ProgressOhio

I agree with the post about the importance of defining change in the upcoming presidential election. If Dems aren't careful, Reps can easily re-define change into something fearful, reckless, and uncertain. Better to just keeps things the way they are than to risk a change from a naive, idealistic, inexperienced "pop star" candidate like Obama, right? Anyway, here are some ideas for owning the dialogue:

1. Changing the way we think about war. Instead of thinking of war as a "necessary evil" re-define it as the ultimate failure of leadership. Highlight the shocking decline of diplomacy in the White House. Superficially speaking, "real men" don't rush other men and women into a war without the utmost preparation and supplies. It's simply immoral.

2. Changing the thinking on torture. A Dispatch reader wrote a letter suggesting that, while torture is terrible, sometimes it has to be done. Dems need to do a reverse Willie Horton on this one. If someone is asked if they'd kill the person who raped and beat their wife in front of them, the answer should be: What I'd LIKE to do hasn't been done since the Spanish Inquisition and it's unlikely I'd find all the instruments I'd need to complete the task. Suggest the idea of public torture "events" similar to what was done in the Middle Ages to define torture as barbaric, backwards, and something a civilized society would never do.

3. Change the thinking of the Bush reign. Link the re-emergence of torture, the reliance on fossil fuels, the back-sliding on food safety, the coal-mining tragedies with what can be labeled a return to the Dark Ages. Remind people that we are indeed in the 21st century, although it certainly doesn't seem like it, from the backward policies of this administration.

4. Change the way we think of CEO's. Republicans love to stress that they are the defenders of capitalism and I really hoped Ron Paul would reveal to people what a load of crap that was/is. The problem is that we expect capitalists to be evil and greedy, so therefore, they have no incentive to act morally. Our country needs to support real capitalists who then will set the standard for others to follow. Dems can champion capitalism practiced by real capitalists versus Reps who favor the shady kind.

5. Change to dialogue on environmentalism. Point out that the original environmentalists were the farmers, hunters, and fishermen who relied on what the land and sea offered them. They are still out there, and they suffer from competition from tax-subsidized mega-farms, loss of hunting grounds, and polluted waters. There are more similarities between them and the often chastised environmentalists than is widely reported. Of course, it's in the best interests of polluting companies to keep these groups in constant battle with each other.

Anyway, just a few ideas on how change can be used to turn things around.