http://agonist.org/ian_welsh/20070716/when_all_they_understand_is_fear_or_forceThe second example is the "filibuster". In the Senate as it stands right now, if there aren't 60 votes, a bill is "considered" filibustered. But that's a nicety - it's a kindness so that Senators don't have to get out the diapers and the phone books and actually stay on the floor 24/7. What the Republicans have been doing is "filibustering" everything, then turning around and claiming that Democrats are the "do nothing Congress". The response is to make it clear who's holding everything up.
Make them physically filibuster. Choose a very popular bill (say drug reimportation from Canada), put it up straight with nothing else attached, and make them go 24/7. The news cycle will be dominated by the filibuster. Nobody will be talking about anything else but how Republicans are filibustering to make old people pay more for drugs (or whatever other "mom and apple pie" issue you choose.) I would personally put film in the can of old folks talking about how they have to eat dog food to pay for their meds, and start running ads which juxtapose "Old folk in horrible distress" then ask "And what does Senator McCain think of this" and show 15 seconds of him reading from a phone book. Note that you get ready to do ad buys not just because it hammers the message home, but because you know that media coverage may be unfavorable to you and you are prepared to get around the filter - you are not putting yourself at the mercy of other actors - including actors in the media.
There are two ways to deal with bad faith actors; to dealing with people who understand only force. One is to decide you're willing to let them have what they want because you won't pay the cost of opposing them. If they say "I'm going to hit you if you don't give me your wallet" you can say "ok". The second is to escalate. In the words of the Untouchables - if they bring a knife, you bring a gun; if they put one of yours in the hospital, you put one of theirs in the morgue. When people understand only force, you must respond with maximum force. Anything else is taken as weakness and they will walk all over you....more at site
See, this ain't so hard to get--it's too bad the Dems won't get out the big hickory bat instead of the nerf bat.
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