As an Independent that has consistently supported Democrats due to the general evilness of the Repub. I would like to offer some constructive criticism of the Democrats to help them win in 2006. My politics tend toward s moderate, in the middle kind of thinking which, I think, typifies many Independents. I was listening to NPR recently and they were rattling off some information from recent polls. The gist of it was that Democrats were not really all that better thought of then Republicans. People tend to loop them all together despite the unprecedented. power they have wielded. This perception needs to be corrected. There needs to be the thought implanted in everyone's mind that when the Democrats take control of Congress, this is what will happen. Its been mentioned before borrow a page from Gingrich days of contract with America. Love it or hate it, it was brilliant ploy that outlined what they would do. The basic idea is to play 2 sides of each subject. By that, I mean speak about how Republicans screwed up in each case, and then lead to what the Democrats are going to do to fix/improve.
I didn't see much being blogged on this. This article, from the AP
I would not of thought that so many people would actively be against the long standing policy, but:
"According to a survey last month by Rasmussen Reports, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm, 49 percent of Americans favor ending birthright citizenship, and 41 percent favor keeping it. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points."
I am not out to defend Wal-mart's corporate policy. I think they have made some bad decisions in the efforts to cut costs. I have no issues with people protesting and criticizing in an effort to get them to do the right thing. If they are breaking the law , then they should be punished. If local people decide to zone them out of their area, more power to them. That is the essence of Democracy. But I will be extremely pissed if the Democrats attempt to make any part of this in their agenda.
I would not be resting on one's laurels with this, nor would I say that the country is ready to run liberal now. The wins were my moderates. We need to claim the middle ground. Learn the lessons from the Republicans. First define the issues the Democrats stand for. I have not seen enough of this. Then we can use their other tactic, define what the Republicans stand for, just by pointing at what they have done. What are the Democrats doing to reduce the deficit? I have seen no leadership on what is going to be a critical issue.. You can win some elections by the virtue of not being a Republican, but would hope we are in for it on the longhaul.
