Landslide

Dear Friends,

It seems that all the pundits are talking about what a big landslide the Republicans will have in the elections this fall, maybe taking back Congress, etc.  I have a very hard time believing that the Republicans will have some great landslide.  I know that historically the party out of power gains a significant number of seats in Congress in the mid-term elections so the Democrats are at a disadvantage.  I also know that historically when the economy is doing poorly the party out of power gains a significant number of seats in Congress so once again the Democrats are at a disadvantage.

The key Republican strategy should be, and I think is, to force the election to be a referendum on how the country is doing.  Since we are in a very weak recovery from a terrible recession and things are not looking great and unemployment is very high and likely to remain that way, the Republicans should have a very easy time just running against the status quo.

While the crazies seem to have taken control of the Republican party, the Democrats have not yet seized on this opportunity to stop the Republicans from running against the status quo.  At a campaign rally for Senator Reid last week, President Obama spoke about what happens when Republicans govern and made a direct connection between the state of the economy today and what the Republicans did when they were in power.  Unfortunately, as usual President Obama makes a good point once and then shuts up and disappears again.  You cannot overcome the constant barrage of Republican lies and fearmongering with a single speech.  The President needs to create news everyday so the media covers his denouncement of the Republican policies and positions.

The Republicans have made it clear that they support BP and big oil over the environment and a rational energy policy.  The Republicans have made it clear that they support Wall Street over Main Street.  The Republicans have made it clear that a deficit caused by increased spending to help the non-rich and to stimulate the economy must be paid for by cuts in other programs for the non-rich but that tax cuts for the rich do not need to be paid for, they can just increase the deficit.  If President Obama cannot take advantage of these clear Republican positions to give the Democrats a good result in the elections this fall, then frankly he does not deserve to be the President.

I have started a list of things that the President should do to make sure that there is no Republican landslide in the November elections.  I hope that you will add to and otherwise improve my list.

1.  President Obama should not let a day pass that he does not tell the American people at some media event how the Republicans are blocking his efforts to stimulate the economy and create jobs by blocking things like the extension of unemployment benefits.  This effort should include the introduction of a much needed additional stimulus bill which the Republicans will without question fight against.  President Obama must clearly address this obsession that the Republicans have created about the deficit.  It is too high but right now we need to stimulate the economy with spending and deal with the deficit once the economy is moving again. 

2.   President Obama should not let a day pass that he does not tell the American people that deregulation of industry lead directly to the economic collapse and the great recession, the rise of corporations that are too big to fail and that squelch competition, the deaths of thousands of children living near power plants, the deaths of miners in mine accidents, the Deepwater Horizon well blow out and the resulting environmental and economic disasters, etc.  He must then make it clear that Republicans support continued deregulation and that Democrats support reasonable regulation to insure our safety and environment and the stability of our financial system.  A vote for Republicans is a vote for more deregulation.

3.  President Obama must take action to hold his own administration accountable for the problems that have occurred on his watch.  As a start he needs to fire Ken Salazar and replace him with somebody that is not tied to big oil and the ways of the past who will clean house at the Interior Department.  He also needs to signal his intention to make good on his campaign promise that he will bring change to Washington DC.  To do that he needs to fire Rahm Emanuel and replace him with someone who has the vision of a government that works for the people not the politicians and special interests.

4.  President Obama needs to hold members of his own party accountable for their actions.  He should invite Senator Ben Nelson to the White House for coffee and tell him to vote for the extension of unemployment benefits and other critical policies supported by the White House.  President Obama should also make it clear to Senator Nelson that if he fails to do so that Senator Nelson will lose the seniority perqs that he now enjoys and that if Senator Nelson ever considers running for office again, he can be assured of a well funded primary opponent supported by the White House.  President Obama needs to be equally clear with the Blue Dog Democrats.  President Obama lost a chance to have a conversation like this when he supported Senator Lincoln.  If he were going to support her, he should have gotten something for his support.  Unfortunately, his negotiating style seems to be to give something and then sometime later ask for something in return, a rather naive strategy. 

5.  President Obama needs to be honest with the American people and do what he says he is going to do.  Every day President Obama needs to call members of Congress that lie what they really are liars.  Every day President Obama needs to draw the link between the actions of the members of Congress and the impact of those actions on the American people and the impact of those actions on big business and other special interests.  Every day President Obama needs to be clear who is making the political contributions to the politicians from both parties that are casting votes against the American people and for the special interests making the contributions.

6.  Every day President Obama needs to remind the people that the government can and does work for them.  He needs to remind them by showing them what the government is doing for them.  He needs to admit the mistakes the government has made, hold people accountable for those mistakes and replace them with more competent people.  He, as the chief executive officer, needs to make government work.  He needs to tell the American people when the Republicans are blocking his efforts to make government work.  Why don't we ever hear about the hundreds of appointments to important government positions that are being held up by the Republicans?  How can government perform at its best if the Republicans are blocking the appointments to fill important management positions?  Democrats believe that government can be a force for good in a society, and Republicans believe that government is a source of evil.  President Obama needs to make that difference clear and convince the American people that the Democrats have the better position. 

6.  President Obama needs to end the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, bring the troops home and take care of the troops that have served their country so well.  He needs to take all the money that is saved and spend it on stimulating the economy, particularly on infrastructure improvements and green technology and on education.

I am not a political strategist, but I am absolutely certain that if President Obama were to follow my advice, it would be the Democrats that would have a landslide in November, not the Republicans.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal