Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CAUTION TO DEMOCRATS
Democrats would be wise to take a close look at the mainstream positions held by Americans on certain key issues. The importance of an issue to middle-of-the-road Americans is going to be extremely relevant to winning the next national election. Surveys have shown that some issues are significant to members of one party while other issues are important to the backbone of the other party.
But certain issues, and their framing for the moderate electorate, are of crucial importance to winning in 2008.
It is well to remember that job exportation, debt growth, health care costs and the uninsured, tax breaks for the rich, high gas prices, a president with no respect, business/government corruption, and a less than popular war were all on the issue tally when the republicans won in 2004. These are still issues, perhaps magnified, but the Democrats could still lose.
One may wonder why? Are voters just a bunch of dim bulbs? More likely it is the chosing, framing, and publicizing of certain issues, but voters do indeed tend to be gullible to manipulation.
Last time the issues of gay marriage and abortion were exploited to bring out the emotional religious voters en masse. Such emotion-arousing issues often appear on state referendums in highly important partisan elections. Democrats should look again for something akin to this, as well as the usual "liberal" aspersions and dirty character attacks. There will be huge sums of "527" corporate money available to clog the airwaves.
Demos should be wary of the reframing of the tragic Bush war in Iraq, killing and maiming thousands unnecessarily, into accusations against peace candidates with words like "cut and run," "give up," "white flag," and "surrender." They will try to give the opposition an imagege of weaklings. They will also use fear, as per "They will follow us home." There will be a need for a positive war strategy phrased and used.
Democrats should not be dragged into supporting an unpopular "immigration reform" bill. The mainstream is against any course which legitimizes the millions of illegal immigrants in this country. Failure to enforce immigration laws is a republican problem, and demos should keep it that way.
Democrats have a corruption issue against the republicans which they must exploit with moderates, but this means keeping one's own record clean. Democrats cannot allow their own congressmen to follow the republican system of "earmarks" of taxpayer money, nor can they be found accepting the largesse of business special interests.
If the republicans can distract voters with controversies over gay rights and abortion, they will do so again. Democrats must stay mainstream. Give tacit acceptance of civil unions, but neither advocacy nor approval.
Don't talk about choice. Talk about opposing government interference in family maters and personal decisions, including family planning and limits. Talk about government interference in medical practice, and in matters that should be between a woman and her doctor.
Acknowledge the importance of religion in personal lives, and the importance of traditional Christian values. Attack the republicans as not living up to Christian teachings. Tag them a s "two-point" Christians. But maintain a strong stance on the separation of church and stte. The constitutional clause prohibiting the "establishment of religion" protects the nation from a voting majority putting religious doctrines into the law for everybody. Support that!
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
But certain issues, and their framing for the moderate electorate, are of crucial importance to winning in 2008.
It is well to remember that job exportation, debt growth, health care costs and the uninsured, tax breaks for the rich, high gas prices, a president with no respect, business/government corruption, and a less than popular war were all on the issue tally when the republicans won in 2004. These are still issues, perhaps magnified, but the Democrats could still lose.
One may wonder why? Are voters just a bunch of dim bulbs? More likely it is the chosing, framing, and publicizing of certain issues, but voters do indeed tend to be gullible to manipulation.
Last time the issues of gay marriage and abortion were exploited to bring out the emotional religious voters en masse. Such emotion-arousing issues often appear on state referendums in highly important partisan elections. Democrats should look again for something akin to this, as well as the usual "liberal" aspersions and dirty character attacks. There will be huge sums of "527" corporate money available to clog the airwaves.
Demos should be wary of the reframing of the tragic Bush war in Iraq, killing and maiming thousands unnecessarily, into accusations against peace candidates with words like "cut and run," "give up," "white flag," and "surrender." They will try to give the opposition an imagege of weaklings. They will also use fear, as per "They will follow us home." There will be a need for a positive war strategy phrased and used.
Democrats should not be dragged into supporting an unpopular "immigration reform" bill. The mainstream is against any course which legitimizes the millions of illegal immigrants in this country. Failure to enforce immigration laws is a republican problem, and demos should keep it that way.
Democrats have a corruption issue against the republicans which they must exploit with moderates, but this means keeping one's own record clean. Democrats cannot allow their own congressmen to follow the republican system of "earmarks" of taxpayer money, nor can they be found accepting the largesse of business special interests.
If the republicans can distract voters with controversies over gay rights and abortion, they will do so again. Democrats must stay mainstream. Give tacit acceptance of civil unions, but neither advocacy nor approval.
Don't talk about choice. Talk about opposing government interference in family maters and personal decisions, including family planning and limits. Talk about government interference in medical practice, and in matters that should be between a woman and her doctor.
Acknowledge the importance of religion in personal lives, and the importance of traditional Christian values. Attack the republicans as not living up to Christian teachings. Tag them a s "two-point" Christians. But maintain a strong stance on the separation of church and stte. The constitutional clause prohibiting the "establishment of religion" protects the nation from a voting majority putting religious doctrines into the law for everybody. Support that!
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
