There’s Two Cents on the Table With Your Name on It If You Have Thoughts On What the Democratic Party Needs to Do To Win
Seriously. You have ideas? Share them.
The only bright note in my county was the vast increase in Democratic votes in vote by mail.
Tonight I had to hug a guy who worked his butt off block walking every day, phone banking, fund raising – he dedicated his life to this race and only got 300 more votes than a guy who did nothing.
The Democratic brand is damaged and repairing it is our first order of business.
First a confession: I’ve only been a Democrat for 14 years. I grew up Republican, in Maryland. I switched to Independent in college and stayed Independent until Bush v Gore. I was never very political; I researched candidates and issues and voted, but nothing more. So my observations are still somewhat outsider.
I lived in Alabama for six long years, when Rove was taking over the state. When I first moved there I tried to find a voters guide or issues reports on the candidates and couldn’t find anything, so I called the League of Women Voters and asked. To my surprise, they told me that candidates in Alabama don’t answer issue questions. The only way I could find out anything was to join the Christian Coalition, get their voter guides, and vote against their recommended candidates. Being a member of the Christian Coalition (and a fundamentalist homeschool group) was an education. They ran candidates for everything, but they emphasized offices that made no sense to me at the time, like school board and election board. (Really. It never crossed my mind that anyone in this country would steal elections.) Their main advice to their candidates was, Lie. If asked what you believe, lie. Tell people what they want to hear and when you get elected do what you want.
I’m not advising Dems to lie or steal elections; if we did I’d stop being a Dem. But I do think we need to run candidates for every office, from school board to president. We need to support our candidates, not attack them. It seems to me Republicans shoot at us, and we do the circular firing squad and shoot ourselves too. Gore won in 2000 and the Democrats turned on him before the votes were counted. Dean worked hard for us and we piled on when the media mocked him. Obama has done many things that I hate and has sometimes left me feeling betrayed, just like every president we’ve ever had, but he has ALSO done, or tried to do, some really good things. I don’t think it helped that Democrats tried to attack him as much as, or more than, Republicans. How do you get out the Obama voters by attacking Obama? Why couldn’t someone defend the Affordable Care Act? Yes, I wanted single payer; yes, it was a Republican plan; but it was a huge accomplishment!
Before the election, I got millions of emails saying, it’s over, we’ve lost, it’s terrible. The press was already predicting a huge Republican win. Why on earth would the Democrats agree with them? What better way to depress voter turnout than to AGREE that the election is already lost? Those emails did not make me want to give to Democrats; they made me want to give my money where it might actually accomplish something positive.
We have huge institutional disadvantages. The corporate press is against us, and will likely get worse as the money is on the Republican side. Our voters are systematically disenfranchised and gerrymandered; that will get worse too. Money is all on the R side. Propaganda is terribly effective and they’re great at it; they keep repeating their message while we argue among ourselves about what our message is, if we even have one. They defend their own and we attack our own candidates and our leaders. I don’t trust the voting machines, and I know for a fact that Republicans are fine with stealing elections. They don’t really believe in democracy anyway; many of them want a theocracy and believe they’re doing God’s work and we’re evil. (Funny, I have similar feelings about them, except that I don’t believe the ends justify the means and I believe in democracy.)
I’m not sure we can turn it around, but I do know one thing. When the game is against them Republicans do not lie down, whine, quit, moderate their issues, sell out their base, say that they’re losing, or stop. They fight. They hate us more than they hate each other, and they never stop fighting. I hope we can use this time to rebuild and connect and support each other. I’m going to start by sending a small donation to the Fort Bend Country Democrats, then I’ll join a local Democratic group.
On a semi related topic, one of my daughters has spent months volunteering for, and then working for, Battleground. She worked insanely long and thankless hours with many dedicated people. I think they did some things wrong; they should have shared databases with the Democratic Party, for instance (more Dem infighting). But they fought hard and deserve our thanks and respect. So to all of the people who worked so hard to turn Texas blue, Democrats and Battleground, thank you for your work and your dedication. Thanks to our candidates. I agree with Wendy. We only lose if we quit fighting.
