My Keys to a Permanent Democratic Majority!

We won this election cycle. But the question now is how to make this Democratic congress last 40 years like the last Democratic Congress did? In my opinion the Democratic Party’s strategy should be to keep our Base happy and energized (Liberals, African Americans, and Union members) while expanding into Democratic leaning groups Catholics (both White and Latino’s) and Libertarians (most importantly int the Mountain West). I intend to put forth a list of ideas on how to win these groups and strategies to use in each region of the country. In each region I will outline how to energize the base, win a competitive group, and in some I will give plans on competing amongst new groups of voters.

The Mountain West, the land of opportunity

Talk about "purple mountains majesty"! This is the region of greatest Democratic growth. We are starting to win two groups here, the first are Moderate Libertarians angry at the GOP over spending, loss of civil liberties, religion in politics, and nation building. The second are Latinos who lean Democratic and are growing. Here is my list.

1) Federal subsidies for hunting licenses for poor rural people. The reason so many Libertarians love their guns is because a poor rural person can hunt and bring some food home. Even if your poor and get food stamps it allows a person to feel like they are helping themselves. This is one of the major reasons poor rural folks love their guns so much that many Democrats haven’t grasped. This also will mute any claim that Democratic programs only help urban folk.

2) Instead of letting the Federal government negotiate prices with drug companies for Medicare, outsource the negotiations to the individual States. Most Libertarians don’t fear big as much as they fear big Federal Government. Letting the states negotiate will appeal to Libertarians Federalist instincts and blunt the big government attacks.

3) Improve Latino micro-targeting with Spanish language DVD’s. Democrats should start recording all the anti-immigrant messages that Tom Tancredo, Michael Savage, and company have said, burn them onto DVD’s place Spanish transcripts on them, and mail them to anyone with a Spanish sir name in this area. Destroy the GOP micro-targeting regime.
My sleeper group in the west are Mormons. Yes well will not win a majority of the Mormon vote. But Democrats have done quite well amongst Jewish, and African American, religious folks. We are also competitive amongst religious Catholics so we can win votes amongst the religious.

Every attack a Republican makes against Mitt Romney is an attack on all Mormons ( see how the GOP turned the John Kerry slip into a major story for lesson here). The GOP has taken Mormons for granted is our talking point. Add in the fact that many of the GOP’s base voters think Mormons are a cult. Let’s mail DVD recordings of what James Dobson has said about Mormons over the years. I’m sure the South Carolina GOP will provide plenty of material here during the primary given their history.

Have the Mayor of Salt Lake City give the key note address in the 2008 convention in Denver. Have Harry Reid introduce him first.

North East Blue States, consolidating our hold

1) Target Moderate House Republicans. With a Democratic majority Moderate Republicans greatest selling point will be their ability to work across the isle. So by all means don’t work with them! Every move of Chris Shays should be called partisan (use the John Kerry slip into a major story here). This same tactic should be used against Heather Wilson in New Mexico. The only moderate Democrats should work with in the house are from the Midwest and Florida. Kill all pork from these guys. No more bragging about the bacon they brought home for their districts.

2) Try to induce the club for growth to Target the Maine Senators. I like Collins and Snowe but this is politics. I want them "Lincoln Chaffe’ed"! Every time a Democrat is on TV, they should call these two Liberals not Moderates. Liberal media sources need to plant stories on how much pork these two bring home. Maine Democrats should call conservative talk radio pose as Republicans and scream about these two. If we want to beat them we need to start bloodying them up. Snowe winning Blue Maine, the land of George Mitchell by 70% is an abomination.

