Without a Dem "Anti-Trump" we might try a contract with America.

[gulliver]

We could take a page from Newt Gingrich's playbook. I don't think we're going to find a king like the Republicans have found in their nutty clown. We need something to take the lightning barrage off of Pelosi and Schumer for one thing. A contract could be the lighting rod. Put about five to ten bullet points on it that no one can disagree with. Then thump it like it's a Bible (and I say that with genuine respect, by the way).

The Republican contract is "whatever Trump does is fine." Very simple, very easy to understand and get behind. A lot of Republicans don't like it as product, but they are right in thinking it's good for sales.

Dems don't have anyone like Trump about whom we can say, "whatever xyz person does is fine." But we could have a contract about which we could say, "everything in the contract is fine."

We Dems have a problem with defining ourselves, partly because we prioritize different things differently within our team, but also largely because our opponents are paranoid and will accept any level of lie about us. Moreover, Republicans will pick a few of our folks, demonize them, and make them their mid-term opponents instead of our candidates.

That's where a contract can help us. It can focus people on a positive definition of Dems that is our own definition. Very importantly, it can be "thumped" (tweeted on, commented on, etc.) at any given moment to "reset" our image whenever a cloud of bullshit threatens it.

[mr_lebowski]

1. I like it ... here, I'll start ...

1) As regrettable as the circumstances that lead to a woman deciding to terminate a pregnancy may be, the consequences, both societal and personal, of criminalizing the right of women to make this deeply personal medical decision, are unacceptable.

Or ...

1) We support a Woman's Right to Choose,

(if our list is to be bullet-points )

[kudzu22]

2. It's got to be specific

The original CWA was a list of ten specific measures that they promised to bring up for a vote if they got the majority. So you'll want it to be specific things like "$15 national minimum wage". The more detail the better.

[gulliver]

3. The second one, imo.

But I would almost make it more explicit:

1) We oppose banning abortion.

I agree there should be numbers (so items can be called out by number when discussing them). Order to be determined or left as unspecified imo.

[mr_lebowski]

4. It's your thread, mate ;)

I just meant 1) as in, I'm the first one to answer the call for the list ... assuming that's even what you meant to do.

That said, and not to nitpick, but I'm pretty sure 'choice' polls quite bit better than 'abortion' ...

[gulliver]

5. Actually, you're most likely right. :-)

And I'm the one who started the nitpicking! Sorry! But that's actually what I was hoping for. A whole lot of listing and nitpicking. I'm not sure a thread is a viable way to go for that. Who knows? It would take a lot of serious, prickly, nitpicky discussion undoubtedly to get to a good list.

That's even assuming we could get through a discussion of whether there should even be a list. There would be a lot of objections I would think about whether a "contract" would tie our hands, whether leaving something off of the list was throwing it under the bus, and so forth.

I think a contract is a good idea, even though one of its main selling points is that it worked for the sleazy Newt Gingrich. I would think the Dem leadership and others have already considered it.

[mr_lebowski]

6. All good ... guess we'll see what comes of it, if anything ... (nt)