Thank you all, especially Juanita/Susan, who has helped to keep me sane and motivated.
1Well Chipster, I am glad to see that you take from this debacle that we rally around the Blue Dogs and kick the left to the curb again. That turned out spectacularly last night.
2I concur. It isn’t Obama who is a terrible President– it’s those who pretend to be liberal/progressive Dems but their policies say something else. I am as disappointed as any of you– I feel like someone has dragged me down the road, and I have the ONLY good news in my corner (Corbett is gone–)but I don’t know where else to live. If Maryland has a Repig governor, that is news. Read our friend Charlie at Esquire– he frequently hits the nail square on the head, and is able to express our total frustration with this culmination of 30 years of dishonesty. I don’t think I can listen to even MSNBC anymore. Thanks daChipster, for your thoughts.
3I was recently castigated by a (liberal) woman on an online forum. She complained that while I used elegant language to deal with some of the more over zealous examples of republican mental flatulence, that I was being just like them ( I wasn’t) when I went after them. I don’t use bad language, but I do make heavy use of sarcasm, puns, the occasional literary reference (Moby DICK, the great white wail) and I don’t attack unless I’m attacked first. They eat her alive on the forum and she just wrings her hands, so to speak.
The hand wringing is symptomatic of the Democratic party. When you’re attacked, don’t try to be polite, don’t try to make things right or smooth things over, because they don’t care. Go for the middle, the undecided, the ones who still think logically, and prove your point to them in any way you can, but don’t let the bullies have the last say.
Don’t be a push over.
4In Texas? You start registering minority voters NOW. You ask for money to cover the cost of pursuing birth certificates and Drivers Licenses/IDs for minority voters NOW. You know damned well that, even if the courts strike down ID, the Lege will figure out how to bring it back for 2016. You take your existing lists and start building on them NOW.
In other states, these actions are important. In Texas, they are CRITICAL.
5Make Voting by Mail the only way to Vote. (Like Taxes)
Make Voting Mandatory. (Like Taxes)
Issue very stiff fines for not Voting. (Like Taxes)
Just saying…….
6Something I read recently and can’t find now, said that people basically want to follow and not think. I used to believe that people would look at facts and become convinced, but apparently if the facts don’t fit their pre-existing beliefs, they become MORE convinced that their beliefs are right and the facts are wrong. People want to fit in with their group and follow their leaders, and they want to be on the winning team. This article or study (wish I could remember where I read it, I’m sorry!) said that the way to change people’s minds was to join a group that agrees with you and convince other people that your side will win the argument. Republicans are masters of this, compete masters. Maybe it’s something to remember. For most issues, we will win in the end. So even though we just got hammered, let’s stay confident and be leaders. We can take the minority strategy from Republicans; just keep hammering our ideals. We’re right. They’re wrong.
We really need to take the press and I don’t know how to do that. I’m afraid that losing the net neutrality fight will be another thing to shut down our voices.
7I think the title of my blog says it all. We’ve done this to ourselves and will have to grow up if we ever want to change it.
8@daChipster:
9Sorry that you appear to be personally offended by my earlier comment about the President. My point, specifically: the man came in with many promises to change things. Then, instead of showing the American people that the Bankers who screwed the economy up would be held to account he put them in charge of the economy. When people see that the laws are only enforced for some people they lose respect for the Government. Then, he stood behind the hated Patriot act, he has not taken strong stands about Net Neutrality issues, and he has not even tried to increase taxes on the Oligarchs.
So, many “bread and butter” issues have been ignored. I have supported the President, but I have been disappointed that he appears to have not been aware that politics in America is a blood sport, not a college classroom. And, I HATE the fact that people who – in my opinion – are only interested in taking control of our economy and freedoms for their own gain are rubbing their hands together in glee today.
But, it is just a battle – the war goes on!
