats are all about the facts. Republicans win the arguments because they know that it's all in how the message is pitched. Consequently, they use the facts to make the government, liberals, and the rest of us look like we're incompetent because the facts don't always line up so that it looks like we're consistent.

    It's all about the words we use and how we use them. That's politics.

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  12. We are making progress. Liberal is no longer a dirty word. The neoconservatives did a good job with in making the love of one's fellow man into something dirty and communinist. There is a ground swell developing in the country while the republicans are becomming more right winged.

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