I've been mulling over
This Article for an hour or so, now, and been have thinking about how we can exploit this little GOP "problem".
This is what I've come up with.
We have to beat them at their own game. We need ready-made, "sound bite" answers for their "bait" questions. We have to avoid debate on divisive issues like gay marriage, abortions, Iraq, etc. We have to develop a message, and then stay on message. In short, we have to keep a laser focus on the "bread & butter" issues.
Stay with me, here. I'll explain below the fold.
So, am I saying that we should abandon single-issue voters? Ignore issues like womens' rights or gay marriage?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!.
What I AM saying is that we can't afford to get sidetracked by those issues as we fight to take back the house. Refusing to be baited on these emotional issues is far, FAR different than abandoning them. We just have to make sure that we use these loaded questions to our advantage.
For Example:
"Do you support gay marriage?" Our response, our ONLY response, should be, "Over 40 MILLION people in this country don't have health insurance, many are losing their homes, and you're worried about who's sleeping with whom???" (feign exasperation).
"Are you pro-choice?" RESPONSE: "I would like to see the number of abortions in this country reduced. The way we do that is two-fold: 1) Drastically improve sex education, beginning early with age-appropriate material. 2)Provide a "safety net" for women so that they can afford to raise their children...Daycare, health care, well-baby care, and enforced child support payments, and maybe some social/educational programs so moms don't feel so isolated and overwhelmed.
"Are you against the Iraq war?" RESPONSE: People in OUR OWN country are going hungry every day. Children are dying in OUR OWN country today from lack of health care. Why are we spending OUR tax dollars fighting to impose 'Democracy' on others while our own rights are being taken away?"
"Do you support the war on terror?" RESPONSE: "I'll tell you what's terrorizing...Having my employer STEAL my retirement savings after I worked for them my whole life; Not being able to feed my family because someone in China or India has taken over my job; being afraid to go to the doctor because I might have an illness that will bankrupt me and my family...THAT is the 'Terrorism' we need to fight first!"
These are just four (rough draft) examples of the kind of "talking points" that we need to develop on a National level. They need to be tweaked by the DNC, and distributed to EVERY DEMOCRAT that will listen, with instructions to memorize them, and not deviate from them.
That's how Karl Rove does it. That's how the neocons and religious radicals have take control of our country. That's what we're going to have to do to take it back.