Kevin Drum made a comment last week that struck a chord, noting that Americans seemed inclined to blame Democrats, not Republicans, “for the rising dysfunction of the federal government.”
[This] is especially galling for Democrats, but it’s a win for Republicans and yet another sign of change in the way Washington is likely to work in the future. Republicans have discovered that a sufficiently united party can obstruct everything and anything but largely escape blame for the resulting gridlock.
This lesson has not been lost on Democrats, and it bodes ill for the future regardless of who wins our next few elections.
10@ Elise Von Holten … I don’t believe an apology is necessary for writing a truthful piece!! You and daChipster have outdone yourselves on this particular piece!! You both say what some of us just can’t conjure up … Thank you to both of you … Elise and daChipster!!
11I`m from Indiana and we also took a pounding.I refer to this state as Zombieland.The state paper said they think we set an all time record for low voter turnout.But the Zombies went to the polls and pulled a straight R lever.
12I think one of the first things we need to do is bring back Howard Dean and his 50 state strategy.I don`t even know what our national Democrat Party leaders name is.I am a precinct committee person and have been for several years.This year we had absolutely no GOTV plan.As far as I know the state party leadership had no plan.There has to be an internal blood letting and it has to begin at the top.The President needs to get more involved and he needs to get down and dirty.I don`t know how I will get through these next 2 years.I almost wish I could get up tomorrow and find that its 2016 and Hillary is running for President.
The Democratic Party needs a propaganda minister. Can’t call him that ’cause there’s too much baggage comes with that name. Czar is a trendy name right now. How about Public Information Officer?
The Democrats let the other side control the narrative. The narrative was all about being against Obama. The Republicans made it near impossible to get anything done and then they cashed in on the results of the gridlock.
Because they controlled the narrative.
Obama has done more for the ordinary citizen than all the presidents put together since FDR, but no one knows about it. I found a web site with a list of over 200 things he’s done. And that was BEFORE he ended two wars!
We need a nationwide information agency. We also need someone like Jon Stewart to poke fun at the Republicans. And not just in election years! This needs to be a continuing program. Information saturation. Never let ’em forget that this president is getting things done even against terrific odds.
President Obama has proposed many infrastructure programs that would get the economy rolling again. The Republicans blocked them. If we had a Propaganda Minister we could put up images on our web site showing what we want to do and explain the direct benefits to the people in that state or geographical area. High speed rail, for example. Lay out the proposed path. Tell about the jobs it would create.
Every time he tried to pass some legislation and the Republicans blocked it, the story would be on the web site and on e-mail mass mailings detailing the benefits of the proposal and naming the specific person or persons who blocked it.
The Eastern Establishment; money and Murdoch, control the media. There are 1500 newspapers, 1100 magazines, 9,000 radio stations, 1500 TV stations, and 2400 publishers owned by six corporations. We have to have our own media outlets.
Obama’s next move should be to retire Joe Biden and appoint an electable successor to carry on his work after 2016. If he doesn’t, we’ll have some creepy, crawly Republican get elected. If that happens, to borrow a phrase from a previous creepy, crawly Republican;
“We’re in deep doo-doo.”
Dragon
13My promised followup: Knock, knock! Who’s there? Consumption. Consumption who?
Consumption be done about all this?
Well, yes and no. The first thing we’ve got going for us all the things I’ve got listed as going against us. The only way these guys can win is by artificially tilting the playing field in their favor. That means, all things being equal, we kick their butts as things stand right now. They can’t win without cheating. And even cheating, they lose, like in ’06 and ’08. But we can’t undo all the cheating soon.
We have the White House locked up until 2024 if HRC doesn’t stumble. That includes all Supreme Court appointments for the next 10 years. That’s powerful.
The thing that is angering and motivating the right – and has been since the Know-Nothings – is the continued demise of WASP power. By 2050, the voting population across the US will be minority-majority. Pale enclaves like, say, North Dakota, may still offer resistance to progress, but the weight of numbers will eventually begin to tell.
