Thank you Tracy, for keeping us informed.

Remember us when literature and information is sent out!

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST!
IMPEACH CHENEY'S SIDE KICK - MONKEY BOY NEXT!

Howard Dean was on Pat Robertson’s “700 Club,” asserting that Democrats “have an enormous amount in common with the Christian community, and particularly with the evangelical Christian community.”

I guess he's gotten tired of trying to convince his party to prove to liberals and progressives that Democrats have an enormous amount in commonm with us.

This party makes me want to vomit in my cereal.

I wonder -

Does anyone have any statistics to demonstrate that more than...oh, I don't know....let's say 15% of self-avowed evangelical Christians support:

- Equal rights for the GLBT community?
- Women's right to choose abortion?

And are more than 15% of that same group opposed to:

- School vouchers for private schools?
- Public financing of faith-based initiatives?

This party has been so subsumed by DLC "middle of the road vote chasing" it now stands for nothing.

Nothing.

This party now stands for nothing. If it's not willing to lose elections standing for something, then it stands for nothing.

The best thing that progressive Democrats can do to advance their causes is to oppose DLC Democrats in primaries. We're not taking back Washington until we take back our party.

And Howard - I'm deeply ashamed of you for the first time since I started working for you in February of 2003. What a bitter disappointment you are.

Don't worry Howard you still have friends around and that's us the blogosphere and this criticism against you like begala,dlc,etc pretty soon they're going to eat their words and you'll get alot more praise down the road.

And about us being a joke and being nothing yeah we might be a joke now due to the dlc,but with dean's 50 state strategy in full effect we'll turn from nothing to something and change. November is right around the corner.

ap215 -

Yeah. I see your point. If we can just convince right wingers that we're the party with the big tent, we'll win.

Please.

Baron,
you are obviously bothered by the Republican party, why else would you be here?

Unless you really came here to tell us what you eat for breakfast, come over to the OPEN THREAD and we will be glad to have a discussion.

Responding to BaronScarpia’s comments....

The party stands for something... however, it still comes down to marketing techniques and that’s where the failure begins... You can't make the average human mind focus on multiple issues.... two or three max is all they can handle.

My brother and I were talking the other day analyzing between ourselves what the difference is between a republican and a Democrat, and we came up with this:

A republican appears to be a collection of insecure people drunk on power while repeatedly convincing the public that their power issues aren’t about power but instead about keeping America moral. Their actions emanate from that need. And a Democrat believes all humans have the right to make their own mistakes (whether their choices are considered mistakes or not) without hurting others in the process.

Every marketing manager knows instantly that 80% of the public will believe what they are told if they are told it often enough.

I think the real problem for Democrats is that there is an assumption that all Americans already KNOW what it means to be a Democrat... and they don't. You have to look at the Party the way a marketer would approach a product that has gotten confused results in surveys. If the product has a bad or confused rep in the market, then the task to approach first is to clear up that public thinking.

The fact that the public has been programmed/conditioned over and over by mass republican advertising that Democrats are wishy-washy wimps that only represent the extremities of certain liberal thinking should tell the leaders of this party what first needs to be reprogrammed. For an advertiser, that would automatically tell her/him what the next steps needs to be... go back to the beginning and re-educate the public masses with deep penetration advertising about the basic Democratic philosophy and make it look like something everyone would want to be part of.

Personally, I believe the Methodist Church's latest advertising commercials are incredibly smart. Rather than try to convert people BEFORE they have even entered the door, there advertising commercials of late are making it clear that they don’t discriminate or put restrictions on who is welcome. I'm particularly thinking of the commercial parody of how most people see churches, where the "undesirables" are shot out of the church pews with springs.

If you want to appeal to the Christian market without insulting other groups, then first we need to make clear the Democratic mission statement. That has to be the only message for a minimum of two months, preferably forever (I say forever, because people are dying and being born everyday, so the message has to keep going).

