Strategy is Goooood

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST

IMPEACH BUSHCO NEXT

I don't understand what's controversial about the 50-state strategy. I saw Governor Dean at a recent event in New York and I agree wholeheartedly that it's time for the Democrats to be as good at winning elections as the Republicans are--only better, since unlike the Republicans, our candidates do a better job once they're in office.

Do you think the Republicans sit around worrying whether their chances at winning elections in the Deep South are jeopardized by their trying to win elections in the Great Lakes region? Do you think they worry about whether paying too much attention to their core regions like the plains hurts them in the so-called swing states? Of course not.

Our country is in the process of being run into the ground, and it's not going to stop unless people in every corner of it wake up and see what's happening. The time to wake them up has been at hand for a few years now. Let's do it.

It is controversial because Rahm Emanuel of the DCCC thinks Dean should give more money to certain states and leave the red states to fend for themselves.

The congress people want to do just a few states, not all. I agree with Dean, we need to build our party everywhere.

It boils down to this: participation politics. We're building an entirely new kind of political party -- one where every single person matters as much as the next, where each one of us has the power to take our future into our own hands.

And where Senators can support Senatorial candidates who side with Bush, even if they run on the Independent ticket.

This is not about the people, this is strictly about the power of the party running the people.

Tell Rahm Emanuel he can stick it. The american people want leadership and change,they want their voices to be heard,dean is leading the pack and we're taking america back.

Here is what the folks in Connecticut are doing to take back America, one state at a time.

I was a little surprised to find out there was controversy over the 50 state strategy. To me it seems real obvious. I thought it was a little shocking that we weren't in all states. No wonder we loose elections! We need to be in every state. We can't leave anyone behind anymore.

You're doing a heck of a job Dr. Dean. And I just voted my opinion with my dollars.

I would be more inspired to contribute if we had a platform. So far, there have been no strong platform statements. Do we plan to try to deal with the health insurance problem (compose some kind of "single payer" program)? Do we plan to deal more effectively with "homeland security," including more common sense in recovering from natural disasters? What is this party going to do? An election must be more than a "hoss race" to get my interest.

Roki,

Go up to Adjenda and see what they have created thus far.

Remember all, it is one thing for the DNC to come out with a platform of what it stands for and on, but another thing to get all of the Congresspeople to climb on board with them.

You have the Landrieus, Lieberman, Nelsons,the Kennedy, the Clinton, the Kerry, etc, all marching to their own tunes, all trying to voice their own adjendas and opinions! This is not as simple a matter as it would appear.

The State of CT has 3 very shaky Republican State Senators right now, and a lot of help and support has been given them. These races in CT are being looked at as 3 potential seats that Dems can take. That is 3 towards the 15 needed to take the house. Concentration must be also on the most likely, the easiest races to take. MoveOn has been a huge help in the Nancy Johnson race with it's ads, plus it leaves our Dem candidate with clean hands in it.

If you are frustrated in your own individual races in your states, just think of what our poor bloggers in Red States went thru the last years, when no one even TRIED to do anything for or with them. No wonder the party is apathetic in those States and have no hope. Kathy in Indiana is finding that there are no people who want to run against Republians there! How sad is that, when you sit as a chairperson on the Party there, and have to watch many races go uncontested.

My bucks per month go to Indiana. That's the way I look at it. We WILL get out of this quagmire of a Government, 'eventually'.

Taking the 50 State Strategy to the Grassroots

My name is David Slavick; I'm a candidate for the PA House in the 109Th Legislative District (Columbia County). I strongly believe in the 50 State Strategy and believe the strategy of "win everywhere" should be applied not only to Congressional Seats but at the lower levels of government as well. Only when we have consistent and strong leadership across all levels of government can we truly show the voters of America what “government done well” looks like.

We need more state senators, more state house members, more county commissioners and more mayors. For example, in Pennsylvania we cannot just focus on those areas where we have historically won, we need to expand our sphere of influence into typically Republican areas. Democratic donors and PAC’s must resist the urge to focus all of their resources on the “sexiest” of the races in the State. We as Democrats must realize that the end goal of gaining a Democratic majority in the State House is our number one priority.

