Okay, why are we not as organized as the Repuges?

[EC]

They meet weekly and put together battle plans, writing campaignes, and e-mail campaignes. We have Move on and Media matters and allot of blog sites working on their end, but we have to get organized in our writing campaignes, we have to get together on our letters to editors and blast them weekly on the same subjects. Like we chose a subject, and blast it each week...and just keep pounding, using some of the same talking points (phrased exactly the same) so it becomes an ear worm....

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. 1964 that is when the repugs reqlized they had to do it

and they did... also we lack a Grover Norquist, though we are getting far better.

We are in many ways where they were in 1964...

[RandomKoolzip]

2. It's a question of funding.

The right has Coors, Scaife, Mott, etc. And they've been the Big Daddies behind the foundations and institutes for thirty years or more, doling out billions (and not always making a profit) to make what used to be a fringe philosophy seem legitimate.

The left relies mostly on grass-roots special interest fundraisers, and none of our special interest groups are united. The only hope we have is Soros, and maybe a few others....(If a handful of Hollywood liberals decided to fund a left media machine to counter the right's, then they might make a difference instead of just going on talk shows and giving the other side ammunition).

Plus, the right did all their organizing in secret.

[EC]

4. Okay, then let's start begging

lets petition Redford, Moore, Franken and who else? Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Alec Baldwin, let's try it....Who can put together a petition or proposal to request their help? Maybe when Dean gets settled in DNC present a proposal to him and set him begging?

[RandomKoolzip]

13. Well, like I said, the right did all their business in secret.

All those guys are high-profile targets. They'd have to do it silently, or give money to their relatives or other channels to funnel it into a machine under the radar......who ever heard of Scaife before the Clinton administration? These were old, embittered, mean-spirited bastards, not glamorous, paparazzi-hounded celebrities....You can't announce to the world what your intentions are, because then the opposition has time to organize against you.

[EC]

15. SO HILLARY WAS RIGHT

IT IS A RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY....of course we all knew this, but it's pretty much out in the open now after this last election...I guess we just have to keep making noise about it and when people see, it's more than just a few nuts.....

[tritsofme]

7. Dems and Dem friendly groups outspent the GOP

and GOP friendly groups in 2004, our big problem was relying on 527s that could not legally cooridinate with the DNC or KE.

We need to look into ways to spend our money more wisely.

[Zinfandel]

3. Republicans have only one focus & goal...MONEY!

Very easy to organize when every corporation, the rich, etc. have the same goal, to fuck the people anyway they can to achieve their goal to make, steal and exploit for more money.

Democrat's have a million issue's that the greedy republicans are exploiting for money. We have to be all over the place to try and stop them but they have the money and are willing to spend it to ensure they keep getting the money...It takes money to make more money, and the republicans understand this and are more than willing to invest in this ideology.

[EC]

5. But aren't there MORE workers than OWNERS?..

if we just choose a few issues at a time and keep banging away at them, couldn't we make some headway?

[Zinfandel]

12. But if those same workers, (over 80%) get their news

from the republican owned corporate media, who will never tell them what policies & legislation are being put in place right before the workers eyes...The republicans know they can simply lie, (just look at tonights bullshit, and no one in the corporate media will call them on it). The workers won't do shit unless there's no food on the table...so the workers are content to believe they are being protected as everything is striped from them, slowly, bit by bit. Not really noticing.

And most just throw up their hands, feel helpless and don't give a shit about anything except their own little world and where's the next party...How do you organize them when unions are there to create power in numbers and unions are becoming extinct in this country, much to the glee of the corporations.

Republican money bought and paid for our corporate media.

[EC]

16. You're right

I see this everyday...I hear people who would do well being protected by a Union speaking against Unions...they really believe it's the Unions putting businesses in jeopardy, not even thinking that the stocks are being manipulated for hostile take-overs that will be their demise, and other manipulations. We've got to get more media, and it's going to have to be slick and appealing to watch...

