McPherson county, Nebraska, the poorest county in the US...

[chaska]

voted 80% for Bush. As seen in Progressive Magazine.

Folks, Bill Clinton - god love 'im - sent us down the wrong path. He thought that we could win if we became pugs on the fiscal side and moderated our social stance. Turns out only he could win that way.

These people will never vote with us on the basis of our social agenda. We must therefore go back to being traditional Dems in the area of fiscal policy (i.e., we stand with the poor) in order to bring these people back. It's our only hope. We must fight and fight hard for Joe Sixpack's pocketbook, and make sure they know that's what we're doing.

It will take time, Limbaugh has them convinced that we are limousine liberals (I was completely taken aback the first time I heard that in a political discussion with an aquaintance), but we've got to do it. And what's more we should. That, after all, is what the Democratic party is all about.

We should not let ourselves be sidetracked by social issues. Play offense, not defense. And when we do talk social issues, we MUST do it using their weapon: the Bible. Jesus was a liberal. And we must beat the living shit out them with that truth.

To sum up: Focus like a laser on standing with the poor on fiscal issues, make sure the poor know we are doing that, and negate social traps by using religion against the pugs.

On edit: When I say poor, I mean everyone who's not rich or well off.

[shrub chipper]

1. I agree with your point,

but Nebraska has never been a Democratic stronghold in my lifetime.

Why do you think they will change now?

[LiberalAndProud]

2. I went to Bible School in that county years ago.

They vote Republican because they want government "off their backs". That is the mantra to which these people respond.

I visited there recently and found a lake where a paddock used to be. The ranching family who lives there had stocked the lake with fish. Lakes just sometimes pop up in the middle of the sandhills of Nebraska. I mentioned that they might look into the wetlands preservation money that the state lottery is making available.

Their response: if you take money from the government, the government thinks they can tell you what to do. Argue with that one.

Edited to add:
McPherson County, has one (1) town, Tryon, population less than 600 persons.

[Zuni]

5. I think it is more social than economic issues

On economic issues, if we show we fight for the poor and the workers and the middle class and against NAFTA and FTAA, we can win some back.
We shouldn't try to fight on social issues in red states. We will lose and then all progress will stop.

[tk2kewl]

7. well... they probably would

want to regulate the wetland once they knew about it.

[chaska]

10. Yeah, definitely. I have heard this many times myself. We need a ...

strategy for this as well.

[donheld]

22. My father grew up in Tryon

talk about a nothing of a town.

[Zuni]

3. I think he had it bass-ackwards

We are not losing on economic issues, it was social issues that motivated red state voters.
On economic issues, Democrats poll much higher than pugs.
We have to concentrate on that side of domestic policy in order to get votes and not get tangled up in 'culture wars' we cannot win in Red States.

[NEDem]

4. I'm a Nebraskan.

The reason * won like he did here is simple. My fellow Nebraskans, who really are nice and polite people, are a bunch of completely braindead idiots and are some of the stupidest people on this planet.

Case in point: We have a former college football coach as a congressman, won with something like 99.9% of the vote, he's likely to be our next Governor, a fucking football coach! Sorry, but the poeple that live are are a bunch of morons.

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

12. A Born-In-Nebraska Democrat, with a differing opinion.

"The reason * won like he did here is simple. My fellow Nebraskans, who really are nice and polite people, are a bunch of completely braindead idiots and are some of the stupidest people on this planet."

It doesn't help matters the the Nebraska Democratic Party is not visible throughout the state. Is poorly ran, feckless and can't even stand united where the Democratic Party should be strongest. (Yes, Omaha Democrats For Daub, I'M TALKING TO YOU. I'm an Omaha Democrat who will NEVER forget the Mayoral Betrayal of 1997.)

The Nebraska Democratic Party in recent years has become pretty darn worthless, and has been allowed to be painted much like most Democrats have been. As those "arrogant, fairie, socialist, anti-American, big city, wine-and-cheese eaters".

The real reason why Nebraskans vote Republican, even though state history confirms that the GOP treats the Cornhusker State like a redheaded stepchild, is that the GOP is the only party standing at the microphone united from Omaha to Sidney.

"Case in point: We have a former college football coach as a congressman, won with something like 99.9% of the vote, he's likely to be our next Governor, a fucking football coach! Sorry, but the poeple that live are are a bunch of morons.

Tom Osborne was a football coach. He also holds a PhD in educational psychology, and heads a youth mentoring project with his wife. I would think a PhD gives him a little more intellectual capital than most congresspeople that have represented Nebraska in recent years.

I certainly put Coach Osborne ahead of Lee Terry, Jeff Fortenberry, Peter Hoagland, Hal Daub, or Jon "The Virgin Slayer" Christensen in the brains category.

When the Nebraska Democratic Party decides to become a party once again, and not a West Omaha-based wannabe Republican social club, then we'll start winning the state.

What more can you expect from a party that couldn't keep a Mayor's seat in Omaha or wrestle it away from ne'erdowell ex Congressman like Hal Daub?

[HuskerDem]

20. From a Kearney, Nebraska Democrat

I couldn't agree more Chipperback. The Nebraska Democratic party barely bothers to feign interest or competency in this state anymore. We ended up looking like a complete JOKE in the last governors race. It was embarrassing.

