The Democratic Party needs to get its shit together...........quickly !

[kentuck]

When will a replacement for Daschle be chosen? We need someone before Bush starts sending up judges. We cannot wait until the last minute. We need to huddle and defend the next play. Bush doesn't need any "freebies" and neither does the country.

We need to find out how many Repubs are going to go along with the Bush agenda and how many are going to balk. Because of our minority position, we need to form a coaliton with moderate Republicans to defeat Bush and the radicals on their judicial appointments, drilling in ANWR, privatization of Social Security, etc. We need to treat our allies in the Republican party like sisters and brethren or we will have no power whatsoever and neither will the moderate Repubs. That is our only hope for the next two years, and perhaps, the next four years.

That is the reality we are facing. We play the cards that are dealt to us and right now, the only Joker in the deck are the moderate Repubs.

[NMDemDist2]

1. don't we have to wait til the new congress is seated? not now in the

lame duck congress

[LSparkle]

2. Yeah, that's true and doesn't Harry Reid already have it?

I'd prefer Russ Feingold, but is he even going to run?

[SilverSeraphim]

4. Wait? We don't have time

to wait.

The wolves are coming closer. We need a game plan now, so that we don't look poleaxed when the new congress comes in.

[theboss]

6. There's a process that has worked for a few centuries

Bush is not going to appoint 9 new Supreme Court justices on Jan 20. It will all work itself out.

[PrpgndBrdcstingSystm]

10. need to take a longterm perspective on political idea propagation

see my post below.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LSparkle]

7. Are you Grover Norquist?

[theboss]

5. Jesus...relax

Daschle is still a Senator. His replacement is going to be Reid. It will all be sorted out before any confirmation hearings.

Actually, Republicans have a lot more to worry about when it comes to judges. They don't know who is going to chair judiciary yet.

[PrpgndBrdcstingSystm]

8. Don't think "elections & politicians"; think "spreading liberal ideas"

Elections, politicians are not what liberals should be thinking about.

Think instead about how to explain liberal/progressive ideas to the crucial segments of the voting public.

Think about how to persuade white rural swing state voters that high taxes on the rich is a good idea. Think about how to persuade white rural swing state voters that taking money from upper income earners and rich people, and spending it on providing universal healthcare to all Americans is a Good Thing.

Think about how to demonstratre to white rural swing state voters that social democracies like Sweden, Norway, Denmark have higher standards of living.

Instead of worrying about how some rich senators and congressmen in DC are holding up, here is a plan to get regular Americans like you and me cheap healthcare and more time off and a more stress-free lifestyle:

Collaborate with other liberal activists online to develop prototypes of video and audio infomercials. This can be done very cheaply with computers and cheap electronics by informed volunteers. For example, an audio or video informercial might consist of informed activists like you or me interviewing one of the MANY well informed progressive academicians (e.g, PhD in Economics) who could explain how progressive taxation is used in Scandanavia to provide for the social safety net and healthcare for all citizens. This should be the centerpiece of the Democratic economic narrative. in 2008.

No expensive media consultants or celebrities. Just plain Americans, unpaid and plain spoken.

Don't talk about gender or racial politics, affirmative action or gay rights or other wedge issues that both Dem and GOP politicians and the media are so fond of (gee, I wonder why...).

THen once we have some halfway decent prototypes of infomericials, organize withwell known websites like moveon.org. Set up a donation interface to get money online to run these informercials. Put the infomericials online so that potential donors can see what they are paying for. Tell them that all the donations will go for buying media time, except for a small fraction for legal help to set up contracts.

Run these infomericals as much as we can in the coming years. Run them in the cheap rural media markets in these states: OH, PA, IA, WI, MN, MI, NM, CO, and FL. Get time in off hours in late night teevee. Buy time on radio in small rural markets in those states. Buy full page ads in small town newspapers.

The Democratic voters in blue states already are in agreement with these ideas. We still have to convince the white rural voters in those wing states.

This is what the rightwing propaganda machine has been doing for years, except they work through Washington DC, and big media outlets such as PBS, CBS, CNN, Fox, etc, and big newspapers and other outlets using products created and funded by their think tanks and foundations (studies, essays, news stories, etc.). But they have billions of dollars and have been at it for decades.

We do not have that kind of money or time.

But worrying about conventional politics is not productive. You wind up with Presidential DINOs like Clinton. Instead, concentrate on moving the crucial rural white swing states voters to the left. The media markets where they live are cheap. In addition to late night tv and small town radio, throw in full page ads in rural newspapers (Really Cheap!).

I bet we can do it for 200 million dollars in the next 4 years. Are there 10 million committed liberals in America? That is $20 apiece.

Or you can just go back to conventional politics, which has produced what we have today.....

[kentuck]

11. Under normal conditions, I would agree with you...

however, these are not normal conditions. We have to try and stop the Bush radical agenda, even if we have to resort to the old "politics" like forming cross-party coalitions to do so, in my opinion. They can do much damage otherwise.

[PrpgndBrdcstingSystm]

12. penny wise, pound foolish

and any number of other pithy aphorisms apply to your comment. Always some OTHER time to do what we need to do. ABB, eh wot?

[JNelson6563]

15. I think you have a lot of good ideas

I suspect we will have to do both unconventional and conventional politicing to get anywhere.

Cheers--
Julie

[librechik]

9. New Leader vote on Tuesday

Next week we get DNC chair--hope it's Dean!

[alfredo]

13. I am working on the local level.

Some friends and I are working on a plan to reach out and become more involved in the community. I believe we can get this new plan up and running by this spring, if the county chair likes it and wants to implement it.

[joelogan]

14. kick

[Pepperbelly]

16. You are almost right but here is the REAL ISSUE!

The gop majority is going to try to modify the fillibuster rules. I heard Frist in front of the Federalist Society and I guarantee you, this is where they are going to go.

on edit: THIS is all we have! We have no other card to play.

[joelogan]

17. I heard that, too

It's OK, that will just motivate us more.

[Pepperbelly]

18. changing the fillibuster is so not-ok that it cannot be overstated.

It is literally the only card that we hold in the entire federal government right now.

on edit: it would give them 2 years carte blanhe before the voters would be able to address the issue. Until then, there would literally be no impediment to doing whatever they want to do for 2 years. The ONLY question would be how far the Supreme Court would let them run.

[joelogan]

19. Then the GOP and the voters have only the GOP to blame

Maybe it could be a good thing in the long run

[Pepperbelly]

20. but you have to get from here to there and that ...

could well be problematic.

[joelogan]

21. what does that statement mean?

have you read all the posts in this thread?

[Pepperbelly]

22. I meant what I said ...

The times will be far rockier for us than they should be.