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Friday, December 10, 2004

The Democrats Da Vinci Code

How do we win? We have to turn the debate to the things that matter most: the economy, the poor, education, and healthcare, not God, guns, and gays. It's still about the economy, stupid.
David Sirota offers seven lessons for the Democratic Party to find its way out of the wilderness.
1. Fight the Class War: emphasize economic populism
2. Champion Small Business Over Big Business
3. Protect the "Every-Man" and the farmers
4. Appeal to Hunters, Conservationists, and Exurbs
5. Actually Be Tough on Crime-Don't be afraid to take on the "Goliaths" of corporate crime
6. Clean up Government-Cut Government waste, deficits, corruption
7. Use the Values Prism-use values to our advantage; the environment, economy, workers rights and welfare are all values.
"In the aftermath of the recent election, the stale cadre of campaign consultants who helped run the party into the ground now say the solution is for Democrats to simply invoke God more often and radically change their positions on social issues. But the point is not to impulsively lunge rightward in some cheap, unprincipled gesture to red America that would reek of political strategizing.The point is to follow red-region Democrats who have diminished the electoral impact of traditional social issues by redefining the values debate on economic and class terms." [AlterNet]

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