What hope do we have a little closer to today?
In states like Texas, where minority majority is a sooner certainty, we must register, educate and motivate our non-white allies, not only about issues like immigration, which is a big, shiny object, but also about unsexy issues like infrastructure. I know that you’ve already started, but continue to organize, organize, organize. I think we’re on the right path, with that, and los Hermanos Castro, Julian and Joaquin, are the way forward.
Other aspects of hope are all variations on the same theme – let Republicans be Republicans. They will continue to screw things up until we get to the point where everyone with half a brain can see it. Then get everyone to vote.
Unlike in previous decades, the Democrats are clearly superior on ALL the issues across the board. This includes the economy. Republican polices are strangling us monetarily. On the environment, they are literally killing people. On education, they have created a wasteland and called it reform. On infrastructure, they are, again, killing people on bridges, on roads, in heat waves when power lines fail to run air conditioners.
I don’t know about you, but when I look back on all the ads I’ve seen this past election cycle, I can’t point to one Democrat who mentioned the economy. Republicans took PLENTY of credit for the Obama recovery. Here in Ohio, Kasich pretended all the jobs created were his, instead of Obama’s, the way that four years ago he pretended all the jobs lost were not Bush’s, but Gov. Strickland’s.
We win on the issues. Run on the issues. Republicans are liars. CALL them liars. The only people prospering under their view on the issues? Jobs, labor and business regulation? “Job creators.” Education reform? For-profit “educators.” Global warming? Energy sector “job creators.”
Class warfare? Hell YEAH class warfare! It’s been waged on us since 1981.
Isn’t about time we fought back?
14We don’t talk with voters when there’s not an election going on and that’s our first problem.
Our second problem is that the Republican Party does and thereby, defines our culture here in Texas.
We do not have real, legitimate organization at the Precinct County level. We do not have Precinct Chairs that organize. They do not know their Precincts, they do not know their voters. We have no information on voters, such as what their top three issues are and whether they prefer mail-in ballots, Early Vote, or Election Day voting. We don’t know what organizations or churches they belong to.
We don’t talk with the voters. We don’t have a conversation. We talk at them.
Elections should be run from the bottom up, not the top down. If a person is going to vote for his or her school board, they’re going to vote for the President.
We don’t know the (potential) voters. And they certainly do not know us.
15@ Mark Schlemmer, I can understand your frustration with President Obama, but I have a serious question: the House was thoroughly Republican with a large dash of Tea Party, the House faction of Dems being a mix of yella dogs and blue dogs and a few DINOs and the Senate not having a majority plus a strong addiction to filibustering- so what would you have had Mr Obama do? Executive orders? Justice Department lawsuits? How do you suppose THAT would have turned out given the number of right wing Republican jurists Bush packed our courts with? Tom flippin Delay’s case got thrown out on appeal, and he was found guilty. By a jury of his peers. So Mr Obama (whose chess game is light years ahead of his golf game!) worked on what he could accomplish instead of wasting time and money on a fool’s errand (unlike our new Governor) and addressed some of the problems we have been facing for 30 years instead of continuing to play ring around the rosy like some of our other leaders. IMO, Bill Clinton was Republican lite too, but he certainly beat the snot out of the alternative!
16The way Leticia ran – as a Democrat and not ‘Repub light’ – is the key. We avoid our issues and let the fundies define us.
17daChipster,don’t expect any Scotus approvals for a Dem in the WH as long as the party of gridlock controls congress. Obama is prolly looking at impeachment for being Black now that wingnuts are truly running the asylums.
18I’ve been a (Democratic) political junkie for 50 years, was elected 4 times to my school board and have worked in numerous elections. Here’s what I see that Dems. need to do:
19stop talking about the issues that should not be government issues. That means abortion and gay marriage. Really. It’s no one’s business who anyone marries (except for minimum age and not already being married) and it’s really not the govt’s business about abortion. Dems say the Repugs are trying to get into our private lives, so let’s stop emphasizing the issues that get the R’s into our private lives.
