This diary will be short. I am pissed. I am beyond pissed. I am seething. I am looking at poll numbers and reflecting on everything that is going on right now, and I have to confess that I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why Obama is where he is at. But more fundamentally, I cannot figure out why surrogates aren't talking about taxes, regulation, and insurance every chance they get.
More below the fold, for those who care to listen.
A moment ago I just saw Claire McCaskill on the Maddow show. I applaud her for briefly mentioning Obama on taxes, but Obama's surrogates-- and his campaign advertisements --really need to get their fucking act together. What was the problem with McCaskill's remarks?
Well, the problem is that all McCaskill's remarks is that she only said that Obama will lower taxes. Folks, this isn't going to cut it. Every time a surrogate goes on television they need to indicate WHO taxes will be cut for, WHOSE taxes will be raised, and why this is important to the 95% of Americans that make below $250,000. Surrogates need to have statistics in hand showing HOW this stimulates the economy and why trickle down economics do not stimulate the economy. Every surrogate needs to precisely state WHO McCain plans to cut taxes for, and why this is bad for middle and working class America. I listen to and read hours of news a day from a variety of different sources, and again and again I hear surrogates for Obama presenting him in this way. What gives?
Moreover, the Obama campaign needs surrogates making a clear statement on just where they stand with capital gains taxes and what they are. The most consistent worry I hear among both Democrats and Republican voters alike is that there will be a raise in capital gains taxes. From what I understand this isn't the case for the 95% of tax payers. This needs to be underlined again and again and pounded home daily.
Something similar needs to be done with questions of regulation and health insurance. First off, McCain needs to be continuously and repetitively hung by his own rope with the history of his votes deregulating banks, lending, etc. We need representive bits of legislation that every surrogate can repeat again and again, that are directly linked to our own financial crisis.
Similarly, I have heard next to nothing about health insurance from surrogates on the news. Does the average American know that McCain wants to further deregulate insurance company and businesses, such that it will become easier for businesses to avoid providing health insurance altogether and for insurance companies not to provide treatment? Why is this not being repeated hourly?
Folks, hardcore democrats such as ourselves find the cultural issues very important-- and they are --but the election will not be one on these issues. If we don't start hitting back hard on these bread and butter issues, there is a very real possibility that this election could, once again, be lost on bullshit values issues and personality preferences. What the fuck is going on?