The next message campaign needs to show how the teachings of Jesus and other religious figures (whom the republicans like to claim they follow) closely match the true philosophy of the Democratic Party. Do that and you'd have the Christian demographic marching to your doors in droves. There are ways to do that kind of advertising without it looking hokey.

On another topic…. I thought I’d share an interesting occurrence recently. It’s about my post I made in the recent past regarding the age discrimination programming that the Washington Mutual (WaMu) commercials are projecting to the public (older bankers being led around in a cordoned off corral and showing how their opinions are outdated and only fit for ridicule). I included links to specific commercials and editorial comments regarding the commercials. The only place I commented about this situation was here in the Democratic Blog. Other than talking about it with family, I have not written my local representative or senator…. Only in this blog.

Yet, I got a letter from the office of Pat Roberts of Kansas acknowledging my complaint. Later I got another letter from the same office telling me they can’t do anything about it and suggested I take it to Washington Mutual.

Interesting, huh?

It is interesting Watchful, and so is your post...how come you aren't on the open thread discussing this with us? Your information is very useful, especially since there are a number of people here who actively work for candidates and would love to take very good suggestions like these to them....

come on over, let's talk....

WatchfulEye -

I think I understand what you are saying, at least in principle, and you are right. "The Message" is something Republicans have, at least of late, been much better at crafting than Democrats. How many have there been in the long succession of deceiptful word craftings anyway?

And, there is no reason that Democrats need to be deceiptful in presenting their positions in a manner which attract voters to their position.

However, let's be honest here, and this was the point of my first message - what positions which we generally acknowledge as "Democatic" positions can be wordsmithed into a "message" that would convince "evangelical" Christians that we're "with them" and "for them?" C'mon, let's be serious. This is an effort to placate right leaning Democrats that the party isn't out of touch with their "values."

And thus we're hit smack in the face with the myth that has plagued this party since the Reagan Democrats scared many Democrats into this line of thinking - "liberalism" is killing this party. We need to go where the votes are and to do that we need to turn right. Thus was born the DLC.

And the DLC perpetuates this fantasy by pointing to their poster child - Bill Clinton. Of course, they pull the curtain down over the steady erosion of seats we've had in both houses of Congress over the course of 20 years following them to the right. No no - don't look there. And they conveniently ignore the fact that even Bill Clinton one of the most gifted politicians of that century, assisted by two of the sharpest political consultants we've seen in decades, would NOT have beaten Bush if Perot hadn't decided to piss into Herbert Walkers orange juice.

And besides - what are those principles we all "know" (wink wink) are Democratic principles? They are LLLLLLLLLLLiberal principles, and you're not going to dress them up in any way that Christian evangelicals are ever going to embrace, so what's the point? On the other hand, by hiding them we keep voters away from the polls in the hundreds of thousands and THAT'S why we're getting creamed.

The reason people don't know what Democrats stand for is simple. The people we're electing and allowing to lead our party don't stand for anything. The voting record of DLC Democrats on issues of civil rights, controlling corporations, protecting individuals from the abuses of unchecked governmental power, protecting and defending the separation of powers in our government, on electoral reform, on standing up for unions has - as a group, now - been appalling. Sure, you'll be able to point to this vote or that vote by this Senator or that Congressman, but Republicnas have been screwing this country with not so much as a whimper from most DLC Democrats.

Look at what's been getting play on this site. What Democrats stand for, for the most part, is saying "We're not as corrupt as Republicans." Some message, huh? We've had five and a half years to define anything else as our message, and we've failed to do so. For my money, I think that's becuase a goodly number of DLC Democrats actually EMBRACE the Republican message, and as long as they think they're going to coast to reelection they're pretty dmaned happy. That's why I say the first step to winning back Congress and the WH is to start electing Democrats who aren't afraid to espouse the liberal values and policies that helped to build the middle class in this country.

To do that we absolutely do not, can not and should not attempt to appease Evangelical Christians? That's what the Republican Party should be for.

Interesting, huh?

Posted by WatchfulEye on May 23, 2006 at 02:44 PM

I've been getting a lot of interesting mail in my box lately as well. Addressed so smart I must add. They wanted to make sure it got to me, that's for sure.

