Monday, June 19, 2006

Tired of Losing? Stop Being Losers

Josh Marshall dismisses the hand-wringing over the Democratic party's bland sloganeering, and cuts to the chase:

What is this election about?

It's not about the Democrats. 2008 may be about the Democrats. Maybe 2010. Not 2006. 2006 is about George W. Bush and the Republican party. And, specifically, how many people are fed up with what's happened over the last six years and want to make a change? The constitution gives the people only one way to do that in 2006 -- put a hard brake on the president's power by turning one or both houses of Congress over to the opposition party.

That's why Newt Gingrich was so on the mark, ironically, when he suggested the Democrats' slogan should be "Had Enough?" (As a way of understanding Gingrich's particular genius, consider that "Had Enough?" and "A New Direction for America" are actually two ways of saying the exact same thing -- with the first forceful and infectious and the second limp and denatured.) Everything else the election is allegedly about is chatter. The details are so many fine points about making the sale, framing the question. And, yes, those are important. But that is the question. And nothing the geniuses on either side do will change that from being the question.

Here's what Reed Hundt said last week ...

The Republican game plan is emerging. Its three points appear to be: anti gay (save marriage for straights), anti aliens (save America for citizens), and anti troop withdrawal (except when they announce they've secured Iraq).

This plan calls out their base. All off-year elections, and many Presidential elections, are won by turn-out, and 2006 promises to be no different.

Democrats running for office in any state need to formulate a three-part challenge, which might be called an attack by the uncharitable, or could be called aggressive by those who know elections are more like boxing than chess.

This is exactly right. Go on the attack. Remind people why they have had enough. The prescription just isn't going to come from the leadership offices on Capitol Hill. It's up to you.

This goes back to what I have said before - make your own excitement. If the Democrats lose, it is YOU, the "liberal" electorate who has done them in. I read comments all over the blogosphere. What a bunch of useless whiners you so-called progressives are. Good lord and little fishes, you are a lazy-ass bunch of do-nothings. "I just can't get exciiiiiited," the sniveling goes, "the candidate just doesn't get me exciiited." Get a vibrator, get excited, then Get. To. Work.

As if you needed any reason besides getting Bush and the neocons out of office to motivate your lazy ass to the polls? I really get tired of neo-Naderites of the left loftily proclaiming that because Rep. So-and-so doesn't support your pet obsession of freeing hamsters in Tibet, you refuse to vote for such unprincipled scalawags. Yeah, right, you just can't be bothered to give up watching your favorite FOX shows to cast your ballot.

Losers - in every sense of the word.

Anglachel

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