What the cave-in shows
The Democratic cave-in on the Iraq War shows once again the extreme weakness of the Democratic message machine. Democrats in conservative or moderate districts have not been given the basis for rallying around setting deadlines for the President. The Republicans as usual have their message machine working in high gear under highly adverse circumstances.
Even Senator Feingold falls into the “framing” trap in his thoughtful “diary” entry on the Daily Kos blog. He says Democrats have “the will of the American people” behind stopping the war. The President, meanwhile, is “standing up for what’s right” – not “surrendering” – regardless of what “the polls” say, while Democrats are just following the polls as they always do. But those Democrats who are weakening on deadlines are doing just that, following their own polls, and they have not been given the rhetorical tools Democrats can all share that will break through the filters of an essentially pro-Republican national media, and attack the “surrender” meme and undermine it.
Democrats need to have both cards, what the people want and what is right for America. They need to able to play both cards, in a way that 80% of Americans agree with, in two or three words. Most Americans are beginning to realize what a horrendous foreign policy blunder this has. They are ready to tip, but they are as susceptible as middle school kids to being goaded with language that challenges their toughness – to not “surrendering” or letting “the enemy” get a chance to bray about the weak-willed Americans. The Democrats need to have at their command – across the board, nationally -- the single phrase that communicates that the Republicans are making fools of the American people and that leaving Iraq will not be weakness, but the next move to strengthen the country in the war on terror.
Fairly evocative terms like “blank check”– everyone kind of knows that’s not a good idea -- and that Bush wants to “dump his mess in the lap of the next president” have gotten us this far. But we need to move the opposition from 60% to 80%. When for example has there ever, ever been a war opposed by so many prominent military leaders as a foreign policy and military disaster? Some other ideas for pushing the needle are reminding people of this unprecedented attack by military people, stressing that Bush (and Blair) cannot even define what success is, that we don’t even know who the enemy is in Iraq, that Iraqis themselves want us out of there and believe they will better be able to solve their own problems when we leave, that it’s George Bush’s fantasy that’s being lost, not a war. But we need three simple words that say this, that will overpower “Americans don’t surrender.” I don’t have the answer.
Even Senator Feingold falls into the “framing” trap in his thoughtful “diary” entry on the Daily Kos blog. He says Democrats have “the will of the American people” behind stopping the war. The President, meanwhile, is “standing up for what’s right” – not “surrendering” – regardless of what “the polls” say, while Democrats are just following the polls as they always do. But those Democrats who are weakening on deadlines are doing just that, following their own polls, and they have not been given the rhetorical tools Democrats can all share that will break through the filters of an essentially pro-Republican national media, and attack the “surrender” meme and undermine it.
Democrats need to have both cards, what the people want and what is right for America. They need to able to play both cards, in a way that 80% of Americans agree with, in two or three words. Most Americans are beginning to realize what a horrendous foreign policy blunder this has. They are ready to tip, but they are as susceptible as middle school kids to being goaded with language that challenges their toughness – to not “surrendering” or letting “the enemy” get a chance to bray about the weak-willed Americans. The Democrats need to have at their command – across the board, nationally -- the single phrase that communicates that the Republicans are making fools of the American people and that leaving Iraq will not be weakness, but the next move to strengthen the country in the war on terror.
Fairly evocative terms like “blank check”– everyone kind of knows that’s not a good idea -- and that Bush wants to “dump his mess in the lap of the next president” have gotten us this far. But we need to move the opposition from 60% to 80%. When for example has there ever, ever been a war opposed by so many prominent military leaders as a foreign policy and military disaster? Some other ideas for pushing the needle are reminding people of this unprecedented attack by military people, stressing that Bush (and Blair) cannot even define what success is, that we don’t even know who the enemy is in Iraq, that Iraqis themselves want us out of there and believe they will better be able to solve their own problems when we leave, that it’s George Bush’s fantasy that’s being lost, not a war. But we need three simple words that say this, that will overpower “Americans don’t surrender.” I don’t have the answer.
posted by KISSWeb | 4:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home