Today, the national Democratic Party really IS the minority party

A fellow Oklahoma blogger [Martin Jensen] has this analysis of where we liberal Democrats need to go from here:

"It's morality, stupid"- Citizens from both ends of the economic spectrum voted against their economic interest on 112.

- Democrats need to define their positions based on clearly stated principles*, rather than a grab bag of issues. These principles should be defined in moral terms more than in logical terms. Everybody has principles they think are worth fighting and even dying for, and people want to know what ours are. Until we can explain them, they will never trust us. Until we can prove to them that they share those principles, they will not vote for us.

Here is Mr. Jensen's proposed list of principles for Democrats:

* Principles (A List to be Modified)- Equal opportunity precedes equality of condition

- Fairness to all

- Free markets must be governed by fair competition

- Investing in success is smarter than spending on failure

- Focus on the best we have to offer

- We can be wise -- get the big picture before you start painting yourself into a corner

- Leverage applied in the right place is more effective than opposition applied just about anywhere else

- Programs that benefit society as a whole should be supported in proportion to an individual's benefit from that society

- Protection of individual liberties is the right and proper role of the judiciary

- The separation of church and state benefits religion more than removing those separations would benefit the state. (Evidence: check out the low rates of church attendance in all those European countries with state-sanctioned and -supported religions.)

- Corporations can survive without welfare programs from the government

And…any principle we don't think we can get a significant majority of the electorate to agree with should be revised -- or stricken from this list.

Mr. Jensen concludes his piece with this reminder that we have to work at winning the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans:

And how much easier would it be to "convert" others to our point of view if we emphasized our shared principles and helped them to see those issues from that perspective? Telling them they're wrong, they're stupid, they're bigoted and they're delusional clearly has not been effective so far.

I said recently that the (Oklahoma) Democratic Party was a majority party that acted like a minority party. Today, the national Democratic Party really IS the minority party. We have to quit trying to defeat them and start trying to win their hearts and minds. We're not going to change the world without changing those voters' consciousness. As well as our own.

For me, a problem with so many left-leaning blogs is the constant name-calling and a childish potty-mouth mentality. Let's leave that to the right wingers (freepers, Little Green Footballs, etc.). We aren't going to win over a majority of Americans by behaving like spiteful children.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Living Poor, Voting Rich

This time Nicholas Kristof has it right: Living Poor, Voting Rich (NYT)

In the aftermath of this civil war that our nation has just fought, one result is clear: the Democratic Party's first priority should be to reconnect with the American heartland.

I'm writing this on tenterhooks on Tuesday, without knowing the election results. But whether John Kerry's supporters are now celebrating or seeking asylum abroad, they should be feeling wretched about the millions of farmers, factory workers and waitresses who ended up voting - utterly against their own interests - for Republican candidates.

One of the Republican Party's major successes over the last few decades has been to persuade many of the working poor to vote for tax breaks for billionaires. Democrats are still effective on bread-and-butter issues like health care, but they come across in much of America as arrogant and out of touch the moment the discussion shifts to values.

What we need to understand is that most Americans are not going to vote on pocketbook issues--even in self-interest. We cannot run campaigns knowing we're going to lose the entire South, Mountain West, and the Plains States. The majority of voters in these states perceive that the Democratic Party disdains their values and their faith.

Sometimes I think it would be enough for Democrats to expose the Republican Party's clay-feet regarding faith: the hypocritical acceptance of pro-death policys while claiming to be pro-life. Republicans mostly support the death penalty and have been consistently pro-war: not as a last resort but as the first choice in international relations. But criticizing these Republican policies does no good if Democrats are promoting the 'inviolable' right to abortion in almost all circumstances. No one believes politicians really value human life if they think abortion is acceptable.

The other issue that kills Democrats' chances: gay rights. At my sons' schools (I'm talking elementary and middle school-age kids here) President Bush was the overwhelming favorite. The common perception is that Senator Kerry supports gay marriage and might even be gay himself. It doesn't matter that this isn't true: if the perception is that widespread, we will lose every time. The question that needs to be asked: how does this perception get that widespread? The so-called liberal media aren't spreading lies about Kerry's sexuality; dastardly Republican party flyers are not circulating hinting that Kerry is 'light in his loafers'--so where does the perception come from? I leave it to you, dear reader, to jump to the only proper conclusion.

So some advice for the Democratic Party: in 2008, don't give us a Hilary or a Dean or a Kucinich. Give us someone consistently pro-life, an active church member that can openly talk about his or her faith--not just the 'do good works' stuff, but how Jesus changes lives, or be prepared to lose again.

And just think, I was planning on getting my American flag out and flying it on Inauguration Day...

