The aftermath of the midterm elections is still raw. I'm siding with Jon Stewart's assessment that it was a chickenshit gambit. Howard Dean put it more politely, "You can't win if you're afraid".
The DNC? They are going to rearrange their deck chairs on their Titanic problem.
If you haven't heard Chairman Wasserman Schultz on this subject you have an opportunity to do so here:
I only transcribed the last minute. Starting around the 1:50 mark:
...within the next couple of weeks, I'm going to name a committee of key party stakeholders and experts who will spearhead an examination of what went wrong and how the Democratic Party can do a better job connecting midterm elections. We're gonna look at where we fell short. We're going to identify our mistakes. And we're going to talk to the smartest people in our party and the most dedicated Democrats in the country to build on what we've done that works and find solutions for things that are broken. That's where you come in, because we are committed as a party to inclusiveness. We're gonna ask you to be part of this conversation. We're going to ask you for your best ideas and we're going to ask you for your patience as we test out new theories and try new ways of doing things. I'm going to report our findings by a DNC winter meeting early next year with measures by which you can hold accountable. If we're going to be successful, we need you to be part of this effort and to bring to this project the same dedication you've shown again and again this year. If you want to add your voice to this discussion take a minute to let us know. Thank you again. You will hear more from us soon.
Mr. Wolverton has a phrase for this type of speech and it isn't very nice, but since the DNC is asking nicely; I'll respond nicely as I can after the fluer de Kos.
Dear Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz and the DNC:
The first thing the DNC needs to do is back up and answer WIIFM from the view of the voters you want, but aren't getting.
WIIFM
What's In It For ME?
What are we for? What are our liberal values? I suggest we focus on our strengths. Liberals want Civil Rights for Everyone recognized and protected. We want jobs within the United States - not free trade agreements that export our jobs. Liberals want affordable health care for everyone. We want a living wage for everyone. We want safe workplaces, safe food, safe roads and a safe environment ...you know clean air and clean water, for everyone. We want more renewable energy. Less fossil fuel protectionism. We want good consumer protections with fair regulations that protect people from predatory, corrupt businesses. We want a sane, implementable immigration policy. We are for keeping families together. We want to be supported when we choose to have a baby and supported when we choose to avoid pregnancy. We want government poking their nose into boardrooms, not bedrooms. We want an education policy that helps our children make learning achievements and not one that enriches corporations at the expense of our students. We are for voting rights. We want everyone to vote. We need to point out the bullshit in the pro-photo ID talking points. Say you can board a plane without photo ID (
it's true). We need to call out irresponsible gun owners and call out the NRA for what it is - a lobby group for gun sellers. We want candidates that believe in negotiation and good faith compromise not capitulation.
We must focus on what we are for, not what we are against. 'I'm not Barack Obama" is a sucktastic campaign slogan IMO. Especially since I worked my ass off on GOTV phone calls and actually donated money to get him elected not once, but twice!
We have allowed our party to erode our strong positions on personal privacy, social security, oligarchy prevention and peaceful negotiation. We traded our doves for hawks. We traded our personal liberty for security and got neither. We have lost our way on the environment. We allowed conservatives to successfully promote BAD science! Our candidates sell out to corporate interests. We can't have Democratic Party candidates saying they are for corporate accountability then allow corporate raiders to walk free after nearly destroying the world's economy. We can't allow prosecutors to do Brady violations with impunity. We cannot condone wrongful convictions. We cannot call ourselves the land of the free when we incarcerate more people than any other country on the planet! We can't have a nationwide militarized police that tramples civil rights. We can't go to war on a lie. We can't go to war and not pay for it in both our lives and treasure. We cannot be a GOP wannabes because if that's what you are offering; huge segments of your electorate are going to stay home and not vote at all.
We need to step back and define who we are.
We must find and reward Democratic Party Candidates that support this:
We are Liberals and we are proud of what we stand for
"Justice and Liberty FOR ALL".
The next thing on your agenda should be to take a look at who you think your "key party stakeholders and experts" are. If it's the same bunch that blew 2010 and 2014, then you got the wrong crew working on the problem. Please, tell us, who is working on this problem? Have you asked Howard Dean back to the table? He did pretty good in 2006.
What the Democratic Party needs is a successful mass marketer. Someone who knows direct to consumer marketing. You don't need poli-sci wonks. You need Sham Wow! (not the sham so much as the WoW!) Because, what the DNC currently has, from the point of view of Latinos, African Americans, women, workers, consumers, students, parents, educators, voters without photo ID, the underinsured and uninsured is too much sham and no wow.
You already have the base, more or less. What you don't have is enthusiasm. You don't give people a reason to go out and vote for the Democrat on the ticket. You don't recruit candidates that have your market saying "Wow! I gotta go vote!". DINOs and GOP Light candidates are about as satisfying as diet brownies. We need candidates that have people talking about them, knocking on doors, making calls, speaking up with their friends. Posting on social media is great, but a one on one conversation is the best way to get a voter to go for the Democratic Party candidate. You gotta give us candidates that rev our jets. The party faithful are doing their part. You don't have the independents or the casual voter. You gotta give them something better than, "I may be on the Democratic Party Ticket, but I'm not really a Democrat".
OK?
Another item on your agenda needs to be on communications. Get an experienced marketer and copy writer and create our own talking points. Take on that RWNJ machine. Call them out! We must teach what to say and how to say it when some RWNJ calls you a "libtard" or worse, "baby killer". That ad hominen attack shit is tough on newbie progressives who still don't call themselves liberals. People like to associate with winners. Show newbie progressives a path to winning. They will follow.
Did you hear that S.E. Cupp did media training for GOP candidates? Education needs to include a component on how to call out unfair "journalists". Geez, Chuck Todd was a one man wrecking crew this last election and the DNC didn't say shit about it. The Democratic Party must defend our Liberal Values of Social Well Being for everyone and a respectful, effective government.
Finally, make some promises. Make promises to support personal liberty, financial security, affordable education and health care. Call for corporate accountability, government accountability and a clean environment. We know you might not be able to deliver finished legislation, but you can deliver on supporting Liberal Values.
The Party faithful are here for you, but we didn't abandon you. You failed to get your marginal markets. You failed to give them an alternative to the GOP. All these voters had to do was stay home and they could get what you offered - GOP values.
Sincerely,
JDWolverton
1:32 PM PT: Thanks for reading and placing me on the rec list.
I'm going to shamelessly ask you to Tweet this (or your own thoughts) to the DNC PTBs
@TheDemocrats @DWStweets and @DNCWomen