There is little doubt that the seat of power of the
Democratic Party in Wisconsin is Dane County.
Apparently some sort of non-porous membrane covers the area, though,
because the reality that exists in the other 71 counties of the state is not
sinking in here.
But a few green shoots are poking up from inside the bubble.
Respected lefties like Dave Cieslewicz (who has Milwaukee
roots) and Cap Times Editor Paul Fanlund are making very public statements that
a new Democratic order is essential.
They’re saying things like the message isn’t getting through, the image
isn’t clear, the focus is on the wrong things.
Others, like Madison attorney Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick, are
saying it with a bit more force, making public statements that typically, when
a party loses an election, it’s time for new leadership, and not mincing words
about it being time for some new faces and new ideas.
But, here in the heart of Dane County, in the City of the
Perpetually Offended, there’s huge pushback to any talk that suggests the
Democrats had anything to do with the ass-kicking they were handed on June 5th. There’s whining that it wasn’t fair, that the
Republicans out-spent them, blah-blah-blah.
In other words, they’re acting just as you would expect losers to
act. Blame the refs, blame the weather,
whatever.
And by the way, the constant whining about how Rock-Star
Walker got all his money from big business and wealthy donors is highly
counterproductive. As my friend John
Roach said, your money didn’t come from God and the angels. It came from AFSCME and SEIU and WEA.
A few ideas.
First, come up with a message that isn’t focused on
organized labor in any way. To the other
71 counties in Wisconsin, folks like Marty Biel and John Matthews, as effective
as they have been in the past, are symbols of what the Republicans are
positioning the Democrats as: the party of organized labor. As Dave Cieslewicz has suggested, do away
with the word “Solidarity”, which is a code-word never used by 85% of
Wisconsinites. I would add, do away with
that stoopid “fist” symbol. The clenched
hand sends a very clear meaning, and it should have nothing to do with what the
Democratic Party stands for.
Second, base your message around new programs that will
benefit all the people in the state, not just the usual suspects. It’s been suggested that the Democrats should
lead the charge to keep ALEC’s hands off the State Retirement System- to take
the offensive on the issue, rather than play whiny defense (like you have for
the past couple years). Change the law
so farmers and small business people can join the retirement system, which is
one of those things which will be good for ALL Wisconsinites, and keep the retirement
system fully-funded and robust. Change
the dialog from “Cadillac pensions for the lazy state workers, the equivalent
of which cannot be found in the private sector” to “We have the best and
strongest retirement system in the nation, the envy of every other state, and
we’re going to share the wealth with ALL hard-working Wisconsinites” or
something along those lines. But – the key
is to play offense, not defense.
Third, when the luddites in the Republican Party like Steve
Nass and Glenn Grothman unleash their next diatribe against the University of
Wisconsin, call them out loudly and strongly.
Push back and own the dialog.
Explain how the Wisconsin idea has brought great bounty to the state,
helps farmers and manufacturers every day, and how the UW is the economic
engine that will drive the economy of the future. Position the Nasses and Grothmans as
throwbacks to an era that’s long gone in this state and in the nation, and
illustrate how their petty tirades against the big U are detrimental to all
Wisconsinites.
And one more thought: you really do need some new
faces. Tammy is not going to beat
Tommy. She is the antithesis of “exciting”. She is a workmanlike public servant who has
done good things for her home district for many years, but she’s not going to
beat a dynamo like Tommy, no matter how many times he puts his foot in his
mouth. Oh, and by the way: how many
times has a mayor of Milwaukee been elected Governor in Wisconsin? That would be ZERO point ZERO. Never.
Stop whining that Russ Feingold should have run and been the savior; if
exit polls are to be believed, he wouldn’t have defeated Walker, and I think
Russ knew that – just as he knew, about a month before his last U.S. Senate
election, that Johnson was going to win.
And you might mention to Mark Pocan that he needs to change his message,
too. If he’s going to make diapers for
the striking workers at Palermo Pizza the issue he hangs his hat on, he’s
doomed – for all the reasons above.
Executive summary: stop playing defense constantly, change
your imaging and your messaging on social media, develop a positive platform of
policies to benefit all Wisconsinites, recruit some new faces, and for God’s
sake: get out of Dane County once in a while and listen to what the rest of the
state is talking about.
Altogether a very sensible essay.
ReplyDeleteMeaning that it will NEVER be read by DPW officers.
This is good advice for the National Democrats & Progressives as well. We have to stop letting the other team control the ball (conversation). We must become proactive, stop picking at each other, or we are doomed. Period.
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