Speak, O Mighty Democrats, Speak!

Drew Westen, one of The Lion’s favorite political analysts, writes in the March issue of The American Prospect that the Democrats need to learn to speak politics the way the Neanderthals on the Right speak it.

The deathly penchant that Progressives have for nuance just has to go, and it has to be replaced by language that works in the emotionally real world of politics.

He offers as examples the following statements that Democrats ought to be putting out there to the electorate. Compare these to the mealy-mouthed, sleepy mush that John Kerry offered during his campaign (if you can remember anything  he said).

I want to see the words ‘Made in America’ again.

Millionaires and billionaires should be giving to charity, not getting it.

We stand with the working- and middle-class Americans and the small businesses that create two-thirds of the jobs in this country. They stand with the millionaires and CEOs and big businesses that ship our jobs overseas.

It’s time politicians stopped running for or against government and started running it well.

And for those with the extra lung power…

I want to see the words “Made in America” again. Reclaiming our place as the world’s leader in manufacturing and agriculture isn’t just essential to our economic strength; it’s essential to our national security. Imagine if we had fought World War II without manufacturing plants and American-grown food. It’s time we negotiate trade agreements that lift up American workers, not bring down their pay and benefits to the levels workers in Mexico and China receive. It’s time we stop rewarding companies that ship our jobs overseas, and stop giving tax breaks to companies that shelter their money offshore. It’s time we stop giving money to the big banks that are strangling small businesses, which are the engine of economic growth and job creation. It’s time we manufacture the clean, safe energies of the 21st century, like wind and solar power, so we don’t have to depend on other countries for fuel. We’ve led every technological revolution of the last century, and there’s no reason we can’t lead this one. It’s time we balance free trade with fair trade, so that the working people who contribute to the creation of wealth share in it.

Those all strike The Lion as statements far closer to genuine, strong, and honest American values than the nonsense the Right and its handmaidens in the media keep vomiting forth.

Any guesses about when the timid little Democrats will get enough spine and smarts to say these things and stand up to the Boehnerian loudmouths of greed and sellout?

Not soon, The Lion would wager.

Technorati Tags: Drew Westen, Politics, Economy, The American Prospect, Democrats