I just read and recommended thereisnospoon's compelling and astute diary
Why the Right-Wing Gets It--and Why Dems Don't. Though my
Why I'm not concerned about Concerned Women for America diary was used as a negative example, I honestly think thereisnospoon and I are fundamentally in agreement with one another. I believe in winning the middle by playing to the base, and also see the value in aiming some messages directly at the middle. I think we are at such a critical crossroads for the country and the world that I would never advocate an either-or strategy--it's obvious that we have to examine ideas from everywhere and do everything that works.
To start, I do stand by my Retrosexual Politics diary, and take exception with this comment from thereisnospoon's diary about Concerned Women for America:
...far from turning off moderate voters, they're going to sway them. They're going to WIN moderate voters by playing to their base....
I question the confident assertion that they're going to sway them. What spoon interprets as "talking about extreme positions with the eventual goal of making them sound reasonable" I choose to interpret, at least in the case of CWA, as the last gasp of a group that thought their star was on the rise that is desperate to get their agenda on the table before the backlash. It's more like A-Rod slapping Bronson Arroyo's hand and defending it as a reasonable tactic--a desperate act by someone who realizes that the tide has turned and victory is slipping away.
But talking about extreme positions with the eventual goal of making them sound reasonable is actually brilliant strategy and explains the existence of otherwise incomprehensible fools like the Frumious Coultersnatch and Michelle Malkin (not even deserving of a snarky nickname). Josh Trevino did us a tremendous favor with his diary on Swords Crossed about the Overton Window and I agree it is one of many important framing strategies for us to consider. I have consistently stated that Rpug political strategies are not evil in themselves, only evil when used in the service of evil; and that we should study their most effective tactics and use them in service of the Blue truth.
Several posters on the previous diary mentioned that there is an obvious place where the Democratic party has already used something like the Overton Window strategy in our favor, although perhaps accidentally: and that is gay marriage. While the issue was blamed for key losses in 2004, polls show that just by talking about it, and by people seeing that it has not made the roof fall in in Massachusetts, the idea of civil unions has moved into the mainstream and is widely accepted by moderates. Has anyone done an Overton Window on gay marriage? Does anyone doubt that we have moved the chains on that one farther and faster than anyone thought possible? When I was a child it looked like this:
Same-sex relationships punishable by life imprisonment or death
Same-sex relationships officially illegal under all circumstances
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private everywhere
Same-sex relationships openly practiced in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships openly practiced everywhere
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions in selected liberal areas
Same-sex marriage legalized in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions everywhere
Same-sex marriage legalized everywhere
In 2000, six years ago, when Howard Dean signed the VT civil union bill, it was here:
Same-sex relationships punishable by life imprisonment or death
Same-sex relationships officially illegal under all circumstances
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private everywhere
Same-sex relationships openly practiced in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships openly practiced everywhere
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions in selected liberal areas
Same-sex marriage legalized in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions everywhere
Same-sex marriage legalized everywhere
Now, in 2006, just two years after the gay marriage referenda of 2004:
Same-sex relationships punishable by life imprisonment or death
Same-sex relationships officially illegal under all circumstances
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships officially illegal, tolerated in private everywhere
Same-sex relationships openly practiced in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships openly practiced everywhere
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions in selected liberal areas
Same-sex marriage legalized in selected liberal areas
Same-sex relationships legally protected as civil unions everywhere
Same-sex marriage legalized everywhere
Decide for yourself if we have moved in the Overton Window on impeachment. Where were we when Uniter not Divider was at the height of his popularity? Where are we now in the days of President Flirting with the Twenties?
Bush family declares establishment of hereditary monarchy
George W. Bush installed as dictator for life
George W. Bush declares martial law to eliminate future presidential elections
22nd amendment repealed to allow Bush to run for unlimited terms
George W. Bush serves complete second term and leaves office in peaceful transition
GWB censured in 2007 by Democratically controlled Congress
GWB censured in 2006 by Republican controlled Congress
GWB impeached in 2007 by Democratically controlled House, not convicted by Senate
GWB impeached in 2007 by Democratically controlled House, convicted by Senate
GWB impeached in 06 by Republican-controlled House, acquitted by Republican-controlled Senate
GWB impeached in 06 by Republican-controlled House, convicted by Republican-controlled Senate
GWB impeached, convicted, removed from office in total disgrace before 2006 midterm elections
GWB impeached, convicted, given life in prison for war crimes in 2006.
So I welcome the addition of the Overton Window strategy to the debate because I believe Dems were already successfully using this strategy in a lot of important ways before we knew what Republicans had labeled it. And right now we are moving the goal posts on all of our issues much better than Rs are moving them on theirs. We moved the window on health care so far that the Republicans (the REPUBLICANS!) felt forced to pass a Medicare drug benefit--a screwed up drug-company-favoring benefit, but still the largest new entitlement since Medicare itself. Someone else can do an Overton Window on public support for the War in Iraq. No one can deny that we've moved that one pretty far just since Camp Casey, and that wasn't even a year ago. Look at how far and how fast Howard Dean has shifted the window on the 50 state strategy. On lesser issues like Amend for Arnold--is anyone talking about that anymore? We've even cut down the response cycle time--that $100 gas rebate was off the table before a lot of people even knew it had even been proposed. Dems are already shifting the debate so fast that heads are spinning, and using a variety of tactics to do so; we'll spend the summer getting all our candidates on board and this fall will tell the story of how successful we were.
Since once again I have been ridiculously long-winded, I'll close with the pithy words of others. audemocrat's excellent post on the other diary should be tattooed on the left hand of every Democratic party official and candidate:
....it works so much better when Republicans do it than Democrats [because] [t]hey are completely unified behind their fringe ideas. When one whole party in a two-party system starts talking about privatizing social security, its grows an air of legitimacy. But when a Democrat says "Censure the president" and the party leaders go out the next day to speak about how extremist that is--the electorate is obviously going to see the idea as far removed from the mainstream.
And let's connect this to the 11th Political Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Criticize Thine Own Party's Extremists, as expressed by FrancesAngeles:
The Republicans never attack those to the right of them, no matter what kind of hare-brained shit they say. Then, after the right wing crazies scream themselves hoarse, the Republicans step in and suggest a 10% less crazy right-wing plan and suddenly they are seen as moderates because they are not as crazy as the REALLY crazy rightwingers.
The speaker at the conference said this: don't attack those on the left of you. Not ever. We need them. Allow them to pull the area of discussion left, and then step in to claim what is the new moderate position.
Americans like the middle. Whoever decides where the middle is and positions themselves there wins.
Last word: maybe I'm having a rare optimistic mood, but "One side is winning and it ain't our side?" Have you looked at polls lately? I know polls are not the same as votes, but all indicators show that momentum is favoring the Blue team right now. Let's build on it using every strategy and every strategist available: Lakoff, Overton, thereisnospoon, TrueBlueMajority--everybody should contribute whatever they think will work. I don't want to be in anything resembling a feud with thereisnospoon, since I have a great respect for a lot of what thereisnospoon has written. Right now while the tide is turning our way we can listen to and learn from everyone.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. I read that on the dedication page of some orange-covered book recently. Right now they are fighting us, hard. We know what comes next.