There are ways we can begin to regain the part of the country that thinks as we do but voted as if they didn't. This is a my first try at how to do this.
ECONOMY
1. The Democrats need to put together an economic agenda that has clear governing beliefs.
a. Everyone has the right to a roof over his/her head, food on the table, and good health care.
b. Social Security is an essential safety net and should not be tied to the stock market.
d. The tax system should be structured to reduce the gap between rich haves and poor have littles.
e. Work is one of our highest values. Everyone should have a job who wants one. The economic system should reward work ahead of wealth. Job creation is an essential part of our platform. Workers should be able to reap the rewards of productivity instead of those going primarily to executives and stock holders.
2. Quickly develop legislation that addresses these issues and introduce it into committee.
3. Talk loudly and clearly about how political manipulation may block achieving these goals.
4. Energize people throughout the nation to contact their representatives and the media about these goals and this legislation.
5. Learn from Perot. He was able to help the American public understand what problems the deficit posed for America. Educate the American public about such things as tax cuts for the rich, the elimination of the estate tax, and taxing work instead of wealth. Use clear charts and language. If people understood, they would oppose these policies.
6. Don't let the administration further cut union strength in the name of homeland security. SCREAM to the media when this happens.
MEDIA
1. Learn from our success with the Sinclair boycott that we can quickly mobilize when the media responds in a unilateral way.
2. Continue to develop media outlets that represent the progressive view
3. Get fully organized so that we can call out whenever the media misrepresent the right or left, using such outlets as mediamatters.org. Becoming better at staying on message while remaining genuine in what we talk about.
IRAQ WAR
1. Clearly support the troops, including finding ways to accelerate getting armored humvees and body armor to them immediately. There are apparently humvees sitting on bases throughout the U.S. If that is true, we should get them to Iraq as soon as possible. Let the Democrats lead in this.
2. Continue to talk out about international cooperation, working with the U.N. and finding diplomatic solutions. Don't let the war be defined in terms of success and failure based on how much territory we take. Don't let the republicans posture about where the war is going while soldiers die and we kill numerous Iraqis. ( For instance, Fox news talks about Fallujah as a terrorist den that we will attack instead of indicating it is a city with many civilians still in residence.)
3. Don't let us lose track of what is happening in the rest of the world. Continue to practice real statesmanship and keep the media engaged in issues other than just Iraq. For instance, the need to bring some economic stability to Africa if large parts of it are not to become a terrorist breeding ground.
MORAL VALUES
1. Take back the center. By advocating for good birth control education and availability, economic help for single mothers, and good sex education, we can reduce abortions more than by banning them in some states. The number of abortions decreased under Clinton and increased under Bush. Talk about this. Most of the nation doesn't even know that Bush is reducing the availability of birth control and other family planning resources.
2. In the same way internationally, point out that the global gag rule is killing many thousands of women each year by reducing access to birth control, medical care, and condoms. This is abominable, and our outrage should match its horror.
3. Link economic and moral issues. Giving more and more to the richest people in this nation is immoral while people die from lack of health care and children are raised in poverty. Again, get on message about this. Let our outrage show. Use Perot like education to point out how the gap is growing between rich and poor. Reclaim religious language. Christ talked a lot about poverty and wealth. He never mentioned abortion or homosexuality. Why did the Republicans get to redefine his message?
HOMELAND SECURITY
1. Don't let the R's have the upper hand. While terrorism is a fear, there are many more potent threats such as not having health care, losing one's job, and being weakened by environmental pollutants. Talk about the bigger picture when we talk about security.
2. Push for clear studies of what is working in homeland security and make it public. Have we caught terrorists with our increased airport security? Is there a better way to do it? Educate the public about risk management and then strongly advocate for measures that really work. Point out how the present administration uses our fear to funnel millions to a homeland security industry that frequently doesn't know what it is doing.
to be continued...