a values-based core message for the democratic party

[unblock]

obviously, america loves democratic policies, but people don't vote policies for the most part, they vote values and identity.

and republicans have a huge advantage pushing this because they stress loyalty, identity, and "conservative values". their practices are entirely at odds with their supposed values, but they have this image of having upright, proper, american values, and they win votes because of this.

i think we need to challenge them on this by forging our own message about our core values. there's still room to talk policy, of course, but it should always be cast in the context of our core values.

i think our common ground and appeal to winnable swing voters lies in the being true to the founders' vision of a responsible government designed to adhere to the principles and goals spelled out in the preamble of the constitution.

such as:

-it's all about "we the people". power flows from the people, and the government's legitimacy comes from the people. a politician that cannot win the support of a majority of the people does not have any legitimacy.

-we can and should make "a more perfect union". we love our country, it's a great country, but we should never stop trying to make it a better country.

-establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility - the founders wanted a fair and just society and wanted the government to play a role in that. we're being true to our founders' vision. they also wanted peaceful, nonviolent expression of political views. we're all for that.

-provide for the common defense. democrats have always been strong on defense. no one should say we're not just because we're not out to bomb small islands somewhere.

-promote the general welfare. government has a role in making society better. the founders didn't want this left solely to the generosity or profit motive of private individuals.

-secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. we believe in freedom for all. the only so-called freedoms we challenge are freedoms to oppress, because they limit the freedom of others.



we believe in a government that helps americans, and a government americans can feel protected from because it has substantive checks and balances to ensure democracy and to keep tyrants at bay.



i think if we focus on values such as these, and hammer home the message that we are patriotic americans who love our country and are being true to our founders' vision, then we can win more votes and start to peel back the support for donnie and whoever the next dictator wannabe they come up with may be.

[Binkie The Clown]

1. Put it on a bumper sticker or it won't work. nt

[empedocles]

2. Good OP, but the Binkie is right, needs to be bumper stickerable.

[MineralMan]

3. I hate to say this, but posts like yours would be more effective

if they follow standard conventions of capitalization. Many people think such things don't matter, but they do. Many people, justifiably or not, give little credence to writings that don't observe those basic rules of communication in English.

It might seem like a minor quibble, but if you want to make an impression with your thoughts, you should do your readers the courtesy of indicating things like the beginnings of sentences and proper nouns with initial capital letters. They help the reader by assisting them in comprehension, as well as in ease of reading.

You will, of course, do as you please, and that's fine, but if you want to increase the impact of your writing, following commonly accepted rules is pretty good practice.