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Kurt_and_Hunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 11:48 AM
Original message
Drive the fucking Wedge
Edited on Sun Apr-11-10 12:02 PM by Kurt_and_Hunter
There is something to be said for driving a wedge into an existing fissure to maximize the isolation of a splinter group, like folks who support the enslavement of people of African descent.

The thing is, there are plenty of folks who think the wrong side won the Civil War and they are never going to vote for us.

And there are a lot of other folks who do not believe that but will side with the crazy bigots on other issues because there is no price to pay for that association.

A person can say, "I voted republican" and get away with it, rather than being met with shocked silence, having just announced themselves an insane bigot.

Why? Because we do not drive the wedge. We are victimized by wedge politics every day but we lack the guts to return fire even in the most righteous of circumstances.

The issue needs to be bright-lined. Somebody says health insurance reform is socialism? Then they are part of a pro-slavery movement. Let them deny it.

Democrats should refer to the Republican Party as a Pro-Slavery party and let the fuckers deny it, which they cannot even plausibly do.

Micheal Steele casually... yes, casually referred to the Democratic Party as "un-American" last night in a public speech defending his own incompetence. And nobody cares.

On the other hand, the Republican Party embraces slavery as somehow normal political posturing and it is no big deal.

And we blame the media! Boo Hoo... the media is so mean to us.

But why should the media cover it? We obviously don't think it's a big story so why should the media?

Make it a story.

Top Democrats (like, really major headline-making Democrats) should casually refer to the Republican Party as supporting slavery like it was an unexceptional, obvious sort of thing to say.

And let the pugs squeal about it. Let them make it a story... how mean Democrats are. Let them demand an apology.

And don't apologize.

And then the media will fact check the story and conclude, as they tend to do, that the Democrats are wrong because only SOME Republicans are pro-slavery.

And that is the story we want out there in the first place. That some Republicans are pro-slavery.

But if our leaders want to take the high-road and let Republicans pander to honest-to-god slavery fans without repercussion then there will be no repercussions.



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Gidney N Cloyd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 11:54 AM
Response to Original message
1. Was anyone else expecting this to be a Tiger Woods thread?
:D
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ShortnFiery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Yah, but I prefer to chip-up with my 10 iron.
:silly:
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monmouth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 11:57 AM
Response to Original message
2. Excellent OP. They better do something exactly like what is suggested
here or by November they will be whistling Dixie. Great post.
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Gman2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 12:08 PM
Response to Original message
4. I find that accusing them of anything gets their dander up. So,
I ask them questions. And soon, they call themselves whatever I said. So need to label, just ask questions. Like fox, and palin. They always say, it's kinda, sorta, like, similar to, some say, it is believed, Ratcheting up the socialism, fascism, communism rhetoric is unnecessary. With a few pointed questions, in public, you can soon make teafluffers afraid to say anything on camera.
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boomerbust Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 12:09 PM
Response to Original message
5. Here is the ultimate wedge
That they cannot handle
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demwing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 12:27 PM
Response to Original message
6. I learned early in my career to not argue whether I made a big mistake
or a little one.

Winng that argument is tantamount to winng an argument over whether you suck a lot, or just a little. Even if you win, you still suck.

It's a great idea to force the debate of whether Republicans support slavery a lot, or just a little.
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calimary Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 12:37 PM
Response to Original message
7. YES!!! Make them deny it.
Put it out there and let it sit - like that spritz of strong perfume that takes forever to dissipate into the surrounding air. Let it soak in.

WHY aren't our people doing more of that?

I guess they give the American electorate more credit than it deserves - that Americans will just see the truth! Of course! Well, NO, they WON'T! Especially when all they hear, the VAST majority of what they hear over and over and over and over and over and over and over from the CONservative-loaded media and the rest of the media that just knee-jerkedly picks up the talking points and runs with them and uses those talking points to frame their own questions and script lines. If they hear NOTHING coming from the other direction, if they hear NOTHING coming back, pushing back the other way, they won't even know there's another way out there anywhere.

