Reaching out

[Mythsaje]

Dear average Republican,

There is NO "liberal agenda" but the shared interest of liberals who want to see things get better for everyone. You, your parents, and the guy who bags groceries down at the Piggly-Wiggly. Liberals want to see you with enough money to buy groceries, pay off your house, and put at least one gas-efficient vehicle in your garage.

It's not an agenda. It's people hoping for the best for other people.

It's about hoping that your Uncle John, who's been farming the same plot of land for the last 40 years, doesn't lose his farm because he falls off his tractor and breaks his leg and can't pay his doctor bill.It's about hoping that you have some options when your town's biggest employer goes belly-up 'cuz it can't compete with the textile factory in China.

It's about making sure you get paid enough that you don't have to take two or three jobs just to make ends meet. So you can spend more time with your family...so you can play catch with your boys, or take them fishing on weekends, or take your little girl to the local swimming hole and teach her how to swim.

It's not an agenda to want the best for people. It's just humanity. It's about being a good neighbor, even if that neighbor lives half a country away.

Ask a liberal what empathy is...it's about understanding where someone else is coming from. And most of us try very hard, even if we don't agree.

Being a liberal isn't about making fun of God, or your beliefs about him. Most liberals take the Sermon on the Mount to heart. They try to live the teachings of Jesus, even if some aren't sure he's really the Son of God. Thomas Jefferson called him the World's Greatest Moral Philosopher. You'll find very few liberals who'd disagree with that.

It's because of liberals that your ten year olds get to go to school rather than being forced to work in factories for spare change. It's because of liberals that you can trust your workplace to be safe and free of unexpected dangers. It is because of liberals that, should you be injured at work, you can expect fair medical treatment and compensation for your lost work.

That's what we do. We try to look out for everybody. Even the people who hate us.We don't have an agenda. We don't take marching orders from anyone. We do what we do because we believe in people.We believe in you.

All we ask is that you begin to believe in us.

[niyad]

1. so beautifully put, and thank you!!!

[flowomo]

2. those aren't policies, they're goals. The question is:

by what means can you best achieve those goals for the greatest number of people, given the available resources, human failings and so on. Specifying the means is the creation of policy -- and that's where democrats have struggled -- to propose specific policies that not only reach toward these goals, but do so in a manner that can gather majority support.

[Mythsaje]

4. I think we'd have a lot better luck

if we really put together an outreach program that could reach into the depths of the Red Zone and speak to the things that matter to each and every one of us. It's about having a better life, and giving our children a better life. The only "better life" the corporations and coporate shill Republican "representatives" are looking for is a better life for themselves, THEIR kids, and those of the rich and powerful.

We need to stop backing away from the whole "class war" meme. The Dems aren't the ones that declared it. It was the rich. Simple as that.

Everyone on the bottom tiers is in it together, they just don't realize it yet.

Policies take a back seat to outreach...once a connection is established, one just has to find the language that works to link Farmer John to Vegan Jim.

[flowomo]

5. you say:

"Liberals want to see you with enough money to buy groceries, pay off your house, and put at least one gas-efficient vehicle in your garage."

Now, go to Farmer John and say to him: "Your neighbor is starving and you have twice as much food as you need. So our law is that we will take half your food and give it to him. That is fair and just and serves our goals."

This is what many Farmer Johns think liberalism is all about. Can you sell that to him?

[Mythsaje]

7. That's what they're being TOLD liberals want...

I've actually been putting a lot of thought into this for the last few weeks.

They're being taught to think that they have to protect what's theirs to avoid it being taken away from them.

Give me a few minutes and I'll create a new thread that covers as much of what I've been thinking as possible at this point. I'll title it, Communicating Policy.

[RandomKoolzip]

14. There ain't too many Farmer Johns around with twice as much food

as they need nowadays. Now, let's say you go to Farmer Monsanto.....

[EFerrari]

16. They attack our stengths and we back off defensively.

Just once I'd like to hear a Dem respond by validating the "charge".

Just once to hear, "Betchur life!" instead of useless backpedalling away from our values. :(

[Mythsaje]

17. Exactly how I feel about it...n/t

[Dave Reynolds]

3. Nicely said.

We need to end the "us-versus-them" crap that is forced upon us by talk radio and the talking heads on television.

We need to take this country back, to return it to "Of the people, by the people, for the people".

[linazelle]

8. " /nt

[wanpete]

6. excellent. well said!

[MsConduct]

9. I l-o-v-e-d this! Thanks so much! n/t

[chrisbur]

10. I don't know what kind of Repubs...

you've got in your parts but you pretty much lost them at the end of the first paragraph. They don't want to be told what kind or how many cars they can have. Even if they are starting to get the picture on the environment. Big media controls them like zombies.

I know, you said "at least one". I think it sounds different to them.

[Mythsaje]

11. You think they're not considering the value

of fuel-efficient cars with gas prices around $2.50 a gallon? It's not just an environmental issue anymore, it's an economic issue. And you can always appeal to Republicans on matters of economic concern.

[corkhead]

12. would make a great basis for a LTTE

While I agree this might be a reach out to some who are in the republican camp, there are a lot of them who aren't interested in fairness for everyone. They only care about themselves. That, in my opinion is the essence of what it is to be Republican, unfortunately.

[Mythsaje]

13. There's a grain of truth in this...

The other side of it, of course, is to make them wonder--what happens if the shoe is suddenly on the other foot? What if MY family is the one that needs help?

[corkhead]

15. I HAVE a perfect example of it in my family

my brother, who is one of those who has always pointed fingers at those less fortunate, lost his job and insurance and is now very sick and financially ruined. There is a lot more to it, but he IS now wearing that shoe and doesn't seem to like how it fits. He still hasn't acknowledged his mistake in voting against his own best interests. Maybe the TV stadium church he goes to will cure him and fix all of his problems.

[Mythsaje]

18. Have you gently pointed out to him

how all this works? That voting Republican ALWAYS puts people like him into an untenable position.