Introduction to the “Rural strategy”

In order to promote Democratic policies in our state legislatures we need to realize that even the rural seats have a vote in the legislature and each seat we win takes us one seat closer to a majority. In an effort to embrace full disclosure I may be biased as I am running in a predominately rural district but I truly believe Democratic donors and PAC’s should consider embracing a new “rural strategy.”

The theory behind the rural strategy is based in the idea that we have a limited amount of resources to put into winning seats around the state and need to maximize our yield in number of seats we can win. Which sounds simple enough but in practice we as Democrats have not been good at embracing this idea.

So you may ask “what does this basic idea about party politics have to do with a rural strategy?”

Republicans have been particularly skilled at realizing the high yield that comes from throwing their money into rural house seats. The Republicans have taken a majority in the PA House by heavily funding candidates in rural seats often saturating the small burghs of Central PA with scores of paid “volunteers.” Though some may not agree with this tactic the fact is that it works. Here is the reason this strategy is so effective, rural races are generally less expensive than those in more urban and suburban districts.

These races are often cheaper for two important reasons: First, broadcast advertising is much cheaper in rural districts. For instance cable broadcasting on Fox News during prime time in a rural district is 15-20% of the cost of advertising in a market like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Additionally, each ad purchased in a rural district is more likely to hit a prospective voter in that same district as opposed to a more urban district where you are forced to purchase ad time that will target viewers from multiple districts. Second, rural races are often cheaper as the overall contribution level of the people in rural district's tends to be much lower. These two factors which lead to a lower overall cost of these rural races results in each extra dollar coming from outside the district having a much higher yield than one given to a contentious race in an urban or suburban area.

In Pennsylvania, and around the country, this is our year to shine as Democrats and it is also our opportunity to win seats we may have never won before and will likely not have the chance to win again. We must seize this opportunity by truly embracing the 50 State Strategy and winning everywhere. If we can have an influx of contributions from Democratic donors from around Pennsylvania going towards taking these rural seats we can take a majority of the seats in the House this year. I encourage you to contribute to rural campaigns so we can promote our values in the General Assembly. Contribute to my campaign by clicking this link.

Or send checks to:

People United for David Slavick
239 East Fifth Street
Berwick, PA 18603

For more information about my campaign go to my web site davidslavick.com

Taking the 50 State Strategy to the Grassroots

My name is David Slavick; I'm a candidate for the PA House in the 109Th Legislative District (Columbia County). I strongly believe in the 50 State Strategy and believe the strategy of "win everywhere" should be applied not only to Congressional Seats but at the lower levels of government as well. Only when we have consistent and strong leadership across all levels of government can we truly show the voters of America what “government done well” looks like.

We need more state senators, more state house members, more county commissioners and more mayors. For example, in Pennsylvania we cannot just focus on those areas where we have historically won, we need to expand our sphere of influence into typically Republican areas. Democratic donors and PAC’s must resist the urge to focus all of their resources on the “sexiest” of the races in the State. We as Democrats must realize that the end goal of gaining a Democratic majority in the State House is our number one priority.

Introduction to the “Rural strategy”

In order to promote Democratic policies in our state legislatures we need to realize that even the rural seats have a vote in the legislature and each seat we win takes us one seat closer to a majority. In an effort to embrace full disclosure I may be biased as I am running in a predominately rural district but I truly believe Democratic donors and PAC’s should consider embracing a new “rural strategy.”

The theory behind the rural strategy is based in the idea that we have a limited amount of resources to put into winning seats around the state and need to maximize our yield in number of seats we can win. Which sounds simple enough but in practice we as Democrats have not been good at embracing this idea.

So you may ask “what does this basic idea about party politics have to do with a rural strategy?”

