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Hastert Gave the Dems the House, If They Want It

Dennis Hastert Gave the Dems the House, If They Want It


May 23, 2006
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
From: http://buzzflash.com/analysis/06/05/ana06034.html

One of the things that the Republicans understand and the Dem leadership doesn't is staying on message and repeating the message until it is implanted in the heads of voters. Bush, in a rare moment of awkward clarity awhile back, said something like: "My job is to repeat the same message...I've got to catapult the propaganda." (We are not making this up.)

If the Democrats can finally create some message discipline, Dennis Hastert just gave them control of the House of Representatives in the fall election.

In a debate over extending tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, Hastert justified the rip-off of the middle class and poor with these words: "well, folks, if you earn $40,000 a year and have a family of two, you don't pay any taxes. So you probably if you don't pay any taxes, you are not going to get a big tax cut. Now, if you earn $1 million a year, you are going to pay about $400,000 of taxes. Maybe you'll get a $40,000 tax cut ..."

Message to Dems: Take this quote and run on it until the last vote is counted. You've been looking for an opening to the working families who can swing enough districts to retake the House, and Hastert just gave it to you.

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"The Republican Speaker of the House Says Working Families Don't Pay Taxes. Janice Coleman Doesn't Agree With Him, Do You?"

Of course, in this case the name "Janice Coleman" represents the name of any Democratic Congressional candidate in the United States.

The mid-terms have to be a national referendum on one-party Republican power distilled down to a simple message or two.

Hastert -- who the Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin calls "the Marie Antoinette of American politics" -- is leading an anti-working class economic policy. It's time the Democrats countered the Republican demagogic wedge issues like gay marriage, immigration, and flag burning with the economic wollop of the GOP on America's working people.

"Bob Williams, gas station attendant, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives says that you don't pay taxes. Had enough? Vote Democratic."

Message to the Democratic poobahs with all the campaign cash: Don't get sidetracked, don't get distracted, don't get sucked into peripheral issues with no voter traction. Fire the losing consultants and let Hastert give you back the House.

He already has. You just need to use his own words to remove him and the GOP from running Congress.

"Hey, Marie [shown as a waitress, serving a ham and eggs breakfast], do you pay taxes? The Republican Speaker of the House says that you don't. He thinks only the wealthy need a tax break. Do you agree with him? Vote Democratic, because we know how it is to stand in your shoes. [shot of waitress taking off her shoes and rubbing her heels]"

It's a simple and winning message.

Hastert, who's fond of food and whose family owned a famous chicken farm and restaurant in suburban Chicago, just gave the Dems a Thanksgiving turkey on a platter, with all the trimmings. Will the Democratic leaders look a gift horse in the mouth, again?

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
From: http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Content

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