What are five things the administration can do between now and November to help Democrats in Congress get re-elected?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
One: create jobs, somehow. Who knows?
Two: open an inquiry into Dick Cheney and war crimes. Put the focus back on the previous administration and how awful it was.
Three: Run tons of PSAs about the benefits of health care reform targeted to different groups: elderly, self employed, young people, small business owners.
Four: give me a minute….
Four: Pick a few bankers/CEO’s and send them to jail.
Definitely.
Agree with everyone else’s comments – jobs and the economy are overwhelmingly the most important.
Also think they need to sell the accomplishments of this administration and Congress.
On the domestic side, so much was packed into the stimulus bill and HIR that a lot of it has gone under the radar. Tout it, sell it, and point out Republican obstruction.
On national security, the administration REALLY doesn’t get credit for it’s accomplishments. On the one hand, I admire Obama for not politicizing this, on the other I’m terribly frustrated. They need to be out there and loud about national security.
The Republican Party has NOT moved on from Bush – on every one of their proposals, we need to ask “How is that different from Bush?” over and over and over until it sinks in.
Dems need to become better Communicators–the Message isn’t getting out, and what does, isn’t easily digestible. Until then, Republicans will outflank us with their simple soundbites and slogans, and allow the zombie lies to continue on….
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) Take a serious bite out of unemployment. When people think the economy sucks they vote opposition. When the economy is good, people vote for the opposition less then when they think the economy sucks. If they can somehow get unemployment around 8% by October then things will be less sucky. Simply put this is the story, everything else is a sideshow that might give us one seat there or cost us another one there, but its not going to be the difference between a good year, a bad year, and 1994. Its the jobs, stupid.
In districts in which Democrats are vulnerable, meet with people who have been unemployed or are in danger of losing their homes. Come up with an immediate action plan or tout existing programs, other than writing unemployment benefit checks. Show that Democrats should be trusted more with the economy. Face his greatest weakness head on.
At least we have constructive choices, if I were a Rep strategist right now facing the job of walking back the dead water no isms, getting the teabaggers to shut up and listen, the sheer fear of Palin running for office, figuring out what they can actually say they can do, (Dems own most constructive issues now) getting the middle of the Party to return to the Party, wean themselves of Fox and find a way to give independents a date rape drug…
The Chinese water torture of watching the members leave one by one is actually unnerving…if I could just stop laughing.
Take a broomstick and apply it to the GOP with extreme prejudice…
Winning in November really doesn’t require any more legislation to prove the president’s effectiveness. It requires setting up the issues that will become a mandate if the Democrats can beat back the Republicans. And if that agenda is chosen carefully, that and reminding folks of the Republican record, such as playing games with unemployment benefits, creates the victory.
And there is a heck of a lot of fence mending that Obama has to do with the progressive wing of the party. That effort could start with support for some progressive primary challengers after the primary. Close ranks and make the Blue Dogs have to make the hard choices for a change.
1. Pick a battle that can starkly and effectively differentiate the Democratic brand from the Republican brand. My suggestion is banking reform, but it’s not the only fight out there. (In the following items feel free to replace banking reform with your own choice).
Items 2-5 should be to support #1, i.e. DO EVERYTHING TO WIN THAT BATTLE. Random suggestions:
There needs to be a serious differentiation made between Republicans and Democrats, and as de facto leader of the Democratic Party, it’s Obama’s responsibility to produce a strategy to achieve that differentiation.