Baron,
My bad, at first read i thought you were another troubled pug, here to find a better way or just vent....i was wrong.

You make some very valid points...but where else can a group of people go to at least remove some of the criminals currently in government allowing the monkey king unlimited power?

Baron...are you jen?

Not sure I was stipulating only the Evangelical Christians. Having been there, done that as a result of grandparents dragging to a Four Square, then Church of Christ, then First Baptist, then back to Church of Christ, and then adding advanced education and the ability to think for myself, I wrote off the Evangelical sector as being waaaaaay off track on what Jesus was trying to tell everyone. I broke away from all that and am baptized Presbyterian, but I prefer to consider myself a spiritual being rather than religious. So no, I’m not saying we have to present our party in a way that attracts extremists.

I am saying that if our message displayed Democrats as average individuals, open-minded to other’s ideas even though we don’t chose them for ourselves. Maybe similar to the latest Mac commercials that show the PC guy as trying to convince us he is as good as the Mac and the Mac guy is just the average, easy-going person who IS on the right track and doesn’t have to brag about it.

You know what? It just hit me! The WaMu commercials! The corralled stodgy bankers represent republicans to me in every way! But there would have to be “the little wife” following along, saying “Oh! I agree with YOU dear!” “Whatever you say, dear!” And their kids reciting like robots the exact same words… I don’t believe anyone would want to see him/herself in that picture.

Just thoughts on a Tuesday…..

Baron you're very smart and you make great points about the DLC,they do alot of mismanaging and they screw so many things up,there's a website i hope you'll go to when you have a chance i don't know how to post sites here but it's getridofthedlc.blogspot.com.

Pass this to your friends when you have a chance and to me it's the blogosphere that has the power now and hopefully we'll make alot of noise in Nov and say bye bye to the republican leadership in congress.

You guys need to be a lot more sensative. The DLC isn't centrist just because they want to attack centrist and right of center voters. They are centrists because that is their political philosophy, agree with it or not. Anyways, a lot og DLCers aren't really that moderate or conservative. Even the democratic pariah, Joe Lieberman, has consistently stood staunchly in favor of most progressive ideas, and is strongly in the democratic mainstream or even left of the democratic mainstream in environmental, abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control issues.

Excuse me, I said "attack" in that last post. I meant to say "attract."

wasabcl11 -

As I said, you can find DLC support for the progressive side of a variety issues, on a senator by senator and issue by issue basis. However, as a group they are far and away too conservative than would be expected of Democrats who support what we (wink wink, nod nod) "know" is the platform of the Democratic Party.

Most of the Gang of Seven who fell in with the Republicans in the nauseating capitulation on the Roberts hearings were DLC'ers. That was decidedly NOT an action that supported abortion rights, the environment, GLBT rights and gun control. And more than those voted against Alito but also voted down the only action the Democrats had available to them to stop Alito from being confirmed. In other words, they made themselves look like progressizes, but they sure as hell voted like conservatives.

I presume you're a progressive. Please understand that the DLC counts on you to keep electing them. But they do not, as a group and for the most part individually, stand up for your progressive values. They think that because they have you in their hip pocket they can go trolling for right wing voters, and that's whose values are being served by the DLC. They'd argue they are working the middle of the road. Maybe, but they've pushed the middle of the road far to the right of where it used to be. That's what the DLC has done.

Check this out:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/18/19162/775

Lieberman isn't even the worst of the bunch of DLC'ers.

ap215 -

I'll check out the site

momoaizo -

I'm not Jen. Also not Zen.

Watchful Eye -

Howard Dean specifically targeted Evangelical Christians with his remark. He might just as well have said Democrats have a lot in common with groundhogs. We'll get as many votes from groundhogs as we will Evangelical Christians. It was a dumb, pointless statement, and at best it will be mildly counterproductive for all the abuse he'll receive for it - and I mean from among the ranks of progressives and liberals.