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

I Voted for Kerry

and my son Tim helped me.

A song for today: Democracy by Leonard Cohen

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Some advice to Democrats this Election Day

Nicholas von Hoffman discusses the history of election shenanigans and the American tendency to wink at cheating. As he notes, "if baseball is our national pastime, then isn't it interesting how large a part cheating plays in the game?" He concludes his post at the Liberty and Power group blog with this advice for Democrats: Dump the polite wimpy charges of 'unfairness.' Do not let the So-called Liberal Media tell you to 'get over it' when the Republicans attempt to steal the election this time:

In recent times the standard Republican tactic has not been to bring in illegal voters but to try to knock out legal Democratic ones, usually by kicking them off the registration lists or, later, challenging them at the polls, a ploy which holds up lines, makes people wait and forces many, especially those who have to go to work or look after children, to give up the idea of casting a ballot. For such maneuvers the modern Democrats seem to have few answers except bringing in the lawyers, but you can't win the lawyer game against Republicans. With their money and connections they can outlawyer the D's two to one. If that doesn’t work, they can fix the judge. If today were like earlier eras, Democratic campaign workers would buy a bunch of disposable, non-traceable cell phones and distribute them to carefully selected partisans who would call in bomb scares and false fire alarms to disrupt the voting in heavily Republican precincts. You stop our vote, we stop yours.

The modern Democrat doesn't do things like that. He or she is more inclined to find a microphone and complain it is "unfair." Unfair is the most used word in the Democratic political lexicon, even though it simply irritates most people to hear it. Let us hope that on Tuesday and beyond Democrats will not react to Republican shenanigans by shouting "Unfair!" If Democrats want to protect their votes and their rights, they should hit the streets in very large numbers to demonstrate near the polling places and election commission offices where the Republicans do their mischief. The crowds should chant, shout, scream, generally misbehave and absolutely refuse to go away. Intimidation must be met with counter-intimidation, threat with threat, force with force. One of the things that has happened to the Democrats these past years as they have become the sissy soft party of empathy is that the Republicans no longer fear them. In politics, where there is no fear, there is no respect.

So to the barricades, ladies and gentlemen, and don't mind your manners.

Remember the 'Republican riot' to stop the vote counting in Florida? We will not let them get away with it this time!

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Pundit Blogger. Indeed.

I answered seven questions, and found out that I am a pundit blogger:

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few.

What kind of blogger are you?

I wouldn't say I'm appreciated by many; I really only do this for my own amusement. But I was tickled to find a mini-review of Ghost Town Orange by green boy at needlenose.

Here are some more reviews of this usually humble site:

Ghost Town Orange is a perfect beauty, and good as beautiful.--Moralist.

Ghost Town Orange is a most suitable companion for our walks and meditations.--Casuist.

Ghost Town Orange--its wisdom and learning are equally remarkable.--College Club.

Ghost Town Orange--read it, try to parse it, and then set it to music and sing it.--Yankee Teacher.

Ghost Town Orange--the thing we dreamed of, longed for, sighed for, and paid for.--Public at Large.

Actually, I climbed into my time machine and stole these reviews from the first American issue of Punchinello.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Envy

For the first time in my life, I am envious of rock stars.
I ran across Elizabeth D's Daily Kos diary about the rally at Madison, Wisconsin on October 28, 2004. Bruce Springsteen and the Foo Fighters were there! [actually, just Dave Grohl and Chris Shiflett were performing, more below]

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, Kerry Rally, Madison, WI October 28, 2004
According to Barbara D, Dave Grohl said "that the Bush/Cheney campaign had played their music at rallies, and finding they had no good legal way to stop them doing so, they decided to play at Kerry rallies to make their allegiance very clear."
Here is a photo (apparently by Sharon Farmer) I found at the John Kerry Photo Gallery:
John Kerry with the Foo Fighters after 3rd debate in Arizona
My cousin Chris is a member of the band. I haven't seen him for close to 20 years; he was too shy to play his guitar for me back then! [I'll let you in on a secret: The oldest Shiflett brother, Mike, is probably the best musician in the family. A little more info here.] I asked my sons to identify which member of the band was related to us; of course they picked the 2 guys with beards. Wrong answers! Chris is the good-looking guy just to the right of Senator Kerry.

Elizabeth D has posted quite a few good pictures in her diary. Here's one I like:

Get Out The Vote!

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Living stones

Today the hymn Built on the Rock the Church doth Stand really spoke to me. Here are the 3rd and 4th verses:

3. We are God's house of living stones,
Builded for His habitation;
He through baptismal grace us owns
Heirs of His wondrous salvation.
Were we but two His name to tell,
Yet He would deign with us to dwell,
With all His grace and His favor.

