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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

What's wrong with the Dems.

There's nothing going on today, and that's the Dem's problem. When there's a dead lull like this, they should be filling it with something. The political press gets bored on day's like this and would just love to jump on a juicy he said/she said.

So, turn one of the lefty wingnuts loose. Let somebody go out and make some accusation, that undercuts the White House's message for the day. Something informal but good enough to be repeated like, "you know Kanye West was kinda right. I mean, if you look at the programs Bush has cut and his dogged insistence on maintaining the deficit building tax cuts, you just gotta wonder."

Or attack the Iraq policy for god's sake including an inflammatory word like "incompetent."

Don't worry if it ruffles feathers, that's the whole point. The salaciousness of it is what gets it repeated. It puts the White House on the defensive on an issue where its weak and forces their images off the talk show lead. They're weak right now. The press wants you to attack.

And, you don't have to pretend that this person speaks for the party. When Chris Matthews or Russert or whoever tries to trap you, just don't take the bait.
"Mr. Reid, do you believe that Bush doesn't care about black people."

(chuckling) "well, I've worked with Representative (blank) for yearsm and I know he is very passionate about equality and a very courageous politician, I'm sure he wouldn't make those comment if he didn't see a justification."

Fill this void. View it as a gift. You are viewed as a party with no positions, but in fact, it is the lack of passion that turns voters unsure. It's like Colbert says, "without anger, how can I tell how you feel."

5 Comments:

  • Last week on Air America, Janeane Garofolo stated 9/11 was an inside job.Maybe she should say it again.

    By Blogger Lew Scannon, at 7:53 PM  

  • On the other hand, maybe the dems think the poll numbers that are coming out are sufficient. After all, every time they do go on the offensive they seem to fail miserably, allowing it to be turned around on them. They need to be cultivating a consistent voice from a handful of folks they feel are just-behind-the-front-runners for our next prez.
    Let the real front runners wait in the wings for the kill.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:08 PM  

  • I agree with wild bill.

    I'd further add that the Dems need to hire Frank Luntz away from the Repubs, since they seem incapable of mastering the are of the persuasive sound bite, and Luntz is a diabolical master at it.

    By Blogger -epm, at 9:13 PM  

  • I tend to agree with Mike. The vast right-wing echo chamber has achieved maximum penetration for their message among the American people over the past decade (and yes, the double entendre is appropos). It's been demonstrably effective. There are a lot of Rethug tactics I wouldn't want to adopt because they're against my personal principles and what I believe is the essential character of the Democratic Party. But managing (not manipulating) the media is just common sense. If our message doesn't get out there or get equal treatment with the Rethugs by a cowed and Bush-infatuated press corps, it shouldn't be because we weren't trying.

    By Blogger Motherlode, at 10:24 PM  

  • Actually, that's a real tossup as to whether you let the Republicans keep digging their own hole.

    But I tend to be more agressive and believe in the usefulness of combinations. You should keep them reeling until you land a knockout blow.

    Sometimes, you don't even know which shot that is until your opponent's on the canvas.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 10:40 PM  

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