Now - was it like his statement that the southerners "with Confederate flags on their pickup trucks" ought to be voting for Democrats? Nope. The rest of that statement (and I heard it in person at least a half dozen times) was "...because their kids don't have health insurance either, and their kids need better schools too."
That's a whole lot different. There he was speaking to the tangible benefits a broad group of citizens do or do not get from government under Republicans versus Democrats. But when he says Evangelical Christians and Democrats share values, he's...well...wrong. They don't (unless we're talking about the aforementioned tight wing DLC'ers - if that's where you want your party to be heading, you're welcome to it). I despair that Dean feels compelled to appear on the 700 Club in the first place. What forces are moving him within the party to do this? He's lost my confiddence and support. Pains me to say that, too, because I virtually gave the guy a year of my life.

lets take back our party then the house and senate will come back natural . talk with your hearts people not your heads . You let the republicans put out a poll and say that Hillery Clinton will be our best bet . Yeah they would love to run against her . but i guess it's easier for most of ya to just sit back and let what happens happen . If you cant sit and talk to the president and make him ashamed of what he's done to the american people , then we dont need ya in there , step back and let some one in there that can confront the president . And if ya dont know how to eat an elephant I'll tell ya , you eat it one bite at a time ....

ya...

If Hillery (sic) runs as the Democrats' candidate, it may be the last presidential election the party runs in, ya. She will not hit 40%, and that's more than she deserves, ya.

Races in Texas

TX-01
Challenging GOP incumbent Louis Gohmert:
Roger Owen

TX-02
Challenging GOP incumbent Ted Poe:
Gary Binderim

TX-03
Challenging GOP incumbent Sam Johnson:
Daniel Dodd

TX-04
Challenging GOP incumbent Ralph Hall:
Glenn Melancon

TX-05
Challenging GOP incumbent Jeb Hensarling:
Charlie Thompson

TX-06
Challenging GOP incumbent Joe Barton:
David Harris

TX-07
Challenging GOP incumbent John Culberson:
James Henley

TX-08
Challenging GOP incumbent Kevin Brady:
James "Jim" Wright

TX-09
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Al Green

TX-10
Challenging GOP incumbent Michael McCaul:
Ted Ankrum

TX-11
GOP incumbent K. Michael Conaway

TX-12
Challenging GOP incumbent Kay Granger:
John Morris

TX-13
Challenging GOP incumbent William Thornberry:
Roger Waun

TX-14
Challenging GOP incumbent Ron Paul:
Shane Sklar

TX-15
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa

TX-16
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Silvestre Reyes

TX-17
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Chet Edwards

TX-18
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee

TX-19
Challenging GOP incumbent Randy Neugebauer:
Robert Ricketts

TX-20
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Charles Gonzalez

TX-21
Challenging GOP incumbent Lamar Smith:
John Courage

TX-22
Challenging GOP incumbent Tom DeLay:
Former Rep. Nick Lampson

TX-23
Challenging GOP incumbent Henry Bonilla:
Rick Balanos

TX-24
Challenging GOP incumbent Kenny Marchant:
Gary R. Page

TX-25
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Lloyd Doggett

TX-26
Challenging GOP incumbent Michael Burgess:
Tim Barnwell

TX-27
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Solomon Ortiz

TX-28
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Henry Cuellar

TX-29
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Gene Green

TX-30
Democratic Incumbent
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

TX-31
Challenging GOP incumbent John Carter:
Mary Beth Harrell

TX-32
Challenging GOP incumbent Pete Sessions:
Will Pryor

THE TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY

BaronScarpia-

I missed the news about Dean on 700 Club. I'm sure he felt that to totally ignore that group when republican candidates are hitting it heavily is to completely give away that sector of votes.

True, he would be "preaching" to deaf ears, but even if he touched 2 or 3, that could start a movement away from some of the idiocy?

I suspect the real problem is that there is such a wide variety of groups out there and we are spread too thin on cash to hit them.

Work,work,work through the day for the night is coming when no one can work.

Thank You our Dearest Democrats for working so hard to bring us peace and hope when you Parade into the majority.