I’ve been watching the coverage of the enforcement of the no-fly zone in Libya, and how the Republicans are spinning it, and had the same thought I did during the debate over the Affordable Care Act: WHY ARE WE LETTING THEM CONTROL THE CONVERSATION?
A large portion of the voting population takes what they hear from their choice news outlet as fact, whether it be the Fox News followers, or the avid watchers of MSNBC. Either way you look at it, there is a huge spin, and at times, misinformation and opinion are accepted as gospel. The result of this is a lot of really good policies the Obama administration has pushed through are vilified, and people who would benefit most from it are among its most staunch opponents.
This is more a message to the leadership of the Democratic Party: man-up. DCCC, DNC, DSCC, we have a chance at electing quality candidates if you would stop letting Fox News hijack the message. The Health Care debate is one of the clearest, most recent examples of this. People STILL believe this legislation will result in the formation of death panels because WE DID NOT CONTROL THE CONVERSATION.
My advice is to be proactive, not reactive. If we have to go on the defensive, it is already too late. Democrats, I know it’s in our nature to be a little more meek and try to appease everyone, but our leadership needs to act like a spoiled only child: BRAG ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PREVENT MISINFORMATION FROM DESTROYING YOUR SUCCESS.
Kim, you nailed a big part of the problem. Don't leave out the state parties, though - they are just as responsible for last year's election disaster as are the national organizations. Keep in mind that the people who run the state party orgs are the very people who control much of the national apparatus, and in some states, they seem to be more interested in protecting any incumbent with a "D" by their name than they are in selling the Democratic Party's platform to the voters.
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