I originally posted this as a comment on the thread about the leadership crisis in the Republican Party. But then I realized that maybe it should be in a diary entry.
Dean is doing a good job at party building.
But, who is going to lead the charge in 06? In 08?
Who is organizing the Democratic Party around a message or issues that will resonate with voters?
What is that message? What are the issues?
UPDATE: Some of you are missing the point. The meme message should be short, sweet and to the point. Nobody ever won an election because they had the most detailed policy wonk. I'm talking about a strategic vision here, a vision that the Democrats lack.
Wonking and tactics do have their place...but again, nobody ever won an election with TV commercials about them.
If there is any hope for the future of your country, you HAVE to take either the Senate or the House of Representatives in the 06 Election. These Constitutional abuses cannot be allowed to stand and the Bush Administration MUST be held accountable. Because if they get away with it, then the door is wide open for even greater abuses in the future.
But, saving the Constitution is NOT an idea that will resonate with the electorate. Unfortunately, the majority of the electorate does NOT understand the philosophy behind the safeguards codified in the Constitution. If they did understand them, then they would be as outraged as the rest of us.
So, how can you win in 06 and save the Constitution?
You have to push a few central memes that the Republican party can't take for their own.
Yes, the media is against you. But if you are unified and organized around a few central and easy to articulate memes, then those memes will still permeate into the public consciousness, in spite of the media bias.
Here are the two most important issues:
Jobs
Security
So, if you had to pick just one unifying message to organize these memes for victory, here it is:
"The Republicans got you into this mess, the Dems will get you out."
Then you PROVE it by invoking FDR. You want to save the New Deal? Well here is your chance. Your message is that the Party of FDR is riding to the rescue. The Dems saved the US from Evil Dictators and Economic ruin before and they'll save the US again.
The Republican memes are effective, because they have spent two generations laying the groundwork for them. Their memes resonate with a background context that the voters already know and feel. So your memes also have to resonate, but with a different background context. You have to fight the Republicans on YOUR home turf, not theirs.
The best way to fight the fear Republicans are exploiting is by reminding American's: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself". Remind Americans about their greatest triumphs in even worse circumstances and remind them about WHO led them to those triumphs.
So, take a page from the Republican's ancestor/Reagan worship playbook; invoke the spirit of FDR. You want to beat the worst President ever? Then fight him with the best President ever.