Democrats need to emphasize education, fair working conditions (min. wage and equal pay for equal work), infrastructure,health care, transparency in govt. No more secret committees giving away taxpayer money to private schools, or to businesses that donate to politicians.
The one thing that has driven me crazy about Pres. Obama (first time I’ve ever voted for a winning Presidential candidate) is that he didn’t strike back soon enough or hard enough when the Repugs said dumb things.
Nobody in here should count on the demographics bomb to pave the way for Ds in TX. The Rs almost doubled up on black voters (nearly 10%), went from 25% to 35% with Hispanics (Abbott got 44%), and took their half of the women.
Mary Ann Perez lost her state house seat to an R with a Latino surname (sure, by less than 200 votes but that district was drawn to be D so she shouldn’t have lost at all).
We’re not entitled to anyone’s votes simply by virtue of their color or their gonads, and we need to be sure we don’t start thinking that way. Getting people registered who “fit the profile” isn’t enough. They have to be won, and once won they have to be held. We have to be clear why their interests align with this party’s values and vision for what kind of country we want. Assume nothing.
20The meek may inherit the earth but they don’t win elections. I have no real problem with most of the leaders in the Democratic Party, but these folks do not deliver a strong message. Harry Reid may be great but comes across like someone afraid of his shadow. Debbie, with the two last names I cannot spell, appears to be missing in action. Nancy Pelosi may be great at getting things done behind the scenes, but I would never ask her to address a large crowd. President Obama can and does delivery a great speech; however, I wish he wouldn’t give up so easily on some critical issues. We need leaders who can express what the party is about, demand action, and look good in front of the camera. Let’s face it, looks and presentation count. John Kennedy and Bill Clinton are excellent examples of what is needed. Backbone, communication skills, intelligence (without being condescending) and reasonable good looks. The party is also in dire need of bumper sticker writers. We need really short catch phrases to get the attention of the masses and then hit them with the full message.
21I think it’s all about personality. There’s a lot of folks who don’t bother to learn any more about the issues than they know about their laundry soap. But they’ll remember the last name of the candidate who said something goofy in a campaign add..just like they’ll remember the name of the soap with the catchy jingle.
22As a 76 year old southern born male who is totally upset with the way my state and nation is headed. I feel like our real problem is with the leaders of the Dem. party. They had the best opportunity to put the Reps in the basement for a long time, what did they do, NOTHING !. They hoped the base would rise up on its own, well that just does not happen. People need leaders, real leaders, not politicians ! The part of the populace that should make up the Dem. electorate need a fire lit under their butt.
23Bring back Dr. Dean.
24Linda, great advice. Most folks can agree with issues like safety, fair pay, having water, coming by things faIrly, lots of issues like that.
25I don’t normally quote DU, but…
26http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5765926
Not to mention that election fraud (as opposed to the excuse for voter ID laws, voter fraud, which almost doesn’t exist) has become so commonplace that almost nobody pays attention to it anymore:
http://www.bradblog.com/
Oh wow, some good news. When are ours going to break down and get thrown away?
27http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/222470-states-ditch-electronic-voting-machines
The national Dems are scared! They will not fight back! I’m done with them!
28tbyg, remember how the Republicans used Governor Dean’s enthusiastic scream against him?
It’s time to return the favor with Joni Ernst. For those of you who missed her acceptance speech, I am not exaggerating. It was full of maniacal laughter and inappropriate outbursts. She showed her true colors and her handlers must have been mortified. Intriguing that that kept the real Joni suppressed during the campaign.
Here she is. Judge for yourself the sanity of this dingbat: https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KIo.BvvFpUaXwAaWD7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTB2MzdlMGpzBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVjE3OQRncG9zAzE-?p=joni+ernst+acceptance+speech+youtube+music&vid=091fc1bc80b3f8568f6eef6536131a4c&l=11%3A19&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVR.6944250071666%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1R5ssEZOL2c&tit=%3Cb%3EErnst+%3C%2Fb%3Eaccepts%3A+%E2%80%98There+is+nothing+we+can%E2%80%99t+achieve%E2%80%99&c=0&sigr=11a700fgf&sigt=11v9gfe69&age=0&&tt=b
Enjoy, Senator McCain, there’s another whack-o-bird coming your way. Am sure Mitch will thank you.
