Let's all take a pledge that for the next 100 days we will not speak or write that "Gore lost...," or "Kerry lost..." Neither will we attribute Bush winning to Nader, the Christian Right, or low Democratic turnout. When we read or hear someone make such a claim, we must immediately challenge the comment. We don't need to go into a long sermon but challenge the claim with a short but firm "Bush didn't win..." "Gore and Kerry didn't lose..."
Democrats have not learned to use language like Republicans. Republicans recognize that words create mental images - "death taxes" and "killing the unborn" are classic examples of how they use words to create mental images. And for a mental image to grow and spread we must repeat it over and over. The critical image we need to create and spread is that Bush and his supporters are liars and cheaters.
Bush didn't win and we need to say it over and over. "Diebold," "fair elections," "count every vote" and similar phrases need to replace any talk of past Bush wins or Democrat loses. And when Republicans complain or call us sore losers, repeat that we did not lose but we were cheated. The madder they get the more we repeat it.
Avoid long arguments about election fraud - plant the meme and move on. Follow-up with how things would be different if the elections had been fair. Talk about how our troops would not be bogged down and dying in Iraq. Explain how we lost international support and credibility after 9/11 by dropping our war on bin Laden to attack Iraq. Talk about how we could be moving toward energy independence. Talk about how our national debt could be shrinking not growing. Point out how stem cell research might be curing our grandfather's Alzheimer's or Aunt Ruth's Parkinson's. Talk about all the positive things that could have happened if the elections had been fair.
The mental image that "Bush won" or that "Gore and Kerry lost" needs to be replaced with the mental image that our elections are not fair - they are corrupt and need to be fixed. Tie fair elections to good things - progress, healthy environments, peace, prosperity. Link election fraud to economic inequality, pollution, war, and death.