The 32 percent solution: A memo to Democratic leadership

[BobcatJH]

Thirty-two percent. Let me repeat that: Thirty-two percent. Between six and seven out of every ten Americans don't approve of the job the Decider-in-Chief is doing. That number is growing. And it won't be going up, either. Not if you have anything to do with it.

That noise you're hearing is the collective grumbling of the American people. They're ready. They're ready to hear a positive, progressive message of change. They're ready to be shown that the Republican Party is the problem, not government itself. They're ready to remember what it was like when those in power served them, not a fringe minority and the special interests.

They've been ready for quite some time, too. What got them there? Iraq. They've been paying attention. They realize that the problem isn't the lack of "good news" coming from Iraq. No, the problem, as they see it, is that there isn't any good news to report. They know this because they're starting to realize that the promises their government made simply haven't come true, the evidence not there. Iraq, they realize, is a policy failure of massive proportions. A Republican failure.

What's more, this realization has opened their minds to everything else the Republican Party is doing wrong. The party of the trickle-down effect is now feeling the sting of having each and every one of their troubles drip into the national consciousness. Katrina. Warrantless wiretapping. Crony capitalism. Lying. Cheating. Stealing. All there for the nation to see ... and absorb.

With this past as prologue, they're reacting differently when they see the Republicans in power panicking. Republicans are panicking about the threat Iran poses and are on the verge of a second pre-emptive war, a war with much more frightening consequences. Republicans are panicking on immigration and are confronting a complex issue with simplistic, racist solutions. Republicans are panicking on the coming election and have decided to pander to their extremist base's prejudices to stay in power.

Americans see this and marvel at the disconnect. They wonder how flag burning is a more pressing threat than roadside bombs. They wonder why Mexicans pursuing a better life are being painted as terrorists. They wonder what threat two loving Americans who happen to share the same sex pose that's worse than exploding gas prices. They're aching for a party that has their best interests in mind. And that party is ours.

They're willing to listen, but what are you going to do to get them to listen? Are you going to keep playing this game not to lose? Or are you going to seize the opportunity so graciously given you by a failing Republican Party and shape the debate on our terms? Like a punch-weary boxer, Republicans are staggering, dazed and on the verge of falling. Are you going to bail them out and let the bell ring? Or are you going to step up, throw a vicious combination and watch the crowd go wild as you knock the Republican Party out?

Well, guys, that bell is fast approaching. A little over six months away, in fact. Americans, aching for a new champion, are ready to see what we've got to offer. So let's offer it. Don't be fearful. Don't be weak. And don't panic. That's what the Republicans do. The time is right. Take it to them. Hard.

[rzemanfl]

1. Well said. Welcome to DU. n/t

[BobcatJH]

2. Thanks!

I appreciate it.

[babylonsister]

3. Excellent as usual, and you give me hope! nt

[electropop]

4. Your number of posts is low,

but I remember you as the author of some doozies. Well done.

[Kikosexy2]

5. Come on ...

Demmies...watching from the sidelines at the Repugs self-imploding along with the Decider and gang isn't enough...it's time to gradually pounce and rescue us further destruction...YOUR TIME IS NOW OR NEVER!!!

[ninkasi]

6. Excellent post!

Welcome to DU. I look forward to reading more posts from you. :hi:

[ginnyinWI]

7. We always knew they could not govern.

I think now they are beginning to realize that themselves. No, not the Bushies, but those who voted for them. To them, the Dems can't either, so they are staring into an abyss. Hence the panic. But those of us on the left look forward to the new Dem era with a sense of relief and renewed hope.

[LuckyLib]

8. Very well said. From seniors to teenagers, folks are waiting

for some clear thinking and coherent voices that tell it like it is. The government is the people. And the people are sick and tired of these Rephooligan bozos ignoring the will of the people and lining their own pockets while innocents die.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Well said. I sure hope you actually sent this to them.

[Beetwasher]

10. Looks Like DU Has A Terrific New Addition!

Welcome!

[bvar22]

11. Give the American People what they want!

In recent polls by the Pew Research Group, the Opinion Research Corporation, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS News, the American majority has made clear how it feels. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic party:

1. 65 percent say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

8. Over 65% of all Americans believe that the Invasion of Iraq was a mistake.


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[BobcatJH]

12. Links?

I love what you posted. I'd be interested in using those stats in further stories and as research. Do you have the links to those items?

[bvar22]

13. Link here:

http://alternet.org/story/29788/

[BobcatJH]

14. Perfect

Thanks!

[BrklynLiberal]

18. Great post! Thanks.

[Joe Chi Minh]

16. Important information, but I certainly don't see why windfall taxes

on oil companies (and armaments companies, incidentally) should be solely dedicated to finding alternative fuels.

People are evidently struggling and the country's infrastructure has been rotting. Funding restoration of the latter alone would contribute to improve the lot of the workforce generally, particularly in tandem with a restoration of manufacturing industry and significant discouragement of outsourcing of jobs abroad.

[A Simple Game]

15. Very nice, now,

write that on a 2x4 and swat our congresspersons and senators up side the head with it.

That's the only way most of them will get the message!

[mnhtnbb]

17. Well said. Trouble is...the answer is a Howard Dean

type of guy and we saw what the Dem leadership and media did to him.
If the Dems can't step up and take advantage of all these opportunities, well, then, is it time for a third party that will?