8 points we need the American people to get straight

ILLUSTRATED: There are some myths Democrats need to correct in the public's mind. Each of us needs to change our friends' and associates' minds. Don't wait for some entity known as "the party" to do it.
Myth #1: The concept of a Public Trust is anti-business. That's not what we're saying, free enterprise is good. But unregulated free enterprise leads to a tragedy of the commons, like too many cows grazing on one field. Labor regulations and Environmental regulations are meant to preserve our greatest resources, people and nature, so no business can simply expoilt them for itself.
Myth #2: The Public Trust is code for infringing on personal freedoms. That's not true either. One person cannot unreasonably endanger the rest of the public or interfere with public policy.
Myth #3: Defense experts are all hawks. Readers of this blog know I am hot on Democrats getting Naitonal Security cred. Defense experts care about the military and are knowledgeable about the defense structure and war policies. But that does not mean a defense expert supports any war policy,... or that someone who supports a war knows what they are talking about.
I'm not asking Democrats to be hawks or doves, just to know what they are talking about when it comes to military issues.
Myth #4: Government Health Care is inefficient and Anti Business. Folks, we REALLY need to reeducate the public on this one.
-Private health insurance runs about 25% overhead, when the government is about 3%.
-All businesses' bottom lines would be improved by reducing health costs with a bigger risk pool. That is what is killing GM and Ford, in addition to mom-'n-pops.
-When explaining health insurance, remind people it is just gambling. Insurance companies are betting that they will never spend on you what you are paying in. There is no efficiency by adding in a profit motive.
Myth #5: The Nature of the UN-Iraq vote. In the so called "war vote", apparently some lawmakers "voted for the war" or "against the war". We need to get this straight.
-This was a Constitutional War Powers vote. Congress and the President share war powers. The President said (falsely) that Iraq had a WMD program that was advanced, and asked for a free hand to work with the UN in the Iraq matter. The UN may authorize force.
No one can say with a straight face that had any Democratic lawmaker been president, that (s)he would have screwed up diplomacy and reconstruction in every possible way, much less misled the American people.
-While all Democrats must claim the holding of the vote was a mistake, let's not fester our anger on them. Blaming a legislator for the executive branch screwing up a policy is like blaming Ted Kennedy for Bush screwing up No Child Left Behind.
Myth #6: We got a tax cut. Every tax cut we get is a tax increase for the next generation with interest. Most readers of this blog understand that the GOP is really trying to run down the government. But the people don't want that. The lower and middle classes will be stuck with higher local and state taxes. And with these deficits, we have higher interest rates, which is Wall Street's tax.
-Ask you conservative friends, "Since Bush hasn't vetoed a single bill, which do you prefer, more taxes, or IOUs to the Chinese and Saudi governments?"
Myth #7: Judicial Activism. If anything, this means judges overturning laws passed by Congress. In the last 11 years, it was the conservatives who voted to overturn the most laws, Thomas, Rhenquist, and Scalia. Clinton's appointees, Ginsberg and Breyer, voted the LEAST. Conservatives have an agenda.
Myth #8: That the so called “Property Rights” agenda is the best thing for free enterprise. It's not. One theory of politics, that I think is about 2/3 correct, is that liberalism is rooted in human rights, and conservatism is rooted in property rights. One fallacy of the Right is that unfettered property rights are the best thing for free enterprise. Monopolized control local land, the airwaves, and capital is an impediment to truly free commerce. Not to mention, property rights does not include the right to pollute your land, air, or abuse workers. This is bad for free enterprise and bad public policy.

The Coming Age of the Political Entrepreneur

ILLUSTATED: Treat the people at early meetups like they are $50,000 fundraisers.
The Age of the Party Boss ended after the 1968 elections. Until then, local and state party chairs will held a lot of sway in presidential elections as well as at the local level.
Then Senator George McGovern changed the rules in the Democratic Presidential nominating process. The power went to the people in primaries. The GOP process followed suit. How you got to the people was through television, as well as direct mail. The parties were relatively weakened. But media costs money. Thus from 1972 to 2000 was the Age of the Fundraiser. Fat Cats were the kings and queens in the electoral process.
But the internet changed the way Money, Media, and Momentum is raised. House parties, outdoor tabling, and grassroots speaker's bureaus will be the keys to how campaigns spread their messages community by community. These grassroots leaders will start meeting in meetups and party functions one year from now. I call these people Political Entrepreneurs.
They (I think that includes most readers of this blog) are what Party Bosses and Fat Cats used to be.
The 2008 campaign will be very crowded, each party will field its best field of candidates ever. That's a lot of noise. The noise will start in November 2006 and grow over the following 15 months.
Political Entrepreneurs will be essential to breaking through the noise America will see on TV and on the internet. Each campaign will need one in each community. 2008 candiates would do well to identify these grassroots leaders in 2006.

