The ones we don't know much about yet? The ones that inspired a little flame of hope?
I know that people have been talking about Kamala Harris, but I didn't really know anything about her until I heard her interviewed on Warren Olney's show last week.
I liked her voice. She didn't talk about her liberal ideas as part of the democratic party platform, but instead as non-partisan tools that will solve problems. I have been recently convinced that in order to connect with the working class Americans that need liberal ideas in government to make their financial lives better, we need to stop saying the things we have said for the last 20 years and come up with a new brand image.
Let's face it, what our politicians have been offering the people isn't switching new people to our party. President Obama mobilized a lot of new voters with his message of hope and change, and then lost many of them with governance that doesn't reflect that message. Our solid liberal ideas ARE hope and change, and when they don't know they are our liberal ideas, most Americans agree with our ideas.
So let's take our ideas out and start introducing them to people in a non-partisan way. I'm tired of being stuck in a culture war fomented by the fucking republican party to steal our power in a divide and conquer move. Honestly when Barack Obama was elected, I wanted to see swift and brutal repudiation of the republicans. I wanted to see a stake in the heart of trickle down economics. I wanted to see #glbt citizens unapologetically supported by a wave of legislation securing of our rights. I wanted to see a national dialog on why the last 30 years of republican control had failed in such a spectacular manner.
But that hasn't happened. And I am tired of sticking with failed attempts. So let's try something different.
I think we should be building a list of politicians that we believe might be open to listening to our ideas. That's where you come in. Talk about your people in the comments. We can forward our ideas like this great one diaried by Bibschol today, or like this old one diaried by Renzo Gasolini and see which ones gain traction.
In addition, we are going to have to talk to our family and friends and co-workers who believe that democrats are going to hell and we are going to have to talk about ideas instead of ideologies. They are dead wrong, but they aren't going to hear a thing we say until we stop screaming that they are dead wrong.
Because if we try this idea, and it doesn't work, then we will have good information to fuel our next attempt. I'm sick of fighting about ideas and never trying any of them. As Seth Godin says, "Successful people fail quickly and move on to the next idea."