Redstate

I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100 percent.

I've never done anything like it at the campaign or Party level, but I can tell you how to defeat union political/workplace organizing and mobilizing campaigns, and they use the same playbook as the Democrats. Read Saul Alinski's Rules for Radicals and design your playbook for countering them.

You procede from two assumptions: they are acting mostly to get attention, not to get the claimed result, and they can never get enough. Even when they get everything they want, they have to come up with something new to want so they can continue to be relevant. With those assumptions in mind, you let them be themselves. You call all your managers in and just order them not to react, no matter how disgusting the union becomes. Since they're trying to get you to react, they do more and crazier things to try to get you to do something stupid. If you let them be themselves, it doesn't take long for them to do something so crazy that their support falls apart and/or they do something actionable; so you swoop in and fire and discipline a few people (or a lot) and things get real quiet, real fast.

First time I ran this against our largest and noisiest union, when the dust settled there were three fired shop stewards and the union had to fire a business agent; haven't heard a peep from them in five years!

In Vino Veritas

I was thinking more along the lines of advising GOP candidates to dress in pastels on the stump to appeal to the Adam and Steve voter.

Or

Talking about their feelings on the stump, positions on the issues don't matter, just how you feel about the issues.

But of course, that would be too cynical, if that's possible.

Wondering aloud why those poor, stupid, rural people “vote against their economic interests” is not useful. I’ve never met a rural or working class person who doesn’t know that Republicans cater to rich conservatives.

I loved this part. In fact, this represents the mainstream opinion of the liberals I knew in academia. Saying that "it's not useful" isn't going to stop them from believing it: they have a theory: the reason all the hicks from Jesusland vote Republican is because they're trying to strike a blow at the people just beneath them on the socio-economic ladder, and the divisive Republicans help them get mean and do that.

But more to the point, she does what every liberal does: ignores the class interests represented by the movers and shakers in her own party. I have a multimillionaire, Democrat, liberal friend who pays almost zero taxes and doesn't want to pay any taxes. He's a multimillionaire because he's a "minority" and has received enormous government contracts because of his "minority" status. Every time you ride on the Washington DC Metro, you should think of him, because his company supplied the steel to build it. He has a house in the Virgin Islands for the express reason that he doesn't want to pay property taxes on it -- it's a shelter.

The fact is that the Democrats in Congress are wealthier than the Republicans in Congress, by quite a bit. The difference is that the Democrats in Congress want to raise taxes so that *you* have to pay for their programs. They consider it to be charity, as long as they don't have to pay, and they can convince you to pay. It's part of their social contract to not need to pay so long as they're advancing the general principle. I also worked for the Dean of a law school who never paid her taxes on time, and was sheltered up to the top of her forehead. How do I know? I helped her do her taxes (and not pay them.)

Great stuff, this. Makes me laugh.

I am a hawkish warmonger with a crusty demeanour and a heart of steel. But I have a softer side.

I don't think she's ever met a real rural or working class person. But this goes along the same lines as the rich Democrats in D.C. who oppose school vouchers while sending their children to Sidwell Friends.

Not because I attended, but because I know people who did, exactly as you describe. Some day I'll have to tell you about my very wealthy Democrat (other) friend who doesn't belive that poor people need money -- because they have social programs that the Democrats provide -- while jetsetting around the world. It's a really funny story. She has a 10 carat diamond ring that she wears to important philanthropic events in the greater DC area -- you'll know her if you see her, because it's the biggest rock around. Obviously, *she* needs money. Even though she started out in life as a waitress in a diner. Heh.

I am a hawkish warmonger with a crusty demeanour and a heart of steel. But I have a softer side.