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  •  Re: But we have the candidate already (none / 0)

    "you either let Johnny Sunshine handle the campaigning..."

    Oh, to dream.  To dream.

    "Their economic situation might suck big time, but they don't see themselves as helpless, downtrodden people looking for a fighter and a champion."

    We're admittedly arguing semantics, but I think they do want a fighter and a champion for their interests.  Bush is telling them he's fighting Islamic boogeymen for them.  And they like that a lot.

    Kerry needs to tell them he's fighting for them too.  People want someone to go to Washington and fight for them.

    ---

    I fully understand your point about the disconnect with the messenger.  And it's a problem, although it should be surmountable.

    I'm just not sure what the winning alternative is to that type of rhetoric.

    Visit Petey's New Diary - Are you making a difference?

    by NoDissentAllowed on Fri Sep 03, 2004 at 05:23:08 PM PDT

    [ Parent ]

    •  Hey, semantics matter.. (none / 0)

      "Fighting for" is not the same as "defend" or even "take the fight to the terrorists." Bush's formulation is usually "defend America."  Big difference in the dynamics and the relationship implied.

      I think I'll have to do a rant part II on this one, it's feeling more and more like this populist "fighting for" deal feeds into the caricature of Democrats that the right trades on: passive, looking for help, the infamous "class warfare" accusation..

      on strike.

      by daria g on Fri Sep 03, 2004 at 10:33:15 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Re: Hey, semantics matter.. (none / 0)

        "Hey, semantics matter.."

        Most definitely.

        "it's feeling more and more like this populist "fighting for" deal feeds into the caricature of Democrats that the right trades on: passive, looking for help, the infamous "class warfare" accusation."

        That's not the caricature the right attacked this year.  Or the caricature they attacked in '00 or '92 or '88.  The caricatures they like to attack are "not resolute / honest", "out of touch culturally", and "weak".

        The one comparative question even a weak Democrat will beat a strong Republican on is "Cares about people like me".  

        That is the strongest Democratic trump card.  So how do you translate that advantage into votes?  

        By saying you'll fight for what you care about.

        Not only do you emphasize your partisan trump card with this language, but you also neutralize the right's caricatures that actually resonate.

        ---

        Unless you're proposing a radical departure from my above argument, the verb has to be something close to "fight".  What is the best rhetoric among the following?

        • "I will fight for a woman's right to choose."

        • "I will defend a woman's right to choose."

        • "I will stand for a woman's right to choose."

        • "I'm in favor of a woman's right to choose."

        The last choice is closest to what you're proposing upthread.  But I to my ear, the first two choices are clearly the best choices.

        Of course, feel free to substitute better words than I've supplied.  I'm not trying to straw man your argument.

        Visit Petey's New Diary - Are you making a difference?

        by NoDissentAllowed on Sat Sep 04, 2004 at 01:09:14 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

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