It's about Strategy Stupid

Lost in the cosmos of Iraq, Plamegate, Secret Illegal Wiretaps, Abramoff, and the various other scandals embroiling the Republican party at the moment is some much needed perspective. It's natural for people to focus on the individual offenses, but at some point, the big picture is more relevant. Yes, King George should be impeached, if not indicted, for lying to Congress, cherry picking intelligence tidbits to build a case for WMDs, aiding and abetting torture, etc. No, impeachment is not going to happen. Unless I've missed something, Washington is still controlled by a Republican majority. And yes, the Dems should still skewer, investigate, pontificate, and preach the word about how corrupt, untruthful, deceptive, deceitful, slimy, and outright Machiavellian this incarnation of Republicanism has become. I'm all for that and I think the Dems are pretty good at hammering home that message.

HOWEVER, as recent history has demonstrated, continually hammering home a negative message about the opposition without selling yourself is a recipe for disaster. The GOP tried it with Clinton and it didn't work. The Dems have been fighting King George with negative messages from the start and that's failed. No, what's needed is a credible, unified message from the Democrats. Kerry tried it in '04, but was just not clever enough in front of the cameras to pull it off. Hillary or whomever needs to learn from that example. And failing that, they need to realize the simplistic brilliance of this quote from King George issued last May 24th in Greece, NY:

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

So what's the message? I think it should be a big picture type of message. Micro-debates about privatizing social security vs. keeping it as is, for example, are certainly important, but are not things you can sell to the public. Americans want to know one thing about that: there's going to be money coming when they retire. No, what's really needed is the big picture.

When I think about this issue, I'm always drawn back to Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was, as usual, very crafty in his approach and I think Democrats should learn from that. Instead of just stating that King George lied about WMD (or what have you), Clinton presented the issues as two sides, firmly emplacing the Democrats on the side of truth and justice (Democrats don't do corruption well).

This strategy could be particularly effective in 2006 and 2008. For example, a rising politician could say:

"The Republicans in Washington think it's honorable to ruin someone's career when they disagree with your position like they did with Valerie Plame. Our way is different. When people oppose our views, we don't retaliate against their families, we respectfully listen to their views, even if we do go the other way."

Or:

"The Republicans think it's a good idea to spend $500 billion of the taxpayer's money to fund a dubious war in Iraq. Our way is different. We think that money could have been better spent at home providing health insurance, job training, and other social services that millions of Americans desperately need."

Or:

"The Republicans in Washington think it's a good idea to skirt the law and illegally spy on US citizens without court authorization. Our way is different. We think that it's a good idea to have judicial oversight to prevent the government from spying on peaceful, constitutionally protected groups like Grandmothers for Peace (or whatever it was)."

You get the point. Political debates need to revolve more about the strategy and vision of the nation than the microcosms of the issues. Yes, candidates are forced to talk in more detail about issues. But my point is that there are overarching themes that clearly divide Democrats and Republicans that, up to this point, the Democrats have been unable to express adequately.

If I were running in an election in 2006, I would focus on a couple of things:

1. Economics: I'm not an expert and each state has its own host of problems, but I think it's generally unhealthy for the Federal government to be carrying a debt load of $7 trillion. This is an easy sell. Under the leadership of Bill Clinton, this nation enjoyed the largest surplus in history. King George and his cronies eviscerated that surplus in less than a year. Our way is better.

2. Privacy: Let's face it. The right to privacy in America is under assault and has been for a long time. I don't think it's right that the government can spy on its citizens without warrants. This links back into a lot of different areas that can be exploited for political gain (abortion rights, gun rights, sexual rights, etc). The point is, privacy is an issue people from both the left and right need and value. Effectively communicating why eliminating privacy in one area can risk privacy in other areas is something that must be done.

3. Foreign Policy: The Bush administration's strategy when engaging the world was and is to position the United States in Central Asia. We went into Iraq not because of a vendetta or because of oil. We went into Iraq because it gives the US military a permanent base of operations in which to secure US interests in Central Asia. Oil is obviously a large part of the equation, but so too is the fear of a resurgent Russia and a fundamentalist Iran. To achieve this mission, King George did whatever he had to do - break treaties, disregard allies, lie to the American public, make friends with torturous dictators, etc.

I believe that's the wrong way to use American influence and power. I believe that if you make an agreement with foreign powers, you don't try to weasel out of it when it's convenient. I believe we shouldn't condone torture, we shouldn't give half a billion dollars a year to dictatorships like the one in Uzbekistan. Our values say it's not ok to sleep with the enemy of freedom. I believe we shouldn't ignore our allies. I believe we should cooperate with our allies - share information, work together to fight terrorism, negotiate to reduce trade barriers, and address the root cause of terror - poverty.

4. Health Care: Millions of Americans survive without health insurance, often times having to pay exorbant funds to receive basic health care. I should know because I'm one of them and have been for almost 3 years. America can do better. The Republicans think that the free market can and should provide the necessary services. I truly wish that was the case. But for millions of Americans that's not the case and I believe the government should step up to the plate and deliver a basic level of health insurance for those that have no other options.

5. Family Values: The Republicans talk a lot about traditional family values, which I can appreciate, but people concerned with family values don't ruin the career of a man's wife in vengeance for that man's political position like King George's cronies did to Valerie Plame. People concerned about the American family don't send young men and women abroad to die in unnecessary wars.

Fifty percent of marriages in this country end in divorce. No amount of politicking is going to change that. But I do believe in family values. I love my (soon to be) wife. I love my family. But the concept of a traditional family with a stay at home mother and two perfect kids just isn't a reality for millions of Americans. It's time to stop glorifying an era that is past. Both parents have to work these days just to make. Instead of trying to turn the clock back, we need to be working to find ways for the modern American family to survive. That means low cost daycare, after school programs, school breakfasts, and a commitment to education that is equal, equitable, and fair for all.

6. Immigration. I feel strongly about Immigration (for obvious reasons) but we should all realize that the critical defining feature of the American experiment is that this country always has been the world's melting pot. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free," was once the motto of this country and I believe it should still be. That means providing job training, English language courses, and other services aimed at integrating immigrants into American culture. It doesn't mean harassing day laborers or opposing benefits. America needs immigrants just as much as immigrants need America. What we don't need are armed militia groups patrolling the US-Mexico border in a hunt for illegals or retired gentlemen undergoing video surveillance of day laborers.

That's the basics. You get the idea. Obviously this could all be wordsmithed and expounded upon, but I'll spare the few readers still following this thread any more torture. My big point is: there's nothing too controversial about the Democratic agenda. Not only that, it's not about what you're selling, it's about how you're selling (even if you're selling the good stuff).

(Note: Two noticeable omissions - abortion and gay rights. We don't need to polarize this election or take chances on that. We can play some offense/defense on it - "I think all Americans should have the same rights and responsibilities regardless of race, sex, gender, sexual orientation..." without making it a huge issue. I'll never understand why the gay marriage lobby decided to push for it so soon. Not only did it not work, it directly contributed to Democratic losses and it was totally unnecessary. Let's work on getting rid of all the anti-sodomy statutes still remaining first. Then we can tackle same-sex benefits. And then, someday, if we reach that point, we can start a credible campaign for gay marriage. But not yet, not now.)

Addendum: Just like King George, I forgot about that whole Katrina thing. We should hammer them on the hurricane. Play the Bob Dylan song "Hurricane" all the time, show tons of graphic images, stress that the Republicans/King George ain't done sh*t, and roll. It's a national disgrace.