Several members attending the GBVD meeting in December agreed that Democrats do a poor job of issue framing.\u00a0 Conservative (dare I say rabid?) Talk Radio does not seem to have this difficulty, at least for a significant minority of potential voters.\u00a0 The problem Dems have seems to stem from an overwhelming desire to present a lengthy explanation in a severely analytical style.\u00a0 This is my personal style of communicating.\u00a0 I can tell you it causes big problems at home when talking to my wife.\u00a0 Bernie Sanders\u2019 recent day long Senate speech easily out-did anything I ever attempted, however!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Below is an attempt to describe an issue and frame a condensed, emotionally charged version of that issue.\u00a0\u00a0If a majority of you agree that this resonates with you, maybe this will jump start our ability to frame our key concerns for the country in a way independents will relate to.\u00a0 I\u2019ll start out with the complaints the media keeps harping on:\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0 Government waste and dithering<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0 Joblessness – and low pay<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0 Schools underperforming \/ property tax too high<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0 Greed and corruption in the private sector<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0 Representatives pay no attention to us<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0 Unions are just unreasonable; want benefits without performance<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0 The Governor cuts services while piling on debt<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford compulsory health insurance \u2013 I\u2019m not sick<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0 Government caters to the rich and influential \u2013 throw the bums out<\/p>\n
10. War, Climate, China, Nafta, Morals, (anxiety, fear & disgust)\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is also this common complaint, \u201cI don\u2019t have time to figure out what\u2019s happening in government.\u00a0 Why doesn\u2019t someone explain it factually without mud slinging?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This last item, prompted by negative campaign advertising, may hold a clue for how we proceed.\u00a0 To do this, brevity is essential but trust must be established first. Trust could be established if voters felt the communicators were decent, involved well meaning neighbors of there\u2019s. We have to provide an alternative to \u201cI don\u2019t like how things are going.\u00a0 I\u2019m voting the bums out!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Problem is, modern life is not simple.\u00a0 Black and White clarity only comes with imminent catastrophe. False simplistic pronouncements are a hallmark of demagogues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I feel that history\u2019s most famous demagogue succeeded because of a populace full of fear and a feeling of abuse by outsiders.\u00a0 It seems we may be in one of those times now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take each on of the ten items above –\u00a0 I\u2019ll state what I feel is the lengthy answer then try to condense it:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0 Government waste and dithering\u00a0<\/p>\n
Waste comes from 3 sources:\u00a0 ineptness\/rushing, deal making\/compromise, unthinking expansion.\u00a0 Dithering is often a lack of proactive leadership. Human nature defaults to putting on band-aids to avoid hard work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We should not let waste be defined as something that truly helps those we do not know.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>2.\u00a0\u00a0 Joblessness – and low pay\u00a0<\/p>\n Unemployment is serious, leads to anxiety and bad decisions.\u00a0 Many seem to feel that it\u2019s the government\u2019s fault and the President (or Governor) can fix it if he tried. \u00a0Serious unemployment is a side effect of capitalism. That\u2019s not to say other forms of government avoid it.\u00a0 The wrenching changes emanating from the rapid globalization juggernaut magnifies it.\u00a0 It will take government awhile, at minimum, to catch up. It will take international cooperation to address it effectively.\u00a0 Human nature makes trusting \u2018The Other\u2019 very hard.\u00a0 Government regulation is the only balance available to capitalism, but many distrust our awkward, inefficient and understaffed regulatory systems. The United States has just gone through a long period of deregulation.\u00a0 It was not functioning extremely well when we had it.\u00a0 Economists are poor at including human nature in their analysis and suggested fixes. We let greed go unnoticed and unchecked.\u00a0 Like most group human endeavors, errors take years to see a problem really corrected.\u00a0 Memory is short.<\/p>\n Regulation is difficult and awkward.\u00a0 Do you now see how essential it is?\u00a0<\/p>\n Good regulation requires intelligent constant tweaking.\u00a0 Citizens must apply themselves.\u00a0 Lawyers need a leash called \u2018Simplify!\u2019\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0 Schools underperforming \/ property tax too high\u00a0<\/p>\n Like maintenance on the family car, neglect can cause more expense in the long run. Our system makes it easier to fund an elaborate facility than to agree on how to improve education.