Okay, there's a lot of defeatism out on the liberal web today. We need to end it, and soon, and we need to start forming a new strategy. Here are some thoughts on re-framing the debate based on things I've read and discussed at Kos and elsewhere today, particularly diaries by galiel and jimrice. I've tried to synthesize a strategy for crushing the GOP, and jimrice's plan is part of it. Feedback please: let me know where my reasoning is sound and where I've gone off the deep end.
The GOP has a lock on the government, and with the new supremes they will use it to advance a fundamentalist agenda. So, what can we do? Crucially, their ongoing strategy is alienating much of their own historical base that we are now ripe to co-opt into the democrat camp.
Read on for my detailed strategy for crushing the GOP and saving our country.
Evan's Strategy for Crushing the Republicans
Let's start with our new interest groups: the votes we can take from the Republicans.
Opportunity one: the economic conservative faction of the GOP is feeling disenfranchised and disillusioned over Bush's spending and budget foibles, while the Dems' record is much better in the last two decades.
Opportunity two: the libertarian-leaning and freedom-seeking independents will be increasingly upset by a right-wing rights lockdown.
Opportunity three: the empathetic and compassionate fraction of Christian America should be turned off by both the creeping fundamentalism and the descent of Iraq into bloody chaos (as seems increasingly likely).
So how do we take advantage of this? Start with a couple of basic strategic principles:
Strategy one: The new Democratic movements should seek to form alliances with the three above groups. Many of the moderate Christians are already democrats, and the first two groups are gettting pushed awayby existing GOP policies.
Strategy two: The new Democratic party should seek to distinguish itself from the GOP, rather than muddy the differences in a deluded attempt to grab the non-existent "middle".
Strategy three: We should attack the GOP's positions of presumed strength and coopt those positions on our own. Hat tip to the master, Carl Rove.
The beauty is that these goals are 100% compatible and mesh perfectly. On to a few specific tactics for implementing this new philosphy.
Tactic one: Attack the GOP over their attempt to destroy the free market. Accept a degree of shift towards market freedom and free trade in Dem policy: we need it for economic strength anyhow. Then hammer the crap out of the fact that GOP policies fundamentally undercut the market and the basic principles of the economy. The GOP tax bill passed last month contained billions of handouts to individual industries and corporate special interests. While we joked about "no corporation left behind", in fact every handout to a single company or industry is fundamentally damaging to the level playing field for all others: a few special interests got a bonus, while everyone else was left behind. This is anti free-market, bad both for business as a whole and for consumers. Business regulations that suit Democratic ideals can, at least, be applied fairly and evenly ... as in say pollution controls or workers rights protections that apply to all businesses and therefore still maintain a level paying field. But handouts will always be in opposition to a free market. We must drive this point into the gound, repeat over and over how dangerous the GOP is to the free market that makes our economy strong. Every handout to one business kills another one.
Tactic two: Attack the GOP as the party of big government and the party of ever-inflating deficits. In the last four years, the GOP machine has increased federal spending more than any administration in 60 years, and has pushed the deficit to ludicrous new levels. The small-government GOP is now a myth. With their new lock on congress, they will keep doing it. Hit them with this over, and over, and over. The GOP is for big government. The GOP is for Big Government. THE GOP IS FOR BIG GOVERNMENT.
Tactic three: Argue in favor of overall reduced federal taxes and reduced federal spending. Hat tip to jimrice on this one. Become the party of small federal government. But don't accept lower standards of living for our people, just transfer the responsibility more towards the states. This accomplishes two things: first, it is a fundamentally federalist policy that will help bring the libertarian-minded folks into the democrat camp (along with their horror of the patriot act and the building theocratic state). Second, it will improve the economies of most of the blue states. Because right now, states like California and Mass. get only $0.80 in federal money for every federal tax dollar they pay, while red states get anywhere from $1.50 to $2.06 (North Dakota)!! So many republican and libertarian voters say they want smaller government ... let's give it to them, bringing many of them to the democratic side while improving the economies of the blue states and leaving the red states without their subsidies. Note that I am not arguing in favor of an overall reduction in government services, just a transferral of those services and the associated taxes to the states instead of washington. California already takes better care of its people than D.C does, how much better could we do if we weren't losing all that money to subsidize Oklahoma? The red states may opt not to implement some services --- too bad for their people, who will be forced to realize that blue state policies lead to a higher standard of living, especially when they can't live on federal handouts anymore, the socialist m-----f------!