My beef with Osborne is not that he coached football, but that he's become a complete boot-licking hack. I had hoped for better.

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

21. you mean, you didn't like Stormy Dean?

Show me a Democrat who can actually locate Kearney on a map?

It's a dang shame the margins Bush ran up in Nebraska.
I don't know which is the bigger myth. Bill Callahan's new offense or Republicans building a better Nebraska?

[PrpgndBrdcstingSystm]

6. Old Testament vs New Testament

yes, I agree. We need to go on offense using the NEW Testament. The New testament is the nurturing parent. THe GOP uses the Old Testament--the stern parent. Be true to our own nature. The New Testament is communitarian, quasisocialist. Use it. That is what the Dems are all about, or at least they were back during the decades when they ruled American from stem to stern. The GOP may attack Dem limousime liberals; we attack their corporate elite who are stealing America blind. Enronize them.

Just one leetle problem with this plan. Right now the Democratic Party leadership is chock full of economic rightwingers. Ya can't go left if you are a rightie. Kerry himself said it this summer--"I am not a redistribution Democrat."

Well, if the dems want to go left, they need to get a lefty. Kerry was not one. Pretty simple.

[chaska]

9. Great points!

[PrpgndBrdcstingSystm]

19. One more talking point: "Throw the moneychangers out of the temple"

Use that theme to help tap into the New Testament.

[billyoc]

8. The * supporters of Nebraskastan

can take comfort in the knowledge that we "limousine liberals" in the northeast will continue to send them their farm subsidies and food stamps.

(The Dems in NE undoubtably are able to earn a living and should not take offense at this message.)

[chaska]

11. Yeah, I'm a limousine liberal. I wash 'em all the time down - wait for it.

At the carwash
Carwash, yeah
At the carwash
Carwash, yeah

Rose Royce Band kickin' it old school, ya'll.

[FredScuttle]

13. Liberal elitist!

How dare you drop a hip '70's disco reference into the discussion, proving how socially adept you are. For shame!

[chaska]

14. Ooh, that hurts. Feels...

Like I been tied to the Whippin' post
Tied to the whippin' post
Tied to the whippin' post
Good lord I feel like I'm dyin'

There. De-hipped.

[girl gone mad]

15. Back to the grassroots.

I was thinking about this last night, when I was remembering how our Dem. Dallas mayor managed to win a lot of support from Republicans.

Dallas had just been through a bad arena deal, where the taxpayers got screwed and the team owners made out like bandits. Focusing on the little guy, and talking about putting money back into street repair and schools instead of giveaways to big business was a message that worked.

Will Democrats at the state and national level have the courage to stop taking money from corporations? Can they?

[chaska]

16. Bottom line (as always): Campaign finance reform.

[Zorra]

17. Here is a great report from the onion that really nails this issue:

WASHINGTON, DC—The economically disadvantaged segment of the U.S. population provided the decisive factor in another presidential election last Tuesday, handing control of the government to the rich and powerful once again.

The Republican party—the party of industrial mega-capitalists, corporate financiers, power brokers, and the moneyed elite—would like to thank the undereducated rural poor, the struggling blue-collar workers in Middle America, and the God-fearing underpriviledged minorities who voted George W. Bush back into office," Karl Rove, senior advisor to Bush, told reporters at a press conference Monday. "You have selflessly sacrificed your well-being and voted against your own economic interest. For this, we humbly thank you."

Added Rove: "You have acted beyond the call of duty—or, for that matter, good sense."
snip---
"My family's been suffering ever since I lost my job at the screen-door factory, and I haven't seen a doctor for well on four years now," said father of four Buddy Kaldrin of Eerie, CO. "Shit, I don't even remember what a dentist's chair looks like... Basically, I'd give up if it weren't for God's grace. So it's good to know we have a president who cares about religion, too."

http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4045

[RegexReader]

18. one minor point

when you said "Jesus was a liberal." Correctly, it would be phrased Jesus is a liberal.

How would you answer "Would Jesus be pro-choice?" How would you answer, "You say that you support separation of church and state, and that churches that vocalize support for a candidate will lose their tax exempt status with the IRS; but you want to come to our church to campaign for votes?"

¿See the traps that you could fall into when you start using religion? Not advisable.


RegexReader
$USA =~ s/Republican/Democrat/ig;

[chaska]

23. Okay, let's come up with strategies for this.

Just to take a stab at it.... Are we sure Jesus would be anti-choice? Let's remember that many babies (actual babies) were killed before abortion became legal. Many more were abandoned. And more still grew up in horrible homes because they were unwanted, poor, whatever. This doesn't even get into the horrible consequences women endured: death, abandonment by families, compounded poverty. I'd like to think Jesus would be intelligent enough to realize that abortion is necessary. I think it would be possible to effectively de-fang the issue at least to the point of it becoming a minor negative for us.

On the second point, I don't think we should be "campaigning" in the church. We should stop the GOP from campigning in the church. We should be a presence in the church just as regular people who express their opinions and don't put up with no crap from wingers trying to say that we aren't moral, etc.

I'm really talking about our message as a party on a national level more than at the grassroots level.