29One thing that lots of folks do here in Travis County and probably other counties: There are lots of Democratic clubs and/or venues where people meet regularly. That’s a pretty good way to keep folks thinking and talking about all sorts of issues. Of course Austin just now also went through electing new city council members and school folks, and remember, the Koch brothers influence those too. Follow the money. I am thankful to have been lucky enough to work with Ann Kitchen’s campaign; IMHO she was one of the best candidates for anything.
30One thing that messed up Democrats was letting Republicans win so many state legislatures in 2010. They then had the power to redistrict and gerrymandered. So find a way especially to win in 2020 so redistricting can be done fairly.
Find ways to get people concerned about the country and others. Get money out of politics.
Don’t have great answers for the above, but here’s one anyone can do. Get people you know involved. Especially if they weren’t as involved as before.It worked for me with the ERA, even though we didn’t get it ratified by Oklahoma and I’ve been involved ever since. This election I got yard signs in a friend’s yard who hadn’t had them before.I got four of my grandchildren registered before the last election. Three voted this time (have to work on the other one). Our candidates lost, but I think I’ve started a habit. I invited friends to Democratic meetings.
31>>tbyg, remember how the Republicans used Governor Dean’s enthusiastic scream against him?
I sure do. That was taken *way* out of context. Just a normal expression of enthusiasm, if you look at the whole clip, was edited to look like a looney. But it didn’t look all that looney even out of context – that smear should never have been gotten away with.
32The Democratic Party — national, state, and local — must become a genuinely populist party that focuses ALL its concern on young people, old people, middle-class people, poor and struggling people, and marginalized people. We can look to Pope Francis for ideas about message, conviction, and style.
33Tbyg, I went Dean Meet ups at that time. There were 6-8 people in that group who were at that rally. they said what was happening in the room while Dean was speaking was totally different from what was on TV. they said they barely heard “the scream” . In their opinion CNN doctored the whole incident for TV.
The Democratic Party would do well to listen to Dr.Dean.
34What Democratic party? We have a group of people who claim they belong to a national political party and that they aren’t Republicans, but they sure don’t act like Democrats. They won’t defend their biggest achievement, the ACA. They undermine their own party leader, the President. They think that by running in shades of pink in red states they can win and don’t learn from their failures.
The Democratic party needs to remain big tent and tolerant, but they also need to clearly define what their core values are and what they will fight for. Do they support SS and Medicare 100%? They say so, as loudly as the Repubs say they support gun rights.
I’m old enough to remember Lyndon Johnson in the days when Dems were fighters. The current lot are wishy-washy. Worse, by trying to move to the middle they are simply moving the middle to the right. This just makes it harder for Dems to run next time.
35thd 18 – 45 age group are most likely to vote blue. Yes, we need more registered. But, they aren’t going to show up unless they really like something or really hate something. The “like” part is simple, get martjuana on the ballot and they’ll show up in droves.
36I got this from a friend on Facebook. Short and to the point.
37Just my thoughts on campaigning.
The Dems can take a great lesson from how the Repugs do campaigning. They make daily calls and remind people to ‘vote the ticket.’ They send ‘combined’ mailers with pics of all their candidates on one mailer. This cuts costs! And sends many ‘reminders’ to ‘vote the ticket.’ This is in supplement to the attack ads. Dems are always on the defensive… and really…. that makes them look overall as weak. Plus running from a winning formula (Obama’s) makes them all look like Repug light.
all we ever heard about was abortion and voter ID. Not saying they are not important. Pregnancy issues not important to most men. The voter ID issue was done. Again, most people have IDS and realize that in this world to get anything you need identification. Trust but verify and all that. You want more people to vote, then help more people. Minimum wage, clean water, good schools, college tuition. Republicans attacked and dems whined. And why was it Wendy and not Letitia?