4. Now we may gather with our King
E'en in the lowliest dwelling;
Praises to Him we there may bring,
His wondrous mercy forthtelling.
Jesus his grace to us accords;
Spirit and life are all His Words;
His truth does hallow the temple.

(based on Ephesians 2: 19-22)

words by Nicolai F. S. Gruntvig, 1837
translated by Carl Doeving, 1909, alt.
The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

The Long Shadow of Jim Crow

Read The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America [PDF]by the PFAW Foundation and the NAACP.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Guilty Pleasures

Ah, I'm not alone: The Rude Pundit also sees the real heroism of Senator Kerry. [Caution: the Rude Pundit has a potty-mouth.]

And I also enjoy the frequently profane "My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable -- Get Your War On" series...

Click cartoons for larger, more readable versions 

UPDATE

10:18 pm CDT
Alas, the readable cartoons are too wide for Ghost Town Orange...

UPDATE 2

10:49 pm CDT [Blogger is running like iced molasses tonight...]
While I'm posting links to obscenities, how about this one?

October 14, 2004: Three Medford-area schoolteachers Janet Voorhees, Candice Julian, and Tania Tong were ejected from a Bush rally in Central Point, Oregon for wearing these shirts, which Bush event staff called "obscene." 
More from Oregon:

When Vice President Dick Cheney visited Eugene, Oregon on Sept. 17, a 54-Year old woman named Perry Patterson was charged with criminal trespass for blurting the word "No" when Cheney said that George W. Bush has made the world safer.

One day before, Sue Niederer, 55, the mother of a slain American soldier in Iraq was cuffed and arrested for criminal trespass when she interrupted a Laura Bush speech in New Jersey. Both women had tickets to the event.

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Conflicted evangelicals

Finally, someone in the SCLM notices that evangelicals aren't all happy with Mr. Bush. Read Conflicted Evangelicals Could Cost Bush Votes by Peter Wallsten (Los Angeles Times)

An excerpt:

Some of these targeted voters remain conflicted -- torn between their religious convictions on so-called values issues, and concerns typical of suburban moms and dads, such as jobs, healthcare, the Iraq war and the environment.

Some, such as Wendy Skroch, a 51-year-old mother of three who prays regularly at the evangelical Elmbrook Church in this heavily Republican Milwaukee suburb, blame Bush for failing to fix a "broken" healthcare system and for "selling off the environment to the highest bidder."

Others are like Joe Urcavich, pastor of the nondenominational evangelical Green Bay Community Church, where more than 2,000 people worship each Sunday. He is undecided, troubled by the bloodshed in the Middle East.

"It's hard for me to say that Christians should be marching against abortion and carrying signs, and then turn around and giving a pep rally for the war in Iraq without even contemplating that hundreds and hundreds of people are being killed on a regular basis over there," Urcavich said.

"I'm very antiabortion, but the reality is the right to life encompasses a much broader field than just abortion," he added. "If I'm a proponent of life, I have to think about the consequences of not providing prescription drugs to seniors or sending young men off to war."

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

A couple of Bush links

Somehow I don't think George W. Bush would prepare his resume this candidly.

Here is The Nation's 100 Facts and 1 Opinion: The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration (by Judd Legum)

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)

Senator Kerry's long history against terrorists

Senator Kerry has always been my first choice for President this election. I remember his efforts in the 1980s exposing the Nicaraguan contra/US government/cocaine connection, and his efforts to expose the terrorist dealings of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). Senator Kerry has already had more success fighting terrorists than President Bush ever will.

[Note the failure of Mr. Bush to dispatch enough troops in Iraq to secure the known weapon's caches but placing a higher priority on protecting Iraq's oil fields--Scott McClellan confesses at the White House Press gaggle, October 25, 2004:

At the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom there were a number of priorities. It was a priority to make sure that the oil fields were secure, so that there wasn't massive destruction of the oil fields, which we thought would occur.

But it didn't occur to the Bush Administration to secure explosives [Salon.com: subscribe now or get a free day pass!] which terrorists would love to get their evil hands on?]
Iraq's letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the missing explosives: 'theft and looting of governmental installations due to lack of security'
Image from the New York Times, click for a larger view.

Here is a recent article by Robert Parry about Mr. Kerry's courageous role in the Contra/Cocaine investigation [Salon.com: subscribe now or get a free day pass!] including the craven attempts by the SCLM and the Republican Party to sweep the scandal under the carpet.

Read the links!

Father, let me dedicate All this year to you
In whatever earthly state You will have me be
Not from sorrow, pain, or care Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: Glorify Your name.
--from New Year's Hymn by Lawrence Tuttiett, 1864 (alt.)