Good news, everybody. The new meme is out! The Democratic party is now "The party of No" according to the Republicans.
The timeline, for this Democrat, is really quite impressive: 1)At approximately 2:45 PST Friday afternoon I hear Ed Schultz alerting his listeners to the new meme. 2)At about 7:20 PST Friday evening I hear Tony Blankley refer to Democrats as "the party of No" on the rebroadcast of "Left, Right & Center." Great work, guys!
The question is: What do we do about it? How do we respond? Easy -- WE EMBRACE IT. Here's why....
It's no good to make speeches and go on Sunday talk shows to explain that we're not really the Party of No. We can replay Chris Dodd offering his very simple proposal for maintaining (not fixing) Social Security, but all that accomplishes is to hand the Republicans a victory in framing the terms of the debate.
Instead, we should use this as an opportunity to explain to the American people just what it is the Republicans are trying to accomplish. Because poll after poll has shown that once you get past the labels, a majority of the electorate also opposes the policies of the Republican Party. (Does that make us a Nation of No?)
Here's one suggestion for how it should go, as an ad campaign, a major speech, talking points -- any damn thing that will get it out there:
The Republicans are accusing the Democrats of being "The Party of No." Well, for once, they're right.
You see, the Republicans want to get rid of Social Security. And we say "No."
The Republicans want to pump more pollution into the air your children breathe and the water your children drink. And we say "no."
The Republicans want to cut benefits to soldiers returning from Iraq -- we say "No."
The Republicans want to turn judges into preachers, and courts of law into revival meetings -- we say "No."
The Republicans want government to interfere in some of the most basic decisions family members have to make, from birth to death. We say "no."
The Republicans have already taken away your overtime pay -- we said "no" to that, too.
So, yeah, we're the Party of No. Because there are some things that simply are not right -- and you've got to just say "No." Those things are the policies of the Republican party -- and you can bet we're gonna keep saying "No" to them.
It's time for us to use language the way they do -- as a weapon. It's time to start turning their own rhetoric back on them. It's time to make our truths as punchy as their lies. Especially now, when people are starting to realize they've been lied to.