Questions to Ask of Bush, Republicans - No More Accusations!!!

[mattclearing]

Re-posted from GD

I've been doing a lot of thinking about ways that Democrats can win decisive victories in next year's elections, and have come to one overriding conclusion: Rather than tell people that Bush lied, or that the war in Iraq is a mistake, or that Bush's priorities are out of whack, Dems need to ask questions that lead people to these conclusions.

No one likes to be told what to do, and if Dems just make accusations at Bush, Bush will be able to play this "Democrats on the Attack" card, and garner more sympathy than he deserves from his very much up for grabs moderate voting bloc.

So, instead of 'Bush Lied,' how about: "President Bush said that senators had access to the same intelligence that he did, but if that's true, then why did President Bush revoke 92 senators' security clearances?"

Instead of 'Bush Has No Exit Strategy,' how about, "What does President Bush's idea of success in Iraq look like? Has he defined specific criteria for which he would withdraw certain numbers of troops, as Democratic leaders have?"

Instead of 'Bush's budget has misplaced priorities,' how about, "Where is the funding for (insert popular public program here)?"

I think it's important to remember that people have minds of their own, and don't like being talked down to.

I'm tired of watching Dems focus on Bush, and I know I've been guilty of it too. Ultimately, we should be concerned with making sure that the people are our priority.

It isn't about Bush, and stopping Bush's destructive agenda, as Howard Dean said yesterday (Disclosure: I am a fan of Dean, but disagree with him here). It's about asking the right questions to show Americans that we have their best interests at heart.

I also think that people will be more open to the Democratic Party's point of view if we preach less and ask questions more.

The more questions we ask that Bush and the Republican Party evade, the more reasonable we will appear.

Eventually, people will come to notice that the administration is stonewalling perfectly legitimate questions. Indeed, they have already done so, if recent polls are to be believed.

I have said that I also think that Dems should bypass the media and start airing positive issue ads staking out clear positions on important issues. Some ads with the above questions, and others like them, would be a good idea too.

We have a great opportunity to produce a major shift in the political leanings of a majority of Americans, but we have to make sure that we welcome new voters in a way that is not preachy or condescending.

After all, if we really want the opportunity to govern, we have to earn it. We cannot win by demonizing the other side.

That only works if you have established a reputation for negative campaigning...that works for Republicans, who are expected to be cynical and fight dirty, but it's a bad fit on Democrats, who have generally been on the correct side of social progress for the past hundred years.

Name-calling, taunting, and screaming for the referee for perceived bad calls will not win votes. Asking questions invites people to evaluate their thinking on issues.

A thoughtful discussion of issues will benefit Democrats every single time.

[Village Idiot]

1. Unfortunately, intelligent well-framed questions are ignored...

by ALL WH staff. Don't you ever watch Snotty's Press Conferences?

We'd all do better just to stick with the simple "Bush is a LIAR" meme.

Easy questions, regarding the manipulation of the NIE intel, ow "what did he know about PlameGate, and When?" or the DSM have been completely ignored by MSM and WH, BOTH.

I agree about the name calling and taunting - but when ALL reasonable lines of inquiry have been exhausted, as is the case with this current b@stard administration, what else can you do?

Obstructionism is the key - geting the message out as to WHY Dems are obstructing may pave the way far better than unaswered questions.

[mattclearing]

2. I think it's important to poke holes in the rhetoric.

People will notice if we mention things that don't agree with Bush's version of events, particularly with the "same intel" question. The Dems are apparently doing a press conference about that exact issue now.