Two Issues for 2006...and their caveats

ILLUSTRATED: Intelligent Design and a Call for a good faith pull-out.
Intelligent Design- Even the conservative columnist George Will fears that Intelligent Design might split the post 1980 GOP coalition of libertarians and religious conservatives. Does anyone think that at elite private high schools and wealthy public high schools, kids will be learning that stuff in AP Biology? I doubt it. Intelligent Design and creationism are perfectly good subjects in school...in a class on comparative religion, not science. So grassroots activists, here's our soundbite: "Elite high schools will not teach kids intelligent design in science class, no school should. Kids should learn it in Sunday School or a comparative religion class."
Iraq Pullout- The Iraq mess is ultimately a political problem, terrorism is just a political tactic. America wins if the Sunnis realize they have more to gain through the democratic process than by fighting. We need to earn their trust with an act of good faith. Our soundbite is: "The best way to boost our political credibility in Iraq, is a modest reduction of 20,000 troops. It will strengthen our hand with the Sunni population since they will be more trusting and likely to join the new political system."

WARNING:
Churches- For those in urban and suburban areas, we cannot get branded as an anti-church party. We may criticize the right-wing political agendas of some religious leaders, but do not criticize Christianity, churches, or organized religion per se.
Earlier today, I heard from one woman in a rural California county. Where she lives, the infrastructure for government services is very thin. Same goes for the non-profit sector. Churches are providing essential services for her community. Churches feed dozens of families, read to children, and care for the elderly. In short, churches are the backbone of her community, don't criticize them. She is trying to build the Democratic base there.

Defense- It has taken a while, but the country is finally coming around to realizing that national security policy making is very intellectual, not merely a posture of bravado. Hence, George W. Bush is unfit to be Commander in Chief.
But wait. We must be clear that some things are worth fighting for, and that Democrats will not hesitate to use force when needed. Strength and Smarts are not mutually exclusive, we must be both, like John F. Kennedy.

Murtha's Charge (and an Iraq proposal All Democrats can support)

ILLUSTRATED: We in the grassroots must raise the policy debate in our local media.
There are many posts on this blog (as well as talking points on the right hand side) imploring Democrats to bone up on National Security. I hope John Murtha's charge will give all Democrats the cover they need to start challenging the Administration, as an opposition party must do. We at the grassroots level need to engage our local media, (neighborhood rags and call-in shows) to really generate a policy debate beyond "No war, bring them home vs. Support the fight against Terror".
As I wrote on June 30, we still have a moral obligation and geopolitical imperative to try our very best to create an Iraq with internal security as well as the working civil service that any functioning democracy needs. As of today, I am still going to wait for the elections in four weeks before giving up all hope.
There seem to be Dems who want a timetable/benchmarks, and those who still want to make democracy work. One proposal for ALL DEMOCRATS is to advocate a small drawdown after the elections. It might weaken us in military firepower, but it would strengthen us in political credibility. The latter being more important in quelling an insurgency. The Sunnis need to feel that they have more to gain by political cooperation, than by holding out in their fighting. A clear message that we intend to leave will be a big step into gaining the Sunnis' trust.

It's the Public Interest stupid

ILLUSTRATED: We need to brand the government as the instrument of the Public Interest
Getting the concept of "public interest" into the electorate's mind is central to our success in the next few years. We need to present a set of values and objectives to the voters, and then explain that governemnt is there to enforce and protect those interests. Property rights (indeed a very important virtue) is a pillar of conservatism. We must explain how to keep our property rights in check with the public interest.
Katrina has just about every anecdote we need to illustrate. 1) it is in the public's interest to maintain wetlands and not let development erode. 2) government must have the logistical capability to respond to catastrophies and not outsource these missions to churches and big box stores. 3) It is in the public's interest to provide the bootstraps out of poverty. etc...
"Public Interest" should be one of the Democrats' buzz words.

Veterans' Day, a reminder for Democrats

ILLUSTRATED: Our party's culture needs to be welcoming of veterans and the military community.
Last night I had the privilege of speaking to the California Young Democrats retreat about military service and the Democratic Party. I followed FDR's three B's of public speaking: be short, be sincere, be seated.
What I said was that while we have been branded as the party dispassionate and incompetent on military matters, the ethos of take care of your people and don't leave anyone behind dovetails perfectly with our party. But the reality is there are some elements in our ranks who hate the military as an institution. Regardless of the merits of any war policy or budget priorities.
I told them, it is incumbent upon us to create a culture that is welcoming to vets and defense minded people. At club meetings and central committee meetings, we need to change the atmosphere to be more inclusive, and our candidates need to speak out more for the military.

GOTV truism

This quote may be from a Republican, but it applies to us at the polls, at central commitee meetings, at town halls, etc.
"The world is run by those who show up," said Ron Nehring, vice chairman of the California Republican Party.
By the way, reports are half of the votes will be absentee. Those votes are already banked, so targetted door-to-door is all the more critical.