Republicans have been particularly skilled at realizing the high yield that comes from throwing their money into rural house seats. The Republicans have taken a majority in the PA House by heavily funding candidates in rural seats often saturating the small burghs of Central PA with scores of paid “volunteers.” Though some may not agree with this tactic the fact is that it works. Here is the reason this strategy is so effective, rural races are generally less expensive than those in more urban and suburban districts.

These races are often cheaper for two important reasons: First, broadcast advertising is much cheaper in rural districts. For instance cable broadcasting on Fox News during prime time in a rural district is 15-20% of the cost of advertising in a market like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Additionally, each ad purchased in a rural district is more likely to hit a prospective voter in that same district as opposed to a more urban district where you are forced to purchase ad time that will target viewers from multiple districts. Second, rural races are often cheaper as the overall contribution level of the people in rural district's tends to be much lower. These two factors which lead to a lower overall cost of these rural races results in each extra dollar coming from outside the district having a much higher yield than one given to a contentious race in an urban or suburban area.

In Pennsylvania, and around the country, this is our year to shine as Democrats and it is also our opportunity to win seats we may have never won before and will likely not have the chance to win again. We must seize this opportunity by truly embracing the 50 State Strategy and winning everywhere. If we can have an influx of contributions from Democratic donors from around Pennsylvania going towards taking these rural seats we can take a majority of the seats in the House this year. I encourage you to contribute to rural campaigns so we can promote our values in the General Assembly. Contribute to my campaign by clicking this link.

Or send checks to:

People United for David Slavick
239 East Fifth Street
Berwick, PA 18603

For more information about my campaign go to my web site davidslavick.com

The 50 state strategy will only work if we can get our coalition partners to join in. Many are so committed to incumbents (even though they would prefer to support Democrats ) that eager candidates who want to challenge Republicans can't get support. In South Central Pennsylvania we were able to get a wonderful write in candidate to challenge Rep. Shuster. We staged the successful write in in two weeks with very active grass roots participation in a far flung district with a strong conservative base. We can at least make a good showing in November, but we need to show we are serious. Our candidate Tony Barr, a teacher, is terrific. But his union has to support him and so do other organizations. Don't rule him out because it seems impossible. We have dedicated volunteers who are prepared to go door to door and put up a real fight. Help us to keep Pennsylvania blue and elect a real Democrat from South Central Pa. Tony Barr's campaign can only help our terrific Senatorial candidate's campaign.

I am greatly cheered as I read these DNC statements and the comments in the blog. I am one of "those people" that Republicans would just as soon forget about, or worse, exploit - aged, disabled and poor. I dearly wish I could make a contribution, both to the DNC and locally. I think the "50 state strategy" is right on, and the local one too. After all, how can we even have a party without grass roots support? In this mid-term election we have our best chance to shine!

I've been on this earth for many years and I'm so disapointed in my party (DNC); there is no-one in the House or Senate I trust nor do I have any faith in the powers-to-be to choose nor nominate to lead our party. I've watched and listened to 1,000's of advocates who claim they are for "We The People", yet only one person would ever get my support. And I know that if his name was thrown into the hat, his nomination and election would be a,"shoe-in". PRESIDENT DOBBS (LOU).

I've been on this earth for many years and I'm so disapointed in my party (DNC); there is no-one in the House or Senate I trust nor do I have any faith in the powers-to-be to choose nor nominate to lead our party. I've watched and listened to 1,000's of advocates who claim they are for "We The People", yet only one person would ever get my support. And I know that if his name was thrown into the hat, his nomination and election would be a,"shoe-in". PRESIDENT DOBBS (LOU).

I believe in the DNC, and fear for this country's well-being and future while under Republican control. They have looted the treasury and appear to be abolishing the middle class by their actions. We cannot allow the richest 1% of this nation to govern our land. It is "We The People"; not "We The Government", but actions in the White House decry "We The People", with a resounding "I'm the Decider!". This is no way to run a democracy, in my opinion. We will become a third-world country governed by the elite few at this rate. Please support the DNC in any way you can, and let's end this country's nightmare administration starting from the bottom up. Thank you.