strategies
[I suspect these memos were actually written by The Note, another in their endless series of inside jokes, but they’re still pretty illuminating.]
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238
REPUBLICAN MEMO:
To: the Honorable Karl C. Rove From: [name redacted] Date: 1/25/2006 Re: Strong and Right
Seems pretty simple - no metaphors required:
Faith, family, and freedom. Keep you safer. Lower taxes and less government. Reform, reform, reform. Some Democrats have a pre-9/11 mindset. Howard Dean, John Kerry, Michael Moore.
DEMOCRATIC MEMO:
To: The Honorable Senator Schumer and The Honorable Congressman Emanuel From: Sosnik, Lockhart, and Fabiani Date: 1/25/06 Re: The State of the Party is . . . weak (and wrong)
As The Bus - the heart and soul of the Steel City - gets ready to rumble over the Seahawks (Note: two Blue State teams in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row!), the Democratic Party is in need of a playbook.
So we offer just such a playbook for you, the Democratic Party’s “Buses” for you, Sen. Schumer, in your capacity as chair of the DSCC, and Rep. Emanuel, for you in your role as chair of the DCCC.
But this playbook won’t do you any good if the members of our party don’t have the discipline to stick to it. (We’ve Noticed that in spite of your best efforts, discipline among the Democrats has proved elusive in recent weeks.)
Our playbook is fairly simple, but it’s also hard - hard like converting in the red zone (only we’re talking about Red States). The playbook reads like this: For the 2006 cycle, we need to start by playing tough, hard-hitting defense that will force some turnovers - and when that’s done, we need to turn right around and score on offense.
What does that mean in English? Essentially, we, as Democrats, need to stop talking about nationalizing the election and actually do it. Here’s how:
Keep Bush’s approval rating inside of the low 40’s: First, appreciate that Bush is the face and image of the Republican Party nationally. Then, realize that to have a shot at winning back seats in states and districts where there are significant built-in Republicans advantages, we need to push his numbers to the low 40’s. (High 30’s is preferable but harder to do.) Remember, if Bush gets close to 50 we will have a 2006 that will look an awful lot like 2002.
Sack Bush’s numbers by gang-tackling him where he is weakest - his veracity/character/refusal to be straight with the American people: We don’t win when we get into debates most suited for Fletcher School of Diplomacy seminars. But we do win when we hit Bush on not being honest - on WMD, CIA agents, Katrina, and more. When we do that, we prevent him from crafting a clean message. For example: We were winning on Iraq when we went after Bush’s lies about the situation on the ground - but we lost our edge when we became bogged down with whether troops should leave; when they should leave; how they should leave; and whether we were winning or losing. The fact is, voters are receptive to the honesty message. On any issue, our message needs to be: “Bush is not being straight on ___________, just like he hasn’t been straight with us on everything else.”
Recognize that Bush’s strategic play since September of 2000 is very simple: keeping America safe: Bush has a simple game plan and we all know what it is. Virtually every day when he is not on vacation, he goes out and pounds the keeping-America-safe message like he is playing Whack-a-mole at the carnival. This is a strong message and we need to recognize that we cannot engage on issues like wire tapping, where we discuss the details of the Fourth Amendment, while he talks about doing all he can to keep America safe. We may win this debate in the salons of Harvard Law School or a booth in Café Deluxe, but we lose everywhere else - especially in the exurbs the columnists and (apparently) our party have just discovered.
Most importantly, stay on the offensive:
First, implement a relentless defensive blitz: The best offense is a tenacious defense. This means putting out news, doing events, staying on message about Bush’s challenges on being straight. Every day there is an opportunity (like the recent Katrina memos), and we need to take advantage. Let’s keep Bush off-balance, off-message and hitting the one button that we know drives down his votes.
Second, attack where Bush is weak on national security: Recognizing that Bush wants to play on national security doesn’t mean following the 2002 playbook and rolling over - it means undermining Bush on veracity and pivoting to Iran, North Korea, and OBL. As people who spend time in focus groups in Columbus, the Quad Cities, Albuquerque, and elsewhere, we know that the American people do not like the idea that the guy who took our people hostage in Iran now is arming himself with nuclear weapons. Swing voters don’t like that the last member of the Axis of Evil, North Korea, will soon look to feed itself by hocking off a nuke to any Middle Eastern charity that cashes in some of its construction company stocks. And these swing voters don’t understand why we’re still looking for OBL. [And for those who want to discuss Iraq, here’s the recipe: start by saying Bush hasn’t been straight; follow that with a “we need to win for the men and women on the ground”; and end by Noting that it is impossible to win while Bush is still President because he lies. Pretty please - let’s not discuss probable cause or exit strategy ever again.]
Third, pound the ball on the ground by showing that it is Democrats who will stand up for the truth and move us forward: Let’s stand for something that actually matters to people in a way that will brand the party as truly being the party of reform for the middle class. We need to appreciate that we are not in power and have no obligation to put out proposals that can be immediately implemented. Let’s keep it simple and identify three truly BIG ideas that will communicate to voters that we actually want to do something to make their lives better. Here is a halftime snack of a pu-pu platter of ideas to choose from: let’s have tax reform that eliminates taxes for those making $50,000 or less and reduce forms to one page (front and back); let’s clean up Congress by putting in place actual term limits; let’s immediately impose sanctions on Iran and keep all options on the table; let’s have an energy plan that makes the U.S. independent from the Middle East in ten years; let’s have a sin tax on the porn industry that pays for college for every kid in America that gets a B average; let’s create a string of high tech universities and colleges to meet the challenges of the flat world; let’s establish a national 401(k) (thanks, Gene).
Finally, let’s show our commitment to the importance of faith in public life by praying for additional Republican incumbent retirements. Because without more of those, we will remain the minority party, no matter what happens.
This is the playbook. Now go follow it!