38This party thing is not working. We, the people, have to start going around the politicians. Washington state set a good example this election. Unfortunately, the politicians have done a stellar job at dividing us and pitting us against each other. That’s the first challenge — to become a people, to write down a list of what’s important to us as a people, a platform. Present it to the people and ignore the politicians. They do not represent us. We have to represent ourselves. Pie in the sky? Maybe, but it can be done. Today, we have the advantage of real-time technology so we don’t have to depend on the news media (the right’s whore) to be informed or educated. Thoughts?
39What about a non-partisan approach:
http://rturpin.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/how-to-bump-the-youth-vote/
40I want to thank Eleanor for her wonderful and insightful comments. I had had a similar thought when the “Green” party got swallowed whole by oblivion, that we need to start at the lowest, most seemingly insignificant level, and get the voting public used to us before our reach exceeds our grasp and we lose it all.
411. Make it easier to vote.
422. Make it important to people to vote. We have a movement currently that is purporting non participation as a viable way to influence government. That has to be rebutted.
3. Let people know that voting is only part of the participation in government, that it starts with attending City Council meetings, PTA meetings, anything that can and will affect your life.
4. I have always felt the candidates tell us how they are going to change things in their campaign speeches. I want them to shut up and start asking us what we want changed. I would attend a campaign meeting that asked for input rather than one that says what they think I want to hear.
5. People are entitled to the truth, no matter how ugly it may seem, it is better than the empty promises and lies that we have been fed. How else can we make an informed decision?
Bernard, I totally agree. Straight ticket voting was apparent in the Texas results. It’s the only way my brain can understand Patrick and Paxton winning by the same margin as Abbott. And it’s understandable: the ballot was much longer than the average adult’s attention span. Also, take a lesson from the number of progressive measures that won in conservative states while D candidates lost in those same states. Campaign for the platform, particularly in slots other than the top slot.
The Texas GOP platform is a deplorably pro-ignorance diatribe. No small wonder that most of the top of the Texas GOP ticket were selective in which planks they publicized (well, I think a few of the candidates couldn’t read the platform, but that’s another story…). Let’s stop shying away from the D party platform, and contrast it with that of the Rthugs, using plain common sense.
For example: public education. TxGOP’s platform decried Common Core and teaching of “critical thinking.” Ds should have gone after that, and pushed for SBOE reform, with a vengeance. Critical thinking is the ONE thing that created the good old USA; the American Revolution was spearheaded by astute critical thinkers. Appealing to history that all of us know is never a bad idea, especially when the history is about core “values” and you can back up your position with stats about Texas compared to other states.
Another example: as Elise Von Holten said on previous page, make the argument about gay marriage, abortion, medical choices, etc. about privacy and about what the government does vs. does not get to legislate. Point out the lunacy in a GOP *platform* that calls for limited government and at the same time wants to expand government’s scrutiny of your private decisions.
Finally, fix the Texas D platform’s sections that criticize particular office holders. Make the argument about the principles of the party that lead to dumb yahoo decisions.
Yes, I’m talking about a blame game, to some extent, but a blame game directed at principles that we find reprehensible, not at particular individuals.
43There is certainly no easy answer. Lex was right to mention George Lakoff. Dems need to know how to frame our messages. Facts and logic don’t convince many people if they aren’t spoken in a way that can be understood. It’s interesting that the political party that doesn’t believe in science uses brain science to communicate their messages (reps). All of us – party leaders, staff, candidates, and those of us who spread the democratic message at the grocery store, work, etc need to learn how to deliver it.
44[Here’s an example: I was at a Starbucks during a block walking break and had one of our blue ribbons pinned to my shirt. There were two young ladies and one young man working at the counter. One of the young ladies asked about the blue ribbon. I told her it was in support of women. She seemed puzzled, so I told them about the equal pay bill that perry vetoed. Then I said, “Ya know, equal pay is really a family issue. Think how much better off a family is when the wife is paid fairly.” At that point, the young man was able to see that it was an important issue for his future family.]
