Democrats Try to Poll their Way off their Titanic

They're not having much luck, According to this KRT Wire story | 08/13/2005 | "Democrats struggle to change perceptions in GOP strongholds" It shows the Dems are down to the Repubs when the National elections are on the line. The Reason? Social issues such as "gay marriage", abortion "rights" and the role of religion in the public square. In other words, the "Red State" folk still see that the Democratic party wears no clothes. Observe:

The report notes that Democrats running in next year's mid-term elections begin at a disadvantage with voters in rural areas and "red" states - states captured by the GOP in the presidential election.

"The real problem for Democrats is that their elected officials, and by extension their entire party, are perceived as directionless and divided, standing for nothing other than their own enrichment," the Democratic authors wrote.

The report carries weight because of its high-profile authors. The Democracy Corps' principals are Stanley Greenberg, James Carville and Robert Shrum, top strategists for Democratic presidential candidates in recent years.

The trouble the Democrats have, and will continue to have, is that their hard left constituency believes they are Middle America:

Democratic candidates have long fought to escape the negative connotations of the word liberal. But the Democracy Corps study suggested that they've had limited success, judging by the frequency critics used that word in describing Democratic positions on cultural issues.

The Center for American Progress, a Democratic-affiliated nonprofit group in Washington, is leading an effort to highlight the morality of many Democratic and liberal stances on social issues.

In Kansas City, Mo., last month, the center's Faith and Progressive Policy Project held a forum to discuss issues surrounding science and intelligent design during the battle in Kansas over teaching evolution.

The project is putting together similar meetings, usually in Republican-leaning states, on topics related to poverty, health care and civil rights. The aim, leaders say, is assisting the work of religious leaders and demonstrating core values of progressive voters while at the same time defending the separation of church and state.

Uh, yeah. The core values of most Americans do not include the socialist, nanny-state economies worshipped by left extremists. Health care proposals that reak of the same Statism will just gloss over the eyes of mainstream Americans as well. As for civil rights, many Americans believe that institutional justice as been achieved; thus, quotas aren't going to fly, either. Yes, justice remains an important issue. Yes, the evil of racism must be eradicated wherever it rears it's ugly head. But convincing many Americans today that the only way to do that is to continue quota-based affirmative action just won't happen.

If these efforts remain the Democrat's way of connecting with "Red State" Americans, they'll remain the minority party in both houses of Congress after November 2006.

This may not be the case. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party appears too fractured to speak as one. There's no identified leader that can unite the party around a message of sanity. The Democrats do not have their Reagan at the moment. Thus, they do not know what else to say that other Democrats before them haven't said. A hodge-podge of past greatness thus falls from many of their lips in recycled soundbytes hardly fresher than their orgininal incarnations.

Meanwhile, a plan to implement CST that considers the insights of economics without compromising justice remains outside of Democrats' speak.

Do they truly want to connect with "Red Staters"? Then they need to do the following:

1. Stress the 95-10 plan proposed by the Democrats for Life. Though some of the plan is problematic i.e. the promotion of contraception--itself the cultural cherynobel at the heart of the abortion holecaust--at least it addresses the concern many Americans have. Abortion has become the new birth control, and it's out of control! Let the Democrats talk about realistic ways to reduce abortions, and they might begin to shake their reputation as worshippers of moloch abortion-rights absolutists.

2. Call for Judges that interprete the constitution, and stand for those Justices to SCOTUS that will do that. Get behind the Roberts Nomination as a gesture that they get it: Americans want legislatures that they elect, not life-appointed judges that legislate from the bench. If they take this issue away from the Republicans, then they'll earn some credibility in Red State folks' eyes.

3. Respect the will of the American people as expressed in the November election, when 11 referanda on "gay marriage" failed. Offer up civil partnerships that do not require a sexual relationship the compromises morality as an option. Few Americans will object to a legally recognized partnership that single elderly siblings and gay partners could both engage, i.e. one that met such individuals needs for visitation, healthcare decision making and estate issues. As long as such a measure does not attempt to infringe on marriage's unique place in legal and cultural status, many Americans will have a problem.

4. Demonstrate that Democrats care for the family. Support the tax cut for middle class families, eliminate the Federal Income Tax "marriage penalty" and estate tax. Provide the cultural support so that families don't believe they have to fight the multi-billion dollar pornography, cinema and music industries alone. Make homeschooling an easier alternative for those families that want it.

5. Tone down the vitriolic rhetoric on Iraq, including the foolish "Bush-lied" mantras that Democrats have not seriously quashed. Show the world a united face while quietly airring differences with the Administration. Demand greater benefits and salary for soldiers, including body armor and more family-friendly deployments. Foster the unity of all Americans as we face the terrorism threat of islamo-fascists. Stop blaming America first.

6. Recognize the universal character and importance of Judeo-Christian values and philosophy, especially the role that they play in America's civic culture. Prepare a space in the public square that accepts the religiously informed viewpoints of the nations overwhelmingly religious majority. Prevent the establishment of Religion, including Fundamentalist secularism. Do not abuse the Separation of Church and State, as the ACLU did when it tried to prevent the Boy Scouts from using any military installation for its activities.

These are some ways in which the Democrats can raise their credibility with the "Red State" citizens that they want to reach. Somehow I think the movers and shakers in the party will find this list too Foolish for their Reasonable tastes. Nonetheless, they ought to give it a shot. Clearly, they have nothing to lose.