Regrouping Around The Issues

November 3, 2004

Note: This was originally posted on DailyKos. Since it's relevant, important, and probably never got read on that site, I'm reposting it here verbatim.

After last night's defeat, one thing should be clear to all of us: we need to make some major changes. So far we've discussed who should lead the DNC and, who should be the new Senate Minority Leader, and we have rehashed last night until we are blue in the face.
What we need to talk about are the issues.

Our party is fragmented and disorganized. Our opponents have acheieved success because they have found a few key issues that they can rally around, while at the same time forcing us to either compromise or take a divisive stand. It's time for us to capture the issues of our own. I propose 2 major themes that we can use to shape the Democratic party of the future: Education and Environment

Education: This should be both a rally-point for us and a wedge issue for the Republicans. We need to make improving education in this country a main theme of all our future campaigns. Education helps future generations. It leads to job growth. It's an issue that's popular with young families, minorities, and women. Further, it challenges the Republicans to take an unpopular stand. Remember which party tried to eliminate the Dept of Education, and remember the effects. We should have gone for the jugular on education then, but it's not too late to go for it now. Any Republican who opposes education reform is against children. Pure and simple meme. It's our issue, and we need to frame it as such.

Environment: This is also a big one for us. It's traditional Democratic territory that should be a huge home if we'd only capitalize on it properly. The framing of this issue is equally simple - Republicans who oppose environmental reforms are favoring Big Corporations while you get sick. Environmentalism is an issue that our entire base can rally around. It can also gain us some votes from ranchers in the midwest, from hunting advocates, from farmers, and from swing states like Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, which have big tourism industries that center around National Parks.

People, it's time to get active. Yesterday has only proved that we can't win by playing defense and confronting Republicans on issues that they've framed as their own. Rather we need to go on the offensive, and take control of the debate.