In the aftermath of this election, a question has come up. I have to ask all you Democrats and even some Republicans, this question:
Do you hate George Bush more than you love America?
Throughout this election, I was troubled about the demonization of Bush and company. Many of my more liberal friends would characterize the President as stupid or a liar or evil. Michael Moore created (and I do mean created) a documentary that took aim at Bush. It was one thing to make this election a referendum on the President, that's part of democracy. But the anger that I sensed from many on the Left was more personal than anything else, and I think it helped cost them the election.
The Left has demonized the President since he entered the White House, even before. He has been blamed for everything and anything that has gone wrong in our nation. You don't have health care? Blame Bush. You lost your job? Blame Bush. Male-pattern baldness? Blame Bush.
Folks, a lot of the these problems existed before W entered the Oval Office and sadly will be with us long after he leaves. While one can rightly blame him for how he has tried to alleiviate these problems ( well, not the male pattern baldness one) you can't blame him for the problems themselves.
As many of you know, I didn't support the President last week. If you would have asked me two years ago, even a year and half ago, I would have supported the President. Like many, I was discouraged over his decision to go to war and his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment. But I never hated the guy. I didn't loathe him or even question his faith as some have done. I think that he is a bad president. I don't think he has led the nation effectively. However, I don't think he is a bad person. Frankly, I don't really know how he is as a person.
The Left and some others, though did think the President was a bad person. They confused bad policy with bad character. I have to think that if Kerry and the Dems had waged a campaign based on policy rather than character, we might have a President Kerry today.
What I think was missing from the Left was a vision of hope. What we got was how terrible Bush was, but when did we hear about what kind of America that they wanted? Americans need a vision from the Democrats. Bush and the Republicans could sell an anti-government message that was wrapped up in freedom. They could give people something to envision. The Left could only talk about fear-the loss of freedoms under Bush, the unraveling of environmental laws, and so on. It's not that there wasn't any truth to all of this, but when present with someone trying to show an optimistic view and another showing pessimism, guess who wins.
I also got the feeling that this demonization made the Left very insular. People weren't interested in making the case about why the President should not be re-elected as they were to getting in their little groups and chatting to each other about how evil the President was. By making the election personal, they forgot how to win over the hearts and minds of the American people. Because it was personal, the political got left out.
This is not to say that the Bush campaign did not employ fear as well. The gay marriage issue was used to scare folks. However, they were able to present a clear vision of what they wanted. A democratic Iraq. Reform Social Security. Deal with Tort Reform. You may not agree with these issues, but they were simple and to the point. People pushed radical reform with a smile (some would say a smirk). The Left could only scowl and talk about how the nation has gone down the tubes.
This is not solely a problem of the Left. When Clinton was president, the Right was just as personal against him as the Left is about Bush. America was considered a dark place in their view. Of course that view cost them in '96.
So, here is my advice to my friends on the Left: get over Bush. Yes, he is a bad president, but he is not evil. Look at his policy and then create and draft and alternative vision. Don't like his plan to privatize Social Security? The critique it and seek a different way. Want to see affordable health care. Make the case to the American people. Whatever you do, don't make it personal. People tend not to reward people who are meanspirited and in the end that makes the President more sympathetic in the eyes of people and the Left look more like meanies.
The Democrats used to have "Happy Days are Here Again" as their theme song. It would be nice if that were part of the spirit of the party again.
Posted by Dennis at November 9, 2004 11:57 PMemoticones - emulateur - emulateurs - emule - firewall - fond - fond ecran - fonds - gastronomie - gateau - gemeau - getright - henne - horoscope - horoscope chinois - horoscope du lion - horoscope vierge - humoristique - humour - icone - icones - illusion - illusion d optique - illusions -
Posted by: emoticones at October 18, 2005 10:04 AMThe 1st Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, penned a list that defined his values and the principles of a party that once stood for freedom, individual dignity, and uniting a nation. He called that list the 10 Can-not-ments. To his party, which no longer belongs to men like Lincoln, but to the extreme fascist right, I offer a new set of Can-not-ments for 2004.
