Don't We Have Enough Social Issues to Run On?

[Mary in KC]

Maybe I'm dead wrong, but it seems to me that Democratics could run successfully just on all of the developing social issues:

Medicaid problems and all the people who are poor and disabled who are seeing benefits cut.

We have a protest going on at a university here because we are spending all of our money in Iraq (it's actually anti-war) and yet the prices of going to the university just keep rising.

No Child Left Behind isn't working - kids are doing poorly over the long run.

Death Penalty issues - talk about caring about life.

And all the Environmental things - there are a ton of those that are in critical need of being addressed.

People being forced out of their homes from property tax increases.

People being forced out of their homes from eminant domain battles.

It just goes on and on.

And talk about being the party of ethics - we are the party of ethics - not Tom DeLay and Cheney and all the other thugs in Washington.

I just can't help but think there is a way to put this all together and come out with a really strong party platform.

[MollyStark]

1. We do and we should be running on those issues

However there is a militant minority of people who care only about military issues and security. I know it is a losing proposition to try and out military the republicans.
We need to focus on domestic policy.

[Mary in KC]

2. Military and Security - we have good arguments on those, too

but I think that is not where our really strong points are right now.

Look at all of the graft being uncovered in the current military and COA budgets - billions of dollars gone

Our Security sucks. Why haven't the Republicans done more to protect the country? We have holes everywhere.

And bin Laden sits and waits and plans. We need some effective people working on that - not a bunch of thugs.

But I think we could pull a lot more people in on the main social issues. Bush adm. promised people they would do all of these things and they haven't done anything. Look at the Pell grants he pushed so hard - Cut the guts out of the programs.

I think we can do it if we can just find a powerful enough candidate. I liked Kerry put he wasn't charismatic. Course, after this bunch we might not need charisma any more. We just need someone who knows what the truth looks like.

[Clark Bayh 2008]

3. Indeed... the problem is we lost the last election on terrorism..

One Bin Laden Video over the weekend & all those social issues are thrown out with the bathwater in Ohio.

Democrats have to be willing to appear tough on terrorism & willing to use force when necessary, & threaten its use glaringly when it's not.

[Mary in KC]

4. It doesn't have to be one or the other - it can be both.

You can be tough on terrorism and not gut our civil liberties.


If we hadn't gotten stuck in the Viet Nam War we would have made it last time. And that same bunch is going after Hillary now. But I think Bill is firing back like only he can do.

[Mary in KC]

5. We could run on Getting the Thugs out of Washington

It's really gotten that bad.

[tx_dem41]

6. The problem is that the Party doesn't have proactive, organized....

solutions to many of these issues.

[Mary in KC]

7. Well, that's not an impossible thing.

The Party needs to get organized again. Revamp and retool. We are going to have to do it - we don't have a choice. But we have to find a lead with a loud voice and the balls to stand up to these guys - and hope they don't kill him (or her) for it.

Dean could do it. Kerry could do it. Kennedy is great at that kind of stuff. We have the resources we just need for them to all get together, quit bickering and get the job done.

They need to let Clinton put it all together - he is so good at that. He might not be a good front man, but he would be great behind the scenes. His speeches and stuff are just terrific.

[Warpy]

8. Clinton was spot on about one thing,

"It's the ECONOMY, stupid!" In other words, if the party doesn't start talking to working people and finding out what they need (instead of only talking to yuppies in big cities), the party will stay out of office and out of power.

The party has offered working people exactly nothing for the past 37 years beyond a few timid increases in the minimum wage (which is still not a living wage for one person, let alone somebody with a child to support) and a lot of lip service from Clinton during the campaigns. It is instructive to note that lip service is what got him elected; the next guy who starts talking about the economy is going to have to follow through.

Working class economic issues like living wages, ending offshoring, strengthening unions, and enforcing labor laws including OSHA have been off the table for so long that most people have given up all hope and stay home on election day. Only by giving them some hope for the future will the party come out of its long, dismal somnambulance and start to win elections again.

And that means we need to dump the DLC. Their programs are yuppie programs, including their approach to social issues. They're losers.

[Mary in KC]

9. I live in the Bible Belt and I don't think those people would be

so hard to reach. They are very practical. And very hard working. You just can't get bogged down in wedge issues - you have to stay away from abortion and life issues.

But these people know thugs and liars when they see them. And Washington is full of those kinds of people right now.

We got rid of Pendergast and we can get rid of these guys, too.