Massachusetts has become the Texas of the East Coast. In their choice to Vote in a Republican, they have sent a “clear and resounding message” that they intend to become an obstructionist state. They want to stop Health Care reform–at least the reform that exists in the present state.
It is an interesting time, indeed, when a self-proclaimed liberal state would choose to embrace the very politics it has despised for dozens of years. But, I don’t think this is problem with the people of Massachusetts. This is a problem with information.
Those people who voted in their obstructionist couldn’t trust a Democrat politician to be that obstructionist because . . . let’s face it, Democrats are voting party-line, too–even the Blue Dog Democrats, when it comes down to it. And, from all of the information that those voters have about the Health Care reform, it has frightened them that their kids are going to get taxed by this health care bill, that there are all sorts of weird things buried in the bill that no one knows, and they never heard any of the details about it saving the United States money in the long run. They honestly believe that it will increase our long-term debt.
Sound familiar? Well, it should. They are all Republican talking points (the official ones, too). While bloggers may be immune in the same way that a teenager who works in the mall no longer hears the elevator music in the background, those talking points were crafted by Republican strategists with the sole intent of scaring the bejesus out of those swing voters. And, apparently, it worked.
Why do those swing voters genuinely think this could be a reality of the Health Care Bill? Because they only hear sound-bites on television from Republicans. The Party of No has a unified and focused message. And . . . they get air time.
Your job, as a voter, is to make the best decision with the information you have. Can you blame the Massachusetts Independent voters? I voted to block Proposition 8 in California–because with the information I had, it was a terrible, homophobic, religious-based, and unconstitutional piece of legislation. The information I had told me clearly how I had to vote.
But, I read. And, read about it all the time. The typical voter watches the nightly news on a major news network. And, on those major news networks, Republicans are killing Liberals with their message. The air waves are dominated by Conservative Christians, Corporate Protectors, and Right-Wing, Anti-Government extremists. Centrist and liberal Democrats barely get a few seconds to respond–certainly not enough time to lay out their vision for America.
If the information that those Massachusetts voters heard continually says that our President is a selfish man with an agenda and he doesn’t care who he steps on in the process (which is what I frequently hear in the Party of No’s agenda), and there was no information to present the opposite, then I might make the same decision. Unfortunately, the message on the major news networks pretty much sends that stereotype about our President over and over again.
About 15 years ago, I looked into starting a coffee shop in Denver, CO where I was living at the time. They called coffee shops “specialty coffee,” in the industry. Starbucks was just starting to expand, but mostly, there were a handful of cool, independent coffee-shops dotted around cities where you could get a REALLY good cup of joe.
But, the numbers were really quite unbelievable. Specialty coffee accounted for only 3% of the entire market, and the best projects had it expanding to perhaps 11% of the total market in a 10-year projection. 97% of coffee drinkers drank Yuban, Columbia House, and Maxwell House–that rot-gut coffee that comes in a #10 tin can, already stale and reminding me of the coffee my parents made, my grandparents made, my other grandparents made, my childhood neighbors made . . . .
This is exactly what we are dealing with in politics. I love my MSNBC, but Rachel Maddow and other Cable News shows still serve news to only a tiny percentage of people. The bulk of Americans get their information from CBS, ABC, and NBC–and, all of the little newscasters who serve their masters by delivering the evening news. And, their message, whether directly or indirectly is typically conveying or discussing the focused, attack message from the Party of No.
So let’s be clear about this: We (liberals) need a more concise message. It needs to be focused. We need a machine that chops up the Republican lies and shreds them as they come out. We need someone to fight Ann Coulter–a liberal version. Perhaps someone who only says the truth–just non-stop truth to counter her non-stop lies. We need Al Gore to be on the television three times a week (every Sunday, at least)–delivering, in the face of Dick Cheney, our message–the new, concise message.
We need these things because we need access the people who watch network television. Without it, us Liberals and our “lofty-ideals” will always only be specialty coffee.