This is my first diary. I hope you'll forgive my presumption. I certainly cannot hope to achieve the kind of notoriety and fame that, say, pastordan, or advisorjim have. Both of whom I have a deep abiding respect for. I've been lurking for about a month, and commenting for a week. Wow. What an amazing place dKos is. I'm proud to be a part of it.
Having finished the obligatory boot-licking, here's the meat: being a red-violet state Democrat, I worry about the role of a Democratic message in those states - specifically, the South, where, as has been said repeatedly, guns, God, and gays make us vote Republican. Thus, I am working in my head to develop a prototype message that plays in the South.
More if you click....
Having seen all the great concepts and ideas that grow out of this community, I wanted to give you the opportunity to refine my thoughts, and maybe give me a new direction to move in.
Although this speech does possess my own rhetorical style, I encourage people to use it as "talking points," and rewrite it in their own style.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I did post the text of this stump speech as a comment to a diary for one of our Kossacks running for Congress (byronm). I developed the text in response to his request that we help him learn how to differentiate "pro-life" from "pro-birth" (thanks for the distinction, rob511) Please don't kvetch about duplication - I want this to simmer in as many minds as possible to get the cream to rise to the top. This speech is obviously wired for a federal race, but if people care, I'll write speeches for state and local races too. Such hubris. Pride goeth before a fall. Probably no one will comment, and I will truly be embarrassed.
Without further ado, here's the speech:
"I'm in favor of the unborn having human rights, I'm in favor of newborns having human rights, I'm in favor of children and teenagers and adults having human rights. I'm in favor of soldiers having human rights and that's why I'm a Democrat. The Republican Congress wants to tell you that only the unborn have the right to life. I think that's too narrow an interpretation. We've got to let people live their lives - and that means we've got to be willing to step up to the plate when they're down and need a hand up. My opponent is going to try and paint me as liberal. Is it liberal to love your neighbor? Is it liberal to stand for life in all its forms? Is it liberal to
defend all Americans rather than just unborn ones? Is it liberal to care? These are not liberal values, these are not conservative values. These are American values, and they are my values. I am certain that they are your values, and I am equally certain that the Republican Congress does not share those values. They would rather protect a corporation who's killed hundreds of miners in Montana than those miners. They would rather let insurance companies recover their stock market losses out of your pockets than give you
affordable health care. They would rather scare you with the specter of abortion than address the root problem of poverty and hopelessness.
I'm running because you deserve better from your Congress than fear and loathing. You deserve hope. You deserve unity. You deserve strength. The Republicans in Congress can't give you those things. They give you fear. They give you division. They give you weakness. Let's do this better, together."