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The View from the Meadow
Observations of the Passing Scene
Political and Social Commentary by Dave Satre
Democratic Campaign Loses Steam
In a presidential campaign in which the opposition should be able to steamroll over the most inept president in the history of this country the Democratic campaign is apparently losing steam.
In a campaign against a president who has failed at every turn of his presidency and needs to be removed from office for the good of the country, the Democrats seem to be missing the point.
To their credit, Kerry and Edwards are attempting to run a clean campaign, in spite of the continuous negative tactics employed by the Republicans, but the Democratic party doesn’t seem to know how the Republicans play the game. They’re up against the master of “dirty tricks” in Karl Rove, the devious genius of political campaigning who heads the Bush re-election effort.
The Republican’s plan is simple. Identify the push-button issues that interest Americans and claim them as your own. Use traditional propaganda tactics to convince the American public. This has absolutely nothing to do with the truth or what the administration really plans to do if re-elected to a second term. People who say they like what Bush is saying are simply being deliberately misled.
They also attempt to identify a weakness in the opponents’ character and hammer on this, no matter how insignificant, until the public believes it’s cause to vote against the opponent. The sleaziest example of this is the attack on John Edwards. Finding nothing else to exploit in Edwards, Rove was reduced to calling him a trial lawyer. As ridiculous as this is -- about 95 percent of the politicians in Washington are lawyers -- it had its affect on many voters.
The Republicans have sunk to the lowest level in the history of American politics with Bush actually ridiculing his opponents by making jokes about them. The only real joke is the fact that Bush, himself, is in the White House. But the joke isn’t funny.
The Democrats need to get on track. They should not fall into the “issue trap,” the word of the day tactic employed by the Republicans. The “issues” are used to deflect debate from the real problems with this administration. Kerry and Edwards need to identify the real issue in this campaign: the Bush Administration is a failed presidency. He has failed at every turn of his presidency and needs to be removed from office.
They need to point out to the American people that Bush has consistently proven himself to be incompetent in the position of president. He has risked countless lives and untold billions of taxpayers dollars on an ill-planned, misdirected effort to combat terrorism by attacking the wrong country.
Every bill he pushes through Congress seems to have an ulterior motive. The tax bill only benefited the rich, the Medicare Bill benefits the insurance industry instead of retired people, the Energy bill is a scam to eliminate environmental restrictions so Bush’s cronies in the energy and oil industry can reap larger profits.
The disastrous war in Iraq has destroyed America’s foreign relations and has alienated much of the world, including most of our closest allies. Bush took the worldwide sympathy for Americans resulting from the 9-11 terrorist attacks and turned it into global hatred.
As a result of this disastrous leadership and the refusal on the part of anybody related to the administration to take any blame for their actions we are treated almost weekly to new Congressional investigations of The Regime’s activities. In the meantime, Americans are still dying in Iraq.
This is not a normal American election. It is not a question of whether Kerry can handle the Oval Office better than Bush, it’s a matter of getting rid of Bush and his cronies for the good of this country and the rest of the world. Anybody but Bush!
The Democrats can maintain the high road and avoid negative campaigning by simply pointing out the truth. It’s not dirty politics when you point out the obvious. They can retain their dignity without wallowing in the mud slinging of a campaign based on lies and dirty tricks by simply pointing out the truth.
The 2004 Democratic Convention was an inspiring event, although its message was effectively suppressed by the American media, but it contained many solid points on which the party should focus in this campaign. Chief among these are:
Hope is on the way!
The American Dream is ALIVE not A LIE !
America cannot lead the world with leaders who mislead
The United States should never go to war just because we want to
We only go to war when we need to
Never fight a war without forming a plan to win the peace
Restore pride in America
Return to America’s Core Values
Restore credibility to the White House
A brighter future through an America made new again
For a longer list of the points which should be the focus of the Democratic Presidential Campaign, CLICK HERE