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Libertarian False Equivalent Slop posted on DU again. 
& yet they don't hire an equivalent. Why not? Why don't we hire George Lakoff or someone, anyone, who knows the value of framing & understands how to do it successfully?
In his book "Moral Politics" Lakoff discusses part of the dem problem - liberals tend to be more intellectual & believe that people are swayed by facts, not soundbites. But there is a huge segment of the population for which that isn't true. Clear Skies, Healthy Forests.
We need to frame the message, which begs the question, why don't we? Dem leadership doesn't even try. Could it be that Polichick nailed it in post #3? 
the Annette Bening character & the Michael Douglas (president) character are discussing possible gun legislation. He says it will never pass & she questions, "How do you know until you put the full weight of the presidency behind it?"
I want to scream this to the democrats - all of them. If you would put the full weight of the Democratic Party behind progressive policies, like a strong safety net & putting Americans back to work & fixing our infrastructure, you would not need corporate cash to get elected. Of course, you would also not be invited to sit on the corporate gravy train during & after your tenure.
I think the dems have been afraid of the media ever since Reagan poked fun at the word liberal. They should have fought back, but they tucked tail & ran. They've been weak ever since & more & more have climbed on the gravy train.
I realize they are not as bad as the other party, but holy fuck, that's our standard? 
"They're overplaying their hand", don't act like an angry black man, . This is the reason the repukes have been winning for a generation. The president and the rest of the democrats should be screaming about death panels and the Koch brothers and Roberts and Fat Bastard...
So discouraging
Harry Reid is no doubt eager to become Minority Leader and Alison Grimes is surely just a token effort against Mitch McConnell in KY. Also, Dems are surely not trying in Georgia either.
Last edited Mon Apr 7, 2014, 08:31 AM - Edit history (2)
The primaries haven't even been held in most states. Also disagree with the premise of the OP. Just because Democrats are not foaming-at-the-mouth crazy about their causes like the righties are about their insane "causes" doesn't make them "emotionally disconnected" or "trying to lose". Enough of this nonsense. There will be plenty of time for recriminations IF the election doesn't go well but why should we automatically assume that it will be bad? That's just buying into the corporate media line. Yeah, traditionally, Democratic voters don't get out much to vote during the midterms but that doesn't mean that that's how it always has to be. As long as we GOTV, we can at least hold the line in the Senate. If you don't feel like the Dems are pushing things the way you think they should, well, get thee down to the local campaign office and/or DNC and TELL THEM! Don't know that the DNC is spending time reading our posts for ideas. And if you think that you need more from the Dems for them to "earn your vote", well I don't know what to say. You've no doubt been paying attention to what President Obama and the Dems in the Senate have been trying to do and what the Republicans have been pushing in the House. Which agenda do you want to support and/or see enacted into law? That should help make up your mind quick enough, shouldn't it?
but it doesn't mean that any of those indicators can't change or that a negative outcome is inevitable. Back in 2010, the Republicans had a lot of anti-Obama energy from the newly formed "Tea Party" groups and ACA had just been signed into law and not implemented yet and Republicans were able to scare enough people into believing their lies about it and fool enough people into thinkin that they cared more about jobs and the economy than President Obama and the Dems (ha!). People now actually have insurance under ACA, the polling for ACA is improving, the sky hasn't fallen since 2010 because of the ACA or because of President Obama's policies, and the economy, while still sluggish, is doing much better than it was back in 2010. Here's another thing to consider: One of the reasons that Republicans' chances of winning the Senate- per Nate Silver- are better this year than in 2010 and 2012 is that the Tea Party candidates aren't doing as well in terms of winning primaries, which indicates a drop in strength among Tea Party groups in the Republican Party and could also help depress enthusiasm for voting among Tea Party groups since their candidates aren't winning primaries, which could benefit Democrats or at least create a "washout" in terms of voting strength. It's not looking great for us to be sure but the Republicans will still be limited in what they can do even if they win both chambers in 2014 and they will have a large number of seats from 2010 to have to defend plus a Presidential campaign in 2016 that will bring out more Democratic voters. 