Tactic four: Payroll taxes, payroll taxes, payroll taxes. Scream about them, and argue for their elimination. Most voters don't even know what these are, but that can change if all the democrats start talking about them at once. Payroll taxes are a per-employee flat tax applied to all businesses. This means they are regressive and the people they hurt most are the low- and middle- income workers, and small businesses. Repeal them, and move the programs funded by them into the general budget. This helps the middle class, and helps grow jobs by helping small businesses. Hit the rhetoric about this "middle class tax cut" and "small business booster/job creator" early and often, and it becomes very difficult to argue with. Frame it also in terms of the reduction of the size of goverment ... see above.
Tactic five: Attack the GOP as the party of Big Brother and universal surveillance. They can play on fear, and so can we. What's more, this is a real and valid fear. The PATRIOT act. The GOP will put cameras on every streetcorner and will put your children's DNA on file. You won't be able to get health insurance if your grandfather had diabetes. The GOP will take away your right to free assembly and free speech. They will control which internet sites you can visit and they will surveil your email and your cell phone. They'll convince everyone to put locator chips in their kids, and then ten years from now they'll know where everyone is at all times. These are real concerns, folks, and as the new supremes start creating a more and more authoritarian state, the concerns will start looking more and more real. If they want to scare people into voting GOP because of terrorism, we can scare people into voting Dem because of Big Brother. The GOP is planning to turn the US into a police state.
Tactic six: Attack the GOP on its failings of moral values. This part of the plan is less crystalized; I want your thoughts on improving it. A few possibilities present themselves in the "family" debate, where we can and should attack them at their percieved "strength". To wit, the lowest divorce rate in the country, by state, is Massachusetts. Texas is among the highest. By demographic, evangelicals have one of the highest divorce rates, as well, while moderate Christians have among the lowest. Hypocrite Rush Limbaugh has had three divorces and is a drug addict. DeLay violates the law at every opportunity for political gain. With respect to crime, republicans are more focussed on punishment and a false sense of being "holier than thou" than they are on actual results or on social costs ... their obsession with incarceration rather than rehabilitation and reeducation increases crime and reduces the safety of our families through recidivism while increasing the cost of our criminal justice system. It's both counterproductive and immoral! What does Jesus say about an untoward focus on punishment and revenge rather than work towards the good of society? <hr>
Ultimately, the goal is pushing for a compassionate and liberal America in which the free market and the health of our economy is defended by the Democrats against the cronyism of the GOP, and the welfare of the people is defended as well or better by the states, stopping the one-way flow of cash that currently subsidizes the immoral authoritarians controlling the red states. And we create this new theme in terms that normally are considered GOP strengths but on which they've opened themselves to attack in recent years, thus making an opportunity for their disenfranchised factions to switch sides. Meanwhile, we continue to fight against the authoritarian social changes of the GOP at every turn, on abortion, gays, etc.: we remain clearly distinguished from the GOP in our opposition to authoritarianism, state control, and state-sponsored discrimination. It would certainly qualify as a modest change in Democratic strategy, but since the DNC strategy of muddying the middle on all issues hasn't exactly been a profound success lately I think the change is for the better.
There's a missing element here: the war over "moral values". We need better strategies here, and I'm not as full of thoughts on that front. But Hmmm... my thoughts on the "Morals" avenues of attack are less well crystallized: your suggestions are most welcome here.
Allright, my steam on this first push is spent for the moment. Comments are most welcome; we need to formulate a new strategy if we want to fight off creeping fundagelical fascism in this country, and I'm hoping some concepts like these can form a kernel. Over and out.