Okay, so the Repugs have tons of money to pay people to sit around all day and come up with very clever ways to denigrate Democrats and we don’t. Happy Valentine’s Day indeed. Everyone who gets that RNC message can have fun choosing a card and sending it to dozens, maybe even hundreds, of other people.
No wonder we’re losing the message war. According to a recent Wash Post/ABC poll President Obama’s overall job approval rating has gone from 68% in Feb 2009 to 51% now.
Which party is doing a better job of coping with our country’s current problems? In Dec 2008, between the election and inauguration, Dems scored the confidence of 56% of those polled as opposed to 43% today. And even more incredibly, Repugs, despite their obstructionism and nasty tempers, have gained the confidence of voters (from 23% to 37%.)
Their lies and smear tactics (funded by Big Pharma and insurance giants) on the topic of health care/insurance reform have paid off too.
On the question of who is doing a better job of handling the health care reform debate? In June 2009, Obama received 55% approval to Repugs 27%approval rating. Today Obama’s approval is at 46% and Repugs at 41%.
There are many good progressive blogs and online news groups doing heroic deeds, but, for the most part, they are preaching to the choir. We need national leadership/organization (and I don’t mean the limp and tiresome OFA) to craft a message that resonates with the general public and can be repeated quickly and easily by those of us who want it to sink in. President Obama seems to have come out of his shell lately, and David Plouffe is back in the saddle, so maybe we’ll finally get a coherent message machine reved up again.
But there are also media fairness issues that need to be addressed – particularly in the light of the fact that we now equate money with speech. A corporate media will serve their corporate bosses, and the best political organization has to be heard first.
I grant you. Why don’t most citizens know that there were 112 filibusters in the Senate last year, for example? But the anemic polling numbers are also the result of lack of action. Jobs. We need jobs. And yet there’s an article in this morning’s PD that Dems are backing away from a strong jobs bill. We could have passed health care reform in January if Senate Dems had considered changing the filibuster rule. But no. That would have taken some guts. Too many Dems see no connection between taking the strong stand they ought to and getting re-elected. It’s enough to make me grind my teeth.
Sometimes I think I may be the only person in MO who’s read Westin’s ‘The Political Brain.”
In 2008, Obama’s campaign and Dean’s D.N.C. ‘got it’. But Kaine’s D.N.C. misses the mark. I’ll cut Obama’s administration some slack out of deference to the mess it inherited and the Republicans’ obstructions.
Thank you. Merci. Gracias, merch
I thought I was the only one out here beating this drum.
Kaine was in St. Louis recently, and I sent along with a friend a copy of something I rec’d in the mail from an Obama hater hoping Kaine would see why they are so effective. It was a photoshopped picture of Pres and Michelle Obama doing the plege of allegiance with their left hands over their right chest area. Words above the photo: “Can you spell communist?”
The other day in a waiting room area, I overheard two women talking about how “now we have a president who won’t even put his hand over his heart and say the pledge of allegiance.” Yikes. Let’s face it. Their slimy, evil crap works and they don’t give a damn if they destroy the country in the process. Yesterday I saw a bumper sticker “Stop Pelosi” right next to a Franklin County Patriots sticker. That’s all most uninformed people need to know – stop Pelosi.
The DNC sent out something yesterday about Steele’s comment about a million bucks not being much money and asked us to write letters to the editor about that. Ho hum.
But at least they are trying. Maybe if the Dems elect Alan Grayson as Speaker and the Senators put Bernie Sanders in charge, we’ll get some persuasive, coherent messages.
Kaine’s one of those
. Kudos for his past election successes but this is NOW. Former VA Gov Wilder is calling for his resignation. Wish we could get Gov. Dean back but apparently Chairs only serve one term.