Progressive Movement

So yesterday the Senate decided not to pass the Immigration Reform Bill, and the Supreme Court decided to gut Brown vs. Board of Education.  To say the least this is not a good day.

Of course, there is little to do about the SCOTUS decision, other than elect progressive Presidents for the next four or five elections.   And of course, we can message the hell out of it.

For the SCOTUS decision, the conservative judges decided that local school districts could not employ race as a means for deciding what students went to what schools.  So essentially they killed the primary decision in Brown – that racial diversity in schools was demanded by the Constitution because ‘separate was not equal’.  The SCOTUS is essentially saying ‘too bad, if you are a poor minority you have to go to a poor minority school.’

Now, it is true no one can stop people from going to a particular school because of their race, but we all know that public schools generally segregate by economic, and thus racial lines.  Everyone on the SCOTUS knows this as well, but the conservatives decided to tell local schools they could not do anything to adjust for this de facto segregation.

So call a spade a spade.  The ultra-right wing judges on the SCOTUS decided (more…)

Messaging, Civil Rights, Racism, Supreme Court | No Comments »

Well, according to the MSM, with Sen. Lugar (R-IN) talking trash about the Iraq War on Monday, he has. After Lugar’s announcement, Sen. Voinovich of Ohio followed suit, just as the pundits predicted. But according to my colleagues Rand Beers of the National Security Network and John Issacs of the Council for a Livable World, this is all hype. Lugar is not the big wig everyone says he is, and Beers thinks Sen. Warner is really the one we need to make the Republican house of cards fall in Iraq.

I agree with Issacs that Lugar does not have the cache with conservative Republicans that people think. Yet he has cultivated this reputation as being a stand up foreign policy guy who is not prone to excessive, knee-jerk reactions. So when he makes a decision, it is not just because the party line tells him so. Of course, that is exactly why he does not have the effect the MSM claims he has. If he normally followed the party line but then jumped ship on this issue, that would be huge.

Warner, on the other hand, is such a party line guy albeit with a flair for independence. Him parting ways with the Administration would be more significant than Lugar, and would provide even more cover for other wavering Republicans. However, Warner has already expressed his skepticism on Iraq, although not as strongly as Lugar, and even Lugar said he would not vote for withdrawal.  I think Beers overstates the case a bit, because I do not see anything persuading Cheney and Bush that they need to change ways in Iraq. More to the point, I do not see anything persuading a powerful, hardline conservative like Sen. McConnell to part ways with the White House on Iraq, other than perhaps his dwindling chances at re-election.

However, in the strange world of media, the MSM gets the last laugh. Ultimately, if they say Lugar is the lynchpin of Republican support on Iraq, than he is. The media repeating ad nasuem that Lugar is key makes him key, whether or not he really is. So if I am some wavering Republican needing political cover to ditch Cheney and Bush (I now list them in this order since we now have proof that Cheney is the real President, see my last post), and the media tells me Lugar is just the cover I need, then I will jump ship.
Media, for better or worse, largely creates reality. Paris Hilton matters to people because the media tells us she does, and Lugar matters because the media tells us he does. It is that simple, even if in a reality without the media hype neither Paris nor Lugar would matter nearly that much.

Behold the power of media.
So if progressive know what is good for them, they will ride this media frenzy over Lugar and now Voinovich all the way to the bank. “Hey,” they should say, “even the esteemed conservative Dick Lugar thinks we need to draw down our forces and shift strategy in Iraq.”  Whenever given the chance, hype the importance of Lugar in foreign policy.  It will make withdrawal or any other attempt to change the President’s Iraq policy seem mainstream, and in so doing, help Democrats pick off more Republicans when it comes time to voting on Iraq legislation.

Uncategorized, Iraq, media, Analysis, Richard Lugar | No Comments »

I went to a talk by Gov. Bill Richardson today at the Center for National Policy. Now I have said this before, but to reiterate, I am boycotting the Presidential race until after Labor Day. That does not mean, however, that I will not go to a policy event on Iranian policy by someone who happens to know a few things about it – even if he is a Presidential candidate.