The South Will Rise Again (but slowly)

Make rebuilding New Orleans a top priority in the New Congress. This is important to African Americans the heart of the Democratic party in the South, and pleasing the base is part of politics. I would try and place a 1% tax on imports from any Nation not rated a Democracy to pay for the rebuilding. Get Bush to veto. Do this before we borrow the money. Fights over trade help us and rebuilding New Orleans will make us competitive in Louisiana.
Focus tons of National Money on the Florida State Congress Florida is nearly a 50/50 state but due to GOP gerrymandering both the State Houses are 2/3 Republican. This has allowed them to Gerrymander the US house into a 2/3 GOP advantage. We need to use the Colorado example here. Win the State Congress by getting big donors and party activist on the same page. Florida Democrats bury your difference for now, win and then argue.

My sleeper group in the South is Cuban Americans.

Target Conservative Southern Latinos Fidel Castro will be dead soon. This leaves and opening amongst Cuban Americans, to whom opposition to him is a threshold issue. According to Bob Novak, the Democrats lost 100,000 Floridian Cuban Americans between 1996 and 2006 due to the Elian Gonzalez fiasco. These were Latinos who left the GOP in 1996 over the increasingly harsh immigration rhetoric who turned back over this issue. Remember immigration has played differently then other states. Florida Latinos are predominately from two groups. The first are Cuban Americans in South Florida who have a special immigration provision (make it to dry land and you can stay). The second are Puerto Ricans around Orlando who are born Us Citizens. Castro death and the death of communism would mean that Cubans would have no greater right to immigrate to the USA then any other Latino group. Immigration will begin to play a greater role here.
The GOP is going Nationalist again so we need to make them pay with this group. The same is true in Texas. Many Democrats don’t like Jesse Jackson which is fine. But to not duplicate his game plan for registering African American amongst Latinos is stupid. Every 3 Latinos registered is 2 votes for the Dems. I want major money poured into voter registration here. While we are at it lets pick off Henry Bonilla R-TX.

The Midwest, battle ground Central

This is the key battle ground in American politics. As a side note, Karl Rove may have thought he would save the GOP house by winning most of the races competitive races in Ohio. The fact they held so many here shows the importance of organizing in key battle ground states.

1) Target Indiana Every year Democrats compete in every state AROUND Indiana but seem to ignore the Hoosier state? We picked off three GOP house members the Governor is at 38% approval but we didn’t challenge Dick Lugar in the Senate? Democratic Indianapolis is booming, but the rest of the state is hurting economically. Even though I’m not a fan of this tactic we should have a Bob Casey Democrat here, Pro-life but a Fair Trader. I think that under these circumstances we could have at least made the race competitive. Evan Bayh as the VP could cry this state in 2008.

2) Win farmers by pushing for more Federal funding of Bio-Diesel. Bio-Diesel is a winning Democratic issue in rural America, it also can be blended to make heating oil. The heating oil angle hasn’t been pushed much but it could double the Bio-Diesel market. Push this big in Southern Ohio, and Missouri.

3) Win Farmers by making them Wind Farmers! I’m think of Federal grants for windmills. Push this big in Southern Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri.

4) Talk Trade Trade, and more Trade. Do not give Bush fast track trade authorization! While we are at it pass the card check unionization rule. Bush will veto it, but we should let him do this. How will Voinovich and Kit Bond vote on these two issues? (even though he isn’t in the Midwest Arlen Specter is dreading this vote!)

The West Coast

Many people think we are close to maximizing our gains here we have not!
Convince the California Democrats to stop making so many +70% Democratic seats and pick up 3 more. The hardest thing in politics is to convince a safe seat politician to give up a little. As much as I hated Tom Delay he was willing to make his seat in Texas less Republican to help the Texas GOP. If he wasn’t such a corrupt dirt bag he most likely would have held his seat. I wouldn’t suggest we get as greedy as Mr. Delay in Redistricting California (Delays former seat is now too competitive) but I think we could pick up 3 more seat in California if we win the Governors mansion back in 2000 (no more Arnold).
Continue to target upscale GOP districts in Washington and California. The tech heavy college educated population in these districts are increasingly turned off by the GOP southern lead cultural wars. I see at least 2-3 more districts on the west coast that could fit this bill.