Hi everyone, this diary is more of a discussion thread based on this premise:
The Republican party is moving toward extinction as it becomes the party of exclusivity. As the tea-bagger people come forward they make it clear that they are determined to work against the "other" they perceive in society. These are exclusions based on race, sex, socio-economic background, culture, heritage, religion, and more.
The Democratic party is and must continue to frame itself as the growing party of inclusion. This means we are willing to listen to all viewpoints, and include all of America and our global community in all of our considerations. It should be an easy thing to show that we are the party of American ideals and represent what freedom actually is. This means we will always be the majority in America for as long as people believe that our country does not exclude people based on the narrow-minded parameters of the Republican party.
What we need is more public exposure of both of these characterizations. We should be winning elections based on this alone at this point. The behavior of the right has gotten completely out of control, they've backed themselves into a corner, and we have not claimed the higher ground. It is time to do so.
I have watched for years as the right called themselves the "true" America. I vehemently disagree with that, and think it is time to start claiming the obvious. What is worse is that because of the loud-mouthing of the right our own Democratic politicians are perceiving these people as some kind of representation of the people of America. The truth is, and politicians should know, that the number of people that are excluded by the right could and should be winning elections right now. It's time to get that talking point out there.
Ideas about how to do this? Please discuss in thread.
Please try to keep this thread about the general inclusivity of the Democratic party vs. the exclusivity of the Republican party. I know that we all have our issues with the Democratic party, but the Republican party has jumped the shark and it's time to stand up for what we know is right.
I think this is a winning meme. The number of people turned off by the tea party and the like is stunning and we aren't hearing from them because of the freak-show quality of the tea party leaders. We have to all remember though that people are always curious about a train wreck and other tragedies, and we need to make it clear that we are the polar opposite of what is going on there, for one another and for the deciding voters. Although we can't claim it, I suppose, what John Stewart and Stephen Colbert are doing in D.C. next week is a lesson in how it is done. Look at the beautiful framing: "Rally to restore Sanity" vs. "Rally to restore Fear."
If you could write to the entire populace of America right now and tell them what you most vehemently disagree with in terms of moral ground with the Republican party, what would those things be? I'm just posting the BEGINNING of my list below. Put yours in the thread!:
Dear America,
I could never be a Republican right now because
I believe in equal rights for all people regardless of gender, race, religion, social status, culture and more. It is obvious to me that the Republican party is determined to stratify along those lines.
I believe in science and reason. It is obvious to me that the Republican party actively seeks to blur the line between religion and state and continuously argues against empirical scientific evidence in favor of material profit.
I believe in peace. It is obvious to me that the Republican party continuously engages in tactics designed to create an "other" in nations and cultures around the world and in our own country in order to profit materially at the expense of diplomacy and human decency.
I believe in human rights and caring for the vulnerable. It is obvious to me that the Republican party continuously works to segregate people in need from the rest of society and turns its back on our most vulnerable, living population, most specifically, children, the poor, and the sick.....
I know this is meta, and apologize. I am busy working for my school right now, but my daughter is knocking on doors for local Democratic candidates and this came of a discussion we had this morning. Talk about it with your friends and neighbors, and the people who are answering those doors if you're out there too! You may be surprised at how many rational people are left in this country, let's get them to the polls.
P.S. I'm going to link this with the brave group of kids that are knocking on doors through election time on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Committee in the Hudson Valley, NY...and shout outs to them, with much love from us...so give them some good talking points!
Here are a couple of the people my college-age daughter has met:
An older man who told her politics are evil and that he would pray for her. She successfully got him to think well of her, but was unable to get his vote.
A young man who told her he was afraid to vote because he felt that if you vote you are responsible for the bad deeds the person you vote for might accomplish. She was able to win his vote based on the idea of what happens if you don't vote and bad people simply take over.
She is having moral conversations with people, even as her schpiel from the DCC is largely about political talking points (voting records, resumes, support of economy, etc.) She's been told by many people that they don't support her candidates but it was a pleasure to speak with her. I think there's something to that. There's something to having a person at your door that is real and reasonable in contrast to the cartoons that the right is flashing across our screens. I know that the crazy works on TV, but imagine these ranting lunatic people came to your door...and imagine the contrasts we can draw with this in mind.