@Kat hale – “Again, most people have IDS and realize that in this world to get anything you need identification. ”
Uh, no…..
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/how-voter-id-laws-are-being-used-to-disenfranchise-minorities-and-the-poor/254572/
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/11/04/voter-disenfranchisement-that-right-wing-media/201451
45Quit whining and quit trying to guilt people into giving money and time. I’m not talking about the people here, who don’t, but about the DNC and its various committees. I got so furious during this campaign, esp. toward the end, with 20-30 emails a day and multiple phone calls a day, that I was coming to hate my own party. Should NEVER get email with subject line of “It’s all over–might as well quit and go home.” I DO NOT SUPPORT QUITTERS.
Now granted, I’m an old woman these days, but I’m not impressed with emails that purport to come from big names, with begging, with defeatism. And I loathe being called, and hate having to give my phone number just to make a donation (because I know I’ll be called, and I know it’ll make me angry and I’ll lose time stomping around the house mad.) (Yes, I work at home. And when my concentration is broken, it can take an hour to piece back together the work I was doing. And whatever anyone thinks, it’s not easy to do what I do.)
Issues: Voter suppression is crucial, and I support efforts to help people obtain the documents they need to get the ID they need to vote. Voter suppression legislation essentially denies citizenship to those who lack the overly restrictive ID requirements. More than voter suppression, people need ID for everything we call a normal life, and the GOP’s continued (often successful) attempts to deny legal ID to gay married couples and to the children of gay couples is an attempt to make them all non-people. It is obscene that individuals can be denied the right to a driver’s license, or the right to take a test for a driver’s license, because they are in a lesbian marriage or are the child of a lesbian marriage–and yet both have happened in Texas.
Women’s rights: to equal pay, to fair minimum wage, to the right to reproductive choice. I don’t give a rat’s ass if “men don’t care about pregnancy”…women are citizens who have a right to care about issues that affect them, and reproductive freedom affects all females. Forcing women to bear unwanted children is sexual slavery. Paying women less for the same work is not quite economic slavery, but damn near it, since this limits women’s ability to become economically independent (and thus able to leave an abusive situation.)
Human rights: to fair minimum wage, to fair treatment on the job, to safe conditions on the job (including freedom from sexual harassment as well as from unsafe working conditions.) To religious freedom (which means NO religion gets to oppress outsiders), to education for all, to affordable and available medical care. The right to vote (already mentioned), to obtain a driver’s license regardless of skin color, religion, location, or parents’ names on the birth certificate.
Care for the public welfare: environmental protections that provide the clean water, clean air, and unpolluted soil we need to drink, breathe, and eat unpolluted food. Unbiased public safety officers–so walking brown or driving brown never again justify law officers shooting brown. Tax money spent on things that actually benefit ALL citizens: infrastructure for transportation and communication and housing, parks for recreation, libraries, schools, and universities for education both formal and informal, and so on. The NECESSARY regulation of commerce and industry to protect consumers and citizens from cheats, liars, polluters, and downright crooks.
I’d like to see Democratic campaigns (at the level above individual candidates) talking about what Democrats have accomplished in the past as good things–things available to all citizens, not just the rich, because the Democrats made them available.
46The reason the Repubs won was because only 33.07%of the registered voters voted. Voter turnout is always a big factor in off year elections. Why do you think the Repubs nation wide are working so hard to get voter ID passed? Voter suppression is the name of the game.
47Straight ticket voting is always a factor. State wide it was about 65% of the people voted straight ticked for the ‘Repubs. This is why Louie Gohmert got re-elected to congress– 76% of the votes against a credible candidate.
Go to the Secretary of State’s web page and look at the results of the election.
There is nothing wrong with the Democrats message. Voter turnout is the problem.