I could go into detail, but if you want to read more on the speech, you can actually read it. Instead, let me summarize the main point of his speech and detail some highlights. Lastly, I will discuss the question I asked him about messaging international diplomacy.

Richardson’s position on Iran is nuanced but not hard to understand. He emphasized that history and culture underpin Iran’s relationship with the U.S. (no brainer, unless you are a neocon) and that we should respect that when engaging them (you can just see conservatives about to go apoplectic right now). And - this is awesome - the U.S. should admit it was wrong for supporting the Shah overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected government in the 50s as well as supporting Saddam in the 80s during the Iraq/Iran war.

That last point is crucial. All nations, especially one’s like Iran that have a rich and long history, are very proud of their heritage and culture. They should be. Like anyone, they want to be treated with respect. And if we expect them to admit mistakes and make compromises, so do we. The starting point for any dialogue with a country ultimately requires understanding where they are coming from and highlighting the benefits of their culture and role in the world. And then it requires admitting your shortcomings but also your common interests.

That part may not make immediate sense to many people, but it is a fundamental aspect of any successful negotiation. Richardson did have one more similar point that would cause an aneurism to pop in any good neocon’s brain: talk to Iran with no preconditions.

Demanding a country essentially agree to your position before negotiations is the foundation of many ‘might makes right’ Republican foreign policies. It is an unrealistic and unworkable foundation, but a foundation for many people nonetheless. On the other hand, (more…)

Messaging, Climate, Iran, Richardson | No Comments »

The news yesterday was phenomenal, Paris is out of jail and Chris Benoit murdered his wife and child and then committed suicide by hanging himself with a weight machine pulley.

And now back to Dick Cheney.

The Washington Post four part story that started Sunday could not be more perfectly timed with Cheney’s claim that he is not beholden to any Constitutional law or jurisdiction because he is in limbo between the executive and legislative branches.

What makes the Post story so great is the man that considers himself above the law is essentially running the government.  If Cheney says jump, people ask ‘how high?’  He is claiming not to be bound by Congressional executive branch oversight, yet he is, for all intents and purposes, the Chief Executive.

Luckily all the pundits have pretty much lampooned Cheney for his ridiculous claim, even more ridiculous than the $54 million pant lawsuit that just got thrown out of court.  As long as that keeps happening, the Democrats should be in sitting pretty, and this story should have legs.

It is also nice and tidy since the two major recent Bush admin scandals, Gonzo-gate and Plame-gate, all point to Cheney.  The new WP article basically solidifies what everyone was suspecting – Cheney was the trigger man.

Messaging

As this story moves forward, two things need to be made clear.

1) Cheney’s claim is patently absurd and offensive.
2) Cheney is laughing at all Americans who think this is a democracy and a nation of laws.

Essentially, Cheney does not believe in democracy.  Make this clear and unequivocal.  It may seem harsh and controversial, (more…)

Messaging, Cheney, Scooter Libby, Attorney Scandal, executive privilege | No Comments »

A lot happened politically at the end of last week, but nothing in particular dominated the political circuit.  Biggest story was perhaps Cheney claiming he was not bound by Congressional oversight because he is both an Administration official and a member of the Senate.  But he does not want to be bound by Senate rules either, so he is essentially trying to claim he is bound by no rules.

This is absolutely absurd, and even the conservative commentators on CNN claimed so.  If this story has legs, and it may if there is a protracted legal battle over this, progressives would do well to expose Cheney’s intent: casting himself as in a legal limbo so that he is free to do as he pleases.  It is a narrative that already has solid foundation, and the more this Administration can be cast as being lawbreaking criminals, the better.

But the real story will soon be energy legislation.  Sure, the Republicans shot down an effort to make Big Oil pay their fair share, given that they are making record profits and all, but the legislation raises fuel economy to 35 mpg.  That is huge!