[w4rma]

23. Dems should think: small/many vs. big/few rather than worker vs. owner.

I think Sen. Kerry, for instance, thinks in these terms, but I think alot of the base doesn't. I think the base needs to think more about how Dems can help small buisnesses (that aren't subsidaries of big ones) compete on better terms with big buisnesses in addition to backing the employee.

[moggie12]

9. Yeah, but we raised a ton of money this past election cycle

I don't think we spent it well. MoveOn and the other big Dem-oriented 527 (can't remember the name) blew a lot of money making commericials that weren't very good.

It sounds like they're learned some things from this past election. They need to start at the grassroots and build up.

[moggie12]

6. I agree, very frustrating

For example, Media Matters collects all this great info on the lies and distortion in the media but there's nothing to do with it. There's no letter-writing feature on there, no way to have 300 people bomb the offending pundit or advertisers with letters (at least none that I could find). All you do is read the stuff and get high blood pressure.

Meanwhile, Dobson and other RW types can get their supporters to spit out 2000 letters at the drop of a hat....

[EC]

18. You're right, I'm going there now and suggesting that...

maybe the rest of us should too. At least MoveOn and From the Wilderness and some others send out newsletters and alerts through E-mail and do provide a E-mail blaster, why can't Media Matters, and as far as that goes, why can't Brock get a half-hour show on MSNBC or one of the others to dispute some of the lies...and when are some of these talking heads going to step up to the plate and say no that's not at all true or something...at least Ron Reagan tries whenever he's on...

on edit: Guess what I just found on Media Matters:

Contact Media Matters
Media Matters for America is expanding rapidly. In the near future, we will need your help with the work we're doing: we will have discussion forums here, along with mailing lists and syndication feeds. There will be ways for you to get involved in monitoring the media, and an easy mechanism for submitting tips and items to the site. All of our content will be searchable, and we'll maintain a permanent archive of everything we publish.

[moggie12]

19. Good for them -- we need to start pumping out letters like the Right

Since you also seem to be interested in media issues like me, would you mind taking a look at something I just posted and give it a kick if you can? It's a post asking people to sign a petition in support of Rep. Louise Slaughter's new Fairness Doctrine legislation:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1563669

Thanks if you can......

[EC]

20. Better believe it.....

:kick:

[Mojambo]

8. Because the right wing has an impossibly simple minded world view

We try to work in reality to make for change, the Republicans just create a new reality with a massive PR job.

Of course it looks like they're good at crafting a message. But that's only if you accept the perversity of their methods.

[checks-n-balances]

10. There are probably a lot of homemakers/stay-at-home moms, retirees, and

well-to-do with large inheritances who haven't had to work a day in their lives (like GWB) who have the TIME to be organized. The rest of us poor slobs are working out butts off at the bottom while the fat cats can pay people to do all their work.

I'm guessing that GOP women have more time on their hands and, undoubtedly, some of them are wives of corporate CEOs who can retire with millions while cutting the pensions & benefits of their workers.

[Sirveri]

11. Because we all hold our own opinions and are better educated.

Basically rethugs for the most part all tow the party line, no dissent. We dissent because we are educated and intelligent and form our own opinions. Well no, I think we should do it this way, or this way. This leads to fracturing within the party. In a parliamentary system, this would be acceptable, however in our system this leads to problems when you run into a hegemony. Since the party doesn't stay unified, the other party steam rollers it. And unfortuantly the answer isn't to become more like them, that's the losing path. That will cause even more voter apathy.

[left is right]

14. Because we think there is room for all kinds of ideas

and that our virtue is in allowing everyone to express their ideas.

[realFedUp]

17. Not owning the media is certainly a hindrance for Dems

You can have the best messages in the
world, but you have to have outlets
and a press willing to print the truth.

[messiah]

21. They run a better pr campaign

organizing does'nt matter when you dont know ho to win the war of words.

[Pepperbelly]

22. we don't do the lockstep so well. nature of the beast & all that. nt