\u00a0 Architects and construction crews hiring is easier than ferreting out weak points in pupil performance improvement. That requires daily monitoring.\u00a0 Teachers fear the whimsy of the state and exaggerate the \u2018slippery slope\u2019 danger.\u00a0 Childless residents abhor being taxed for those they do not know.\u00a0 Voters dislike all legislators except the one they happen to know.\u00a0<\/p>\n The price of freedom is eternal diligence, not just vigilance.\u00a0 Change is constant.\u00a0 Controlling it to our advantage requires understanding.\u00a0 Education breeds understanding.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0 Greed and corruption in the private sector\u00a0<\/p>\n The legislative framework governing corporations is ancient.\u00a0 Corporations are designed to maximize the equity of the stockholders.\u00a0 Government grants charters to corporations and can rescind them.\u00a0 You cannot expect this framework to encourage egalitarian behavior. That\u2019s why our forefathers required a corporate charter, granted by the State.\u00a0 Everyone should know you balance capitalism with regulation.\u00a0 In modern times here in the US, we increasingly find our economic mobility requires federal \u2013 not just state \u2013 regulation. Globalization presents us with the problem of control across nation\u2019s borders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s a couple of the Ten Commandments that cover this.\u00a0 Christians would do well to heed them.\u00a0 Would not hurt to encourage other religions to practice them as well.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Globalization will not stop.\u00a0 It decreases military action as a first resort. It requires a new way of governing.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0 Representatives pay no attention to us\u00a0<\/p>\n A common complaint; as if our representatives should call on us individually. That wasn\u2019t easy even in colonial times. The system is designed to have the representative use his best judgment, then stand or fall on the result. They usually don\u2019t mind a little discussion and guidance.\u00a0 But what representatives often hear from voters is a totally discordant cacophony. What\u2019s required is for citizens to make an attempt to first agree among themselves, then contact their representative.\u00a0 \u00a0Don\u2019t just call your representative.\u00a0 Get to know him.\u00a0 They say, \u201cWalk a mile in the other guy\u2019s shoes.\u201d because it helps you understand. When you offer to help a representative you often get attention and lasting appreciation.\u00a0 It\u2019s a representative democracy, stupid.\u00a0 <\/em>So,<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Work with your representative \u2013 not just \u2018on\u2019 him.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0\u00a0 Unions are just unreasonable; want benefits without performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unions are like a temporary regulatory body applying balance directly to their dynamic situation. When the equal balance gets out of whack, bad things happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n The answer is not to throw away all the balance wheels, it is \u2013 rebalance them.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 7.\u00a0\u00a0 The Governor cuts services while piling on debt\u00a0<\/p>\n When Governor Patrick, facing an economic tsunami in 2008, tried to reach out to every county to explain the problem and converse with citizens on the best course of action, he was mostly ignored \u2013 except by those who stayed in touch with their representatives regularly.\u00a0 Some towns turned out a hundred to confer. Some only eight (like mine). Later, many voters tried to blame him for the actions he had to take. As he often says, \u201cI\u2019m just the Governor, not a King!\u201d Citizens need to understand \u2013<\/p>\n \u2018We must influence the legislature. That\u2019s our system\u2019.\u00a0 <\/em>(England came to understand that first).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 8.\u00a0\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford compulsory health insurance \u2013 I\u2019m not sick\u00a0<\/p>\n Health care has improved dramatically since the 1960\u2019s and so has the cost. The only way to make it affordable is through mass participation and regulatory leverage.<\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t we out protesting driver\u2019s licenses and insurance <\/em>(<\/em>or the Federal Income Tax?)Because they make sense and protect us.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0\u00a0 Government caters to the rich and influential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Yeah, why not? They speak with one voice mostly and contribute big money.<\/em><\/p>\n Throw the bums out \u2013 That leaves the staffers and lobbyists – concentrates the negatives<\/em><\/p>\n 10. War, Climate, China, NAFTA, Morals, (anxiety, fear & disgust)\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe if we apply ourselves to cleaning up close by, we will know how to fan out and start cleaning up bigger messes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several members attending the GBVD meeting in December agreed that Democrats do a poor job of issue framing.\u00a0 Conservative (dare I say rabid?) Talk Radio does not seem to have this difficulty, at least for a significant minority of potential … Continue reading