1. You can not ask for international cooperation and aide while calling the international community irrelevant.
2. You can not claim to be conservative while running up the largest deficit in our nations’ history.
3. You can not claim to be compassionate while putting a million people of work, sending millions more into poverty, failing to provide basic health care for your citizens, and blocking the progress of life saving medical research.
4. You can not encourage liberty abroad while attempting to write oppression into your own constitution.
5. You can not improve education and opportunity by cutting funding to those who need it most.
6. You can not implore other nations to protect human rights while your own armed forces are committing torture and denying prisoners the protections of the Geneva Convention.
7. You can not change people’s hearts and minds with tanks and guns.
8. You can not ask for the support of immigrants while attempting to block their path to citizenship.
9. You can not oppose fundamentalist Muslim governments abroad while building a fundamentalist Christian government at home.
10. You can not promote freedom and democracy around the world while eroding civil liberties, suppressing dissenting views, and seeking to prevent citizens from voting within your own borders.
Dennis,
Where have you been? Do you not watch Fox News? Or all of the corporate backed mainstream news media? Hate was on the march, but it wasn't the Democrats that drew first blood. We were simply returning the animosity. Remember the Republican convention?? Dems were likened to terrorists!
Democrats and moderates dislike Bush intensely BECAUSE we love America! The truth is, our American electoral system is dead. American and foreign corporations have no business running our elections and until we get real about the election fraud going on in our country then democratic and moderate candidates have no real hope of winning another election whereever the Diebold eVoting machines are used. Now, that's the real.
Second-guessing the Kerry campaign will get us no where. Bush stole another election. I am not a conspiracy theorist. If you don't believe me just look at all the mysterious stories of fraud coming out of Ohio, Florida, Georgia and other places.
First thing's first. Let's get to the real: elections fraud. The mainstream media is avoiding having this conversation, but you shouldn't be reluctant to engage in it as well. We all saw what happened the night of November 2nd. Deep down we all know....
Posted by: Sheri at November 10, 2004 04:33 PMBush? He's a smirky fraud: faux cowboy, faux conservative, and he is even play acting at being an idiot.
That said, many of his policies are right on, even if he could not pull together a coherent argument for WHY his policies were better than Kerry's. I'm thinking tax simplification, for instance. Great idea. Anyone disagree?
Even Iraq. Grand strategy -- go after the terrorists and those who support them abroad -- that is right. What was wrong was the specific execution of the strategy. Amazingly stupid tactical blunders. You know who had it right? Jack Kemp! Check out his articles from 2003. He advocated imediate local elections and the immmediate economic enfranchisement of the Iraqi people via direct ownership shares in thier 200+ nationalized industries, including oil. Every Iraqi would have had an immediate net worth of about $1 million. Goodbye poverty, unemployment, political frustration and insurgency.
Put a million bucks in every Iraqi pocket: that'll win a few hearts and minds.
So Bush is tactically stupid and uncommited to free market, limited government principles.
Let's get to the big problem on the right: The Christian Right.
That is the top issue that unites moderate Republicans, Independnets and Democrats, and even Libertarians. So lets form an alliance!!
Only thing is: Kerry just proved it cannot be done under the Democrat banner. The only way to curb the Christian right juggernaut is from within the Republican Party, in the 2006 and 2008 primaries and convention. The Moderate Republicans speak enough of the same language (of individual rights, federalism, and the values of Lincoln) to broker a compromise, to get a hearing. But we need help.
If Democrats and Independents are serious about curbing the Christian Right, I urge them to switch party registration to Republican, and let moderate Republicans know that they have a new base of supporters for the upcoming primaries who are pulling for them to curb the Christian Right agenda. For example Sen. Arlen Spector, R. PA, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, wants to fight for reasonable, centrists Judges, but he needs desperately to know that he has the support for that in future primaries.
This is the only viable strategy.
Posted by: Rodrick d'Arkon at November 10, 2004 02:42 AM