When the House finally takes action, passage of this bill will be a welcome success at a time of sagging Congressional approval ratings.  Right now positive success will do more for progressives and Democrats than another hearing on Gonzo-gate.

One interesting thing about the Big Oil protection racket maintained by the Republicans is that even stalwart conservatives like Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Senate Minority Leader, supported ending unfair subsidies for big oil.  And the overall bill passed 65-27.  So this looks like a shift in strategy for the Republicans.

What shift?  (more…)

Energy, Bush, Taxes, Analysis, Cheney, Attorney Scandal | No Comments »

Sorry for the lack on brilliant, insightful commentary the last few days.  HaHa.  I have been swamped doing a professional web redesign.  It is done!  Check it out here.  It was for a progressive communications shop here in DC that I have done some writing for in the past.  We are very much in sync in our views on how progressives should play hardball with the messaging and using value based language to promote liberal values.

This outfit also runs the Own the Press blog, so check them out there as well.

Later tonight I will return to an end week in review post.  Consider this an open thread.

Uncategorized, open thread | No Comments »

Bush plans to veto the Homeland Security Bill. I say bring it on. Will the Democrats message that properly? If they do, they can implode the idea that Bush is strong on terrorism. Why does Bush want to veto the Homeland Security Bill? Primarily because it would increase the wages of the people at the Dept. of Homeland Security working to keep us safe from terrorism. Oh, and increase funding for training first responders and hire more border patrol agents. Among other such liberal nonsense.

So how should this be spun? Simple.

1) Bush wants to keep us vulnerable to terrorists.

2) Bush would rather prevent our security personnel from getting fair wages than protect us from terrorism.

3) Bush vetoed a bill that would make America safer from terrorism. Period.

Will the Dems and progressives scream bloody murder when Bush vetoes this bill to appease corporate interests? I sure hope so. Read the comments at the link above. The base understands how to message this.

Sarcasm and disbelief will work well here, since Bush’s reasons for vetoing this bill are absurd. Highlight all the moderate, common sense elements of the bill (it improves port security) vs. the reason Bush vetoed it (to save a little money). So there is a price on our safety? A few billion dollars it seems.

My fear is that Democrats will be too timid in attack Bush as soft on terrorism, since many consultants and party insiders buy into the garbage that the public will not listen to Democrats on defense/security issues. Well the only way to change that perception, if it exists at all and not just in the punditocracy, is to tackle it head on. Now you have your chance on a slam dunk case (and not the George Tenet kind of slam dunk).

Messaging, Terrorism, Homeland Security | No Comments »

Finally! Congress has passed a popular bill that Bush has vetoed. Sure, they passed the Iraq Supplemental with timetables that got shot down, but this is different. Stem cell research is a non-partisan quest to improve the lives of all Americans. Iraq is a unadulterated mess that has no good solution and is laced with politics. People who support stem cell research come from all political stripes and classes, whereas almost all Americans see the political dances regarding Iraq as posturing and driven by what they perceive as the anti-war left.

While the opposition to the Iraq War is now mainstream and cuts across all segments of society, it was not always that way. But supporting stem cell research does not have a natural political bias in it. So by vetoing it Bush has further alienated himself from the public. This should give the Democrats an opportunity to drive Bush’s unpopularity even higher - if they do it right.

So take this freebie and bash Bush. Here are some suggestions:

1) Bush does not want to improve the health of Americans.

2) Bush would rather Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s than go against his base.

3) The Republicans have come down on the side of suffering.

It is harsh, but it is the truth. Make them pay for it. With proper messaging and strategy, we can undercut Bush’s new political strategy of vetoing spending bills, including the Homeland Security Bill. But more on that in the next post. The point is that Democrats have to push their bills hard with the public in order to make Bush look like the obstinate one. Already Tony Snow is trying to hang that albatross around the Democrats’ necks by blaming them for the deadlock since they are passing bills they know will not be signed. This happened in regards to the Iraq Supplemental.

The ball really lies in the court of those in Congress who have to decide, (more…)

Messaging, Bush, Stem Cell | No Comments »