2 key facts to take into account in '06 and '08 are

[chieftain]

1. The Republicans will lie through their teeth, and
2. The corporate media will not call them on it.
If there could have been any doubt about either, it should be dispelled with this week's fantasy of the Bush/Republican/Iraq recovery nonsense authored in the WH and happily trumpeted by the MSM.
Rove's tactic of inevitability is on naked display yet again and the credulous pundits are elbowing each other out of the way to show themselves to be the biggest kool-aid drinker on the scene.
That said, what do we do about it?
Our candidates have got to be prepared for the lies and smears that are sure to be hurled at them. They should assume that however baseless the charge it should be quickly refuted and the responsibility for cheapening our electoral system should be laid back at the candidate against whom they are running rather than some anonymous swiftboat gang.
We need better slogans and catch phrases. "Cut and run" is unfair but effective.We have to speak in shorter punchier policy phrases and less in paragraphs that could have been lifted from a doctoral thesis. In doing so we may fail to convey the nuances involved in complex problems but what we lose in detail, we will gain in attentiveness from a nation that seems to collectively suffer from ADD on political matters.
We lefties have a powerful tool in our blogs. We have access to information that the general public does not. So how do we deploy this in a more effective fashion. I suggest we create a "Citizens' Insurgency" to bring the facts that the MSM ignores to the attention of the American people.We can do this by doing much more of the same things we are doing with each other, but by expanding its scope exponentially.
Letters to the Editor, participation in chat rooms in addition to our typical liberal haunts, appearances at civic groups armed with facts and talking points. All of these activities can help give the lie to the falsehoods and distortions that are the hallmark of the Bush/Gingrich/Rove version of the Republican Party.
It is clear that this fight will not be won by our traditional politicians and their paid consultants on their own. We have to mobilize and proselytize to an unprecedented extent. Failure to do so will see our heritage demeaned, our constitution defiled and our once good nation sink into fascism.
I believe Howard Dean when he says to all of us that we have thew power.
We just have to use it.

[jjrjsa]

1. It is bias to call two things unequal when they're not...

But it is also bias to call two things equal when they are not equal. This is the bias of the MSN which people can't see. They don't say "CONSERVATIVES HAVE A BETTER POINT!" they say "Both sides have a point" even though one of the points is a lie. It's so clever, because it appears to be fair. And if you define fair as treating all as equals, it IS fair.

[chieftain]

2. Welcome to DU and thanks for your excellent point.

[liberal N proud]

3. 3. They will CHEAT

You can count on them at least trying to steal yet another election. Case in point, here in Ohio, Secretary of State Kenny Blackwell has been working feverishly to remove primarily Democrat voters from the voter registration lists. Meanwhile he has effectively placed electronic voting machines by his largest contributor, Diebold in almost all precincts. You can count on some dirty things on election day in Ohio as well I am sure is happening in other places as well.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Here's something I posted a few days ago.

It didn't seem to attract much attention then, so I'm trying it again.

A Note to the Uninvolved American

I know you have a busy life and no time for politics, so let me
give you a short summary of all you need to know about the state of
affairs in the nation today.

The Republicans are liars and thieves. Unfortunately, they are very
good liars and thieves, and most of those smiling faces on your
television sets are trying to help them lie and steal.

They told lies to get us into a war. They lie about decorated
American war heroes like John Murtha, who is doing his best to save
the lives of your children. They lie about everything.

And they steal. They are stealing your savings by running up huge
debts that you, your children and your grandchidren will have to pay
off. They and their rich friends are stealing from you at the gas
pump, at your doctor's office, and at the grocery store. They are
plotting right now to steal your Social Security and Medicare.

That is all you really need to know about the Republicans. They lie
and steal.

The Democrats are trying to save you from the worst crimes of the
Republicans, but you don't hear much about that because those
smiling, lying faces on the TV screens don't want you to know.

There is one more thing you need to know. On November 7 there is
going to be an election. This will be your chance to help the
Democrats defend you from the Republican thieves and liars.

[chieftain]

7. I like what you say and the way you say it.

We need to call them out in language that the uninvolved citizen can identify with. When someone says that you cheated to win a purple heart, the response ought not be measured.It should ring with the passion of someone so committed to American ideals that he was willing to face enemy fire. Such a person will passionately refuse to let liars substitute falsehoods for truth. The MSM will, as an earlier poster aptly explained, retreat into the language of equivalency. Consequently, we need to be clear and forceful. Republicans don't misspeak; it is not the fog of war. It is plain and it is simple. They lie. They lie repeatedly and they lie outrageously. No more sugar coating. As you say make them out to be the liars and thieves they most assuredly are.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. It's no the fog of war.

It's the smoke of deception.

[AndyTiedye]

4. 3. They Own the Voting Machinez

[Jackpine Radical]

5. The Republican war stance in two words:

Chickenhawk bravado.

Let our politicians call it for what it is.