[Dialogue] Good idea!

[FacilitationFla at aol.com]

Enough  Already  
Tim  Robmer 
Published: April 29,  2006, NYTimes 
AMERICANS have clearly  had enough of the Bush administration's record: 7 in 
10 say the nation is headed  in the wrong direction. But with the 2006 
Congressional elections fast  approaching, Democrats must not get so irrationally 
exuberant that they lapse  into old, bad habits.  
In January, President Bush's  adviser Karl Rove outlined the issues he 
believes will lead Republican  candidates to victory in November: national security, 
the economy and taxes, and  the courts. Democrats cannot allow Republicans to 
define the terms of the  debate. Instead, they should take a page from 
history and from a different  Karl. 
In 1946, Karl Frost, an  advertising executive, suggested a simple slogan to 
the Massachusetts Republican  Committee: "Had Enough? Vote Republican!" Frost 
recognized that these simple  words could unite his national party and blame 
its opponents, who controlled  Congress, for causing or failing to solve the 
many problems facing the country,  including meat shortages, economic 
difficulties and labor unrest. The strategy  worked: in 1946, both houses of Congress 
flipped. 
Sixty years later, Democrats  would be smart to turn Karl Frost's slogan on 
Karl Rove's strategy.   
"Had Enough? Vote Democratic!"  is a slogan that spotlights the many mistakes 
in Iraq, the  mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina and the mangling of fiscal 
responsibility  with "bridges to nowhere." Indeed, you can see and hear 
Democratic candidates  rallying their voters at Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinners with a 
passionate and  rhythmic chorus:  
"The administration said Iraqis  would greet us with roses as liberators, yet 
our soldiers are attacked with  homemade bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. 
Had Enough? Vote  Democratic. 
"The administration said it was  prepared for a hurricane in New Orleans, yet 
our  government's feeble response prompted Bangladesh to offer us $1 million 
in  aid. Had Enough? Vote Democratic! 
"The administration said it  would bring competency to our federal budget, 
yet our nation faces catastrophic  deficits. Had Enough? Vote Democratic!" 
And if you want to fire up the  base, you can string together references to 
Jack Abramoff, Abu Ghraib and the  Dubai ports  deal. "Had Enough?" works well 
on classic campaign materials like buttons and  bumper stickers while its 
simplicity makes it a cinch to "go viral" on the  Internet.  
"Had enough?" will speak to both  Democrats and disillusioned Republicans. 
Liberals can use "Had Enough?" to reach  out to voters enraged over the 
incompetent management of Iraq. Moderates  might use "Had Enough?" to persuade swing 
voters on fiscal issues. And the  implicit rejection of neoconservative 
politics will appeal to all voters who  seek to spurn tainted Republican candidates.  
"Had Enough?" also pre-empts  Democrats' worst habits. Too often we've made 
campaigns complicated and  policy-heavy. We love to unveil 40-page position 
papers and wonky diagrams. "Had  Enough?" clears a broad path through such 
minutiae. "Public sentiment is  everything," Abraham Lincoln said 150 years ago. 
"With public sentiment, nothing  can fail; without it nothing can succeed." 
Karl Frost's simple words can  serve as the cavalry charge to help win the 
coming electoral battles — something  Democrats are in an incredibly strong 
position to do. But make no mistake: new  ideas matter. Democrats will also need 
the artillery of a disciplined, focused  set of core proposals to complement 
their criticism of Republican excesses.   
As we head into the midterm  elections, Democrats should finally understand, 
as Lincoln and Frost did  before, that you must win the majority before you 
can make public policy.   
Tim Roemer is a  former Democratic congressman from Indiana. 


Cynthia N.  Vance
Strategics International Inc.
8245 SW 116 Terrace
Miami, Florida,  33156
305-378-1327; fax  305-378-9178
http://members.aol.com/facilitationfla
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