Digby
writes:
It's not impossible for an opposition party to function in that environment; it means that their only choice is accept that they are irrelevant to actual governance. That's the simple reality in this quasi-parliamentary system the Republicans have rigged up. What that means is that you have to take every opportunity to make your argument clearly and concisely over and over again. You use whatever institutional levers you have at your disposal to put the other side off balance, expose their real agenda and get them on the record doing unpopular things. Everything is about setting up sharp distinctions and preparing the ground for the next election.
. . . This is an election about throwing the bums out and Democrats need to make a clear statement of fundamental values, not policy differences. Some strategists insist that Democrats must adopt the religious code words that Republicans use to signal character and values to evangelical voters. I would suggest that all Americans, religious and secular alike, share a language that is full of words that describe character and values. How about we start using some plain English words like unethical, dishonest, unfair, untrustworthy, dishonorable and lies. I think everybody can understand what those mean.
To my very great pleasure, for the umpteenth time, Digby and I agree to the last detail. Clear distinctions means a politics of contrast. It means Lincoln 1860. Throw the bums out means branding the Republicans as corrupt extremists, beholden to the Napolis and Dobsons.
What it means most of all is making the GOP answer for Bush:
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released on Monday put President George W. Bush's approval rating at 36 percent, a new low for that poll but similar to his rating in other recent surveys.
The poll, taken Friday through Saturday, showed Bush's approval rating dropped from 38 percent in late February-early March, while his disapproval rating remained steady at 60 percent.
Every day the GOP stands and defends George W. Bush is a good day for Democrats. Russ Feingold made that happen today. Some DC Establishment Dems are worried about how that makes them look. They should be thinking about how it made Republicans look. The Rubber Stamp Republicans in Congress embraced the Bush Administration today and its illegality.
Remember what this election is about - throw the bums out.
More on the flip.
Like
me, Digby cites E.J. Dionne:
The false premise is that oppositions win midterm elections by offering a clear program, such as the Republicans' 1994 Contract With America. I've been testing this idea with such architects of the 1994 "Republican revolution" as former representative Vin Weber and Tony Blankley, who was Newt Gingrich's top communications adviser and now edits the Washington Times editorial page.
Both said the main contribution of the contract was to give inexperienced Republican candidates something to say once the political tide started moving the GOP's way. But both insisted that it was disaffection with Bill Clinton, not the contract, that created the Republicans' opportunity -- something Bob Dole said at the time.
And this from James Traub:
Gingrich obviously had very favorable battlefield terrain in 1994. But he was also a ruthless disciplinarian. Candidates were drilled in the party message; in Congress, and in public, Gingrich and his lieutenants castigated Clinton and the Democrats in savage terms not heard in Washington in many decades.
Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota and one of Gingrich's chief lieutenants, is convinced to this day that "revulsion with Clinton" carried the Republicans to victory in 1994.
Now, I am convinced that that is how THIS election can be won in a big way. I am pretty sure the Dem Establishment is not so convinced. We'll see. But, in any event, today was a good day.