Stop Waiting for Obama

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/2/101027/8846

Stop Waiting for Obama
by TellerCountyBlue
Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 07:52:09 AM PDT

snip//

Stop waiting for Obama to do the dirty fighting. He is the leader. We are the troops. We are the mean, dirty, nasty, smear-fighting, under the belt counter-punching change that we've been waiting for.

So how do you fight this onslaught?

One thing to remember is that when you are off this board, hanging out with conservatives and moderates on other boards, you are in enemy territory. You need to be on your best behavior. No one approach will succeed with your audience and your style. Find your honest voice and use it. But if your honest voice consists of nothing but insults, swearing, and wild/broad accusation - learn to fake another style.

What works: humor, facts, honesty, personal experience, passion. Some audiences love historical context and comparisons. Not too short; not too long. One liners can raise a question, bring a laugh, or make a point. Very long screeds are rarely read by anyone. Fresh information works - bring some news no one has seen yet.

What does not work: becoming a forum troll. If people perceive you as an unreasoning opponent of their POV you will be blown off and pilloried. Constant swearing. Bitterness. Fear. Desperation. None of these are effective tools.

McCain is not conducting the traditional fear and smear campaign. Frankly, I'm not sure that Obama's campaign realizes that. McCain's negative ads aren't full of minor chords and whispered threats. His is a new line of attack.

Playing Defense: Blunt the attack. One way of doing this is voicing the subtext. Does the McCain ad feature cheering Obama fans? The subtext is that Obama is popular and McCain is not. How do you personify that difference? McCain is Rodney Dangerfield - He gets no respect. Does the McCain ad say that Obama is Moses and takes the Divine seriously? Ask how Huckabee fans feel having their similar faith mocked by a man who left his wife and children to go skirt-chasing. Does the McCain question Obama's leadership? What is the leadership potential of Rodney Dangerfield? And throw your opponents a bone now and then. No one likes a smart-ass that is right all the time.

Playing Offense: I've already given you the key to that. It is the same as playing defense. Take McCain's charges and turn them back on him.

snip//

A picture is worth a thousand words: Show Obama at his best: On the flood line in Quincy, in the chopper with Petraeus, speaking to 200000 in Berlin. Show McCain at his worst. Golf-carting in Kennebunkport. Speaking in front of Schmidts Fudge Haus. Don't say much. Just show the image - in compare and contrast mode. Conservatives are going to reply with scorn - its just photo-ops, empty suits, and means nothing. Don't fight to the death against that charge Smile, nod, and wait for the next opportunity to post a comparison photo-op.

I wish I was better at implementing it.

by H20 Man and intend on spreading it to my e-mail contacts. Every little bit helps. And here's another link from DUer powergirl yesterday that should also go viral.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6579643

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6577868

Muahahahahaaa! :evilgrin:

And by the way...

WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE DEMOCRATS!?!??!/!?


Here's my generic letter and thread from the other day.

Take action!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph ...

WHERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS???!?!??!

I don't care what anyone says: the standards are different for black men. Suppose that Obama gets down and dirty; suppose, even, that he went negative, focusing only on McSame's flip-flops or the issues in general? Can't we realize how the media would spin as something negative, something nefarious??

Can't we understand that the recent charge that Obama is "arrogant" and "presumptuous" are code for "he's the quintessential angry black man?"

He can't do this. He needs effective surrogates--preferably the Democratic leadership--to help him fight against these lies and smears!!

WHERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS?!?!??!??!

out and defending like they should be. Hopefully there will be more now that they're on recess. We have an election to win! :patriot:

We sit here and complain about the Media and make few calls to them or emails.
How many of us write letter to Cafferty or our local news stations?

We keep buying their products when we should do a boycott of CNN and MSNBC other than the KO time slot.

Or,we dismiss Media Thugs by saying.... " I don't waste my time watching CNN etc."
In my brain that does no good. As far as I can tell, enough people are watching FAUX for them not to be concerned in the least that we are not glued to their stations.

Liberal Stalwart!

the Democratic leadership almost daily.

I need the email address for Rachel Maddow because she's been pissing me off here lately but I don't know how to get it.

I've emailed Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann and other talk show radio hosts as well.

We must stop bashing our nominee and take action.

This is OUR election, too, not just Barack Obama's.

Let's get to work...

big picture..thanks. I don't watch n00ze cable or otherwise but I read on DU what the pundits are doing..I hope you get Rachel's email addy.

Maybe this is why it's not available..

"The RNC keeps sending Rachel Maddow email looking for cash"

"The Republican National Committee obviously saw last night’s Democratic Debate as a fundraising opportunity– a big fundraising opportunity. Judging by the no less than SIX fundraising emails they sent to Air America’s Rachel Maddow during the debate, they also saw it as a chance to start framing the race between their candidate and the presumptive Democratic candidate: Barack Obama. That’s right. The RNC even took a break from their Hillary-hate, honed razor-sharp after 16 years, to attribute something Clinton said to Obama. Can you call that progress?"


http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/22/the-rnc-keeps-sending-rachel-maddow-email-looking-for-cash/

make this site work for us in the past. We did not win in 2004 but it was not for not trying. There is so much we can do to help the Obama campaign. If we use our heads.

As in,

"I can understand why you feel that way. I felt that way myself. But then I found..."

In my younger days, I worked for awhile on the sales floor of an appliance store. I remember that "Feel, Felt, Found" was a very effective way of overcoming objections raised by skeptical customers. It honors, rather than belittles, the skeptic, then gives the skeptic a reason to look at things differently.

An example would go something like this:

"I can understand why you might feel Obama lacks experience. I felt that way myself, at first. But then I found that he's actually devoted his entire adult life to public service, from the grassroots on up."

That might be less emotionally satisfying that calling another blogger an idiot, but it also might to help dispel a right-wing talking point in the minds of some readers.

you can win an election based on internet fighting techniques.


Just my opinion. ;)

and use them in real life should the occasion arise?

Seems a pretty obvious suggestion. Strange anyone would take an Eeyore approach to that.

wasn't a war hero, was a terrible member of the military from start to finish, did sell his vote to female lobbyists half his age, did dump his wife of many years for a 24 year old heiress who is a drug fiend, a thief, and a crook.