My husband and I just had a big argument about this, this morning. He's convinced Americans aren't that stupid, and that they see through beck and limbaugh and palin. I'm nowhere near as sure.
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HowHasItComeToThis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 02:38 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. I THINK DUMBING DOWN THE NEWS HAS WORKED
Edited on Sun Apr-11-10 02:39 PM by HowHasItComeToThis
IT IS ALL INFO-TAINMENT
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calimary Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-11-10 03:06 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. Yes.
Sad. And unfortunately true. Even glenn beck makes that claim to excuse his rantings. Utterly Harmless! Whatza matter with you? I'm just funnin'! It's just showbiz! And because he says it, there's a certain (and alarmingly increasing) segment of the population that will take it as absolute gospel.
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annabanana Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 09:15 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. "What's the matter? Can't you take a joke?"
Edited on Mon Apr-12-10 09:15 AM by annabanana
The call of the abuser.
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 08:37 AM
Response to Original message
10. That's why in my contacts with Teapartyers I push information about Wall Street.
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annabanana Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 09:15 AM
Response to Reply #10
13. Having the facts on your side is a really good tool. . . n/t
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 12:36 PM
Response to Reply #13
15. Indeed, and much more useful than other arguments about other issues
Edited on Mon Apr-12-10 12:37 PM by patrice
that are more semantic differences to them and about which they care less.

For instance, I think there ARE War Criminals in our midst, but it's useless and counterproductive to discuss that with Teapartyers. To them, there is no motive to even consider changing their position on this issue.

But Wall Street is another matter entirely.
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MadHound Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 09:11 AM
Response to Original message
11. Serious political stupidity,
If you use this tactic, you will be rightfully beaten over the head with it, every single time. Which party freed the slaves? Yeah, 'Pugs. Which party was the party of Southern bigots for over a hundred years, oh, yeah, Dems. Is everybody in the 'Pugs pro-slavery? No, just a relative few idiots.

But hey, if you want to pursue this insanity, I'll hold your beer, but I'm also stepping far, far away.
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Kurt_and_Hunter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. Did someone assign you that position?
It's both stupid and profoundly ignorant of political reality so I don't see why you'd come up with it on your own.

Reminds me of a debate in high school where one side was assigned the pro-smoking proposition and just mumbled some random shit until the clock ran out.

Okay, it is noted that you felt obliged to object to the OP for whatever reason and having no coherent argument with which to do so just started regurgitating republican talking points.

Nobody in American associates Abraham Lincoln with the modern Republican Party and nobody in American associates George Wallace with the modern Democratic Party.

That is why the Republican Party is the White Party and the Democratic Party is the non-white party.

Public perception is that the Republican Party IS racist, but tolerably so. And that perception of tolerability/moderation is what ought be changed.

But if you believe that an overtly pro-confederate political movement cannot successfully be tarred with being overtly pro-confederate then you are the summation of the problem the OP raises.

If enough Dems think/assume/masochistically-hope/fear that the Democratic Party would lose a hardball-war over which party is overtly racist then we would indeed lose that war... thanks to your position, not mine.

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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 12:51 PM
Response to Reply #11
16. Doesn't this buy into the rhetoric that handicaps not only Dems, but the opposition as well, Slavish
maintenance of the labels that oppress all people who want to be truly Free?

If (like the word Fuck) "we can't go there, because someone will be offended . . ." by the Truth, then we also can't talk about the WHOLE process that lead to the myths that you want to keep servicing and, thus, reveal to people who don't commonly think much about it how all of us are oppressed, all of us lose Freedom, because the Police of Political Correctness will punish you if you start deconstructing their labels.
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mochajava666 Donating Member (771 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
17. The ultimate wedge to drive into the Republicans is
almost here - it's the Immigration bill.

That bill tore the Republicans apart during the last Presidential primaries.

McCain ended up saying that he wouldn't vote for his own bill!
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patrice Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-12-10 06:17 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. I was going to bring that one up too. Getting ahead of the rhetorical curve would be a good idea.
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