Posted on 03/18/2011 7:41:13 AM PDT by Libloather
Democrats argue party failing to humanize cuts, losing message war
By Mike Lillis - 03/18/11 06:00 AM ET
A growing chorus of Democratic loyalists argue their party is losing the messaging battle over spending by failing to put a human face on cuts proposed by the GOP.
Instead of shining the spotlight on the programs slashed and the people affected, Democrats have let the debate revolve around the cumulative size of the cuts, the critics charge. That attention to an arbitrary figure and not the underlying programs on the chopping block has spun the debate into a fight over numbers that lacks a human element.
Its a strategy, the critics warn, that gives Republicans a definitive upper hand as lawmakers joust over how to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year.
The challenge for House Democrats is to make the case that programs that are popular and important are being harmed by a bunch of budget-cutting that is reckless, said former Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), now with the lobbying firm of Alston & Bird.
They have to make it specific and relevant to people, and I dont think theyve achieved that objective yet. Up to this point, I dont think they have been clear about what their objections are.
Bob Beckel, a Democratic analyst for Fox News, agreed.
When it comes to budgets and numbers, Republicans own that issue, they have for a long time, he said. Were not going to win the fight on numbers. Were going to win it on what government means, and what it means to people, and how Republicans dont care what it means.
If you expose what [Republicans] have done, as opposed to numbers, then you expose what this whole things about, which is a bunch of fringe right-wingers, said Beckel, a longtime veteran of Democratic campaigns. Thats whats missing in this debate, and thats where Obama needs to pick up the slack.
Beckel slammed Republicans for targeting a sliver of the federal budget non-defense discretionary spending that includes a number of programs benefiting low- and middle-income Americans. Meanwhile, the programs posing the most significant threat to the nations fiscal health including Medicare have been left alone, he noted. Its a distinction the Democrats havent trumpeted loudly enough, Beckel said.
When you let the Republicans seem like these big budget cutters when they go after the weakest, most vulnerable people, and you dont call them on it youre giving them ground that they have no right to be walking on, he said. They are morally bankrupt on that, so why give it to them?
At issue is how to fund the government through September. Pressured by conservatives, House Republican leaders have offered $61 billion in cuts before October. They say the cuts are needed immediately because federal spending has encroached on private enterprise and hindered job creation. They havent budged from their proposal to slash $61 billion this year.
Democrats, meanwhile, say cutting too much too soon will threaten a fragile economy still recovering from the recent recession. Theyve agreed to roughly $10 billion in cuts this year, but have shown little interest in going further.
Faced with the stalemate, Congress this week passed a three-week stopgap bill including $6 billion in cuts designed to give lawmakers more time to hash out a long-term deal. It follows on the heels of a two-week extension, including $4 billion in cuts, enacted earlier in the month.
Its not that the Democrats havent tried to elevate the debate beyond the numbers. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this week that the size of the cuts matters much less than the programs and people theyll affect.
If middle ground is to say that 6 million seniors who are home-bound will no longer receive Meals on Wheels but we can just compromise at 3 million I dont think thats an appropriate debate, Pelosi said.
We can cut in a way that does not undermine our values," she added. "Its not about money, its about the morality of what we are doing.
Pelosi, who voted against both short-term spending bills this month, said Democrats would be open to deficit-reduction strategies outlined by both the White House deficit commission and the Government Accountability Office, which released a report this month identifying billions of dollars in redundant government spending.
Still, aside from proposals to cut oil subsidies and funding for a pair of Alaskan bridges, Pelosi and the Democrats havent outlined what specific cuts theyd prefer as alternatives to the GOPs plan.
Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami declined to identify what areas shes eyeing specifically, saying the California Democrat doesnt want to negotiate through the press.
Democratic observers said party leaders should refocus their strategy to highlight how the GOP cuts would affect one or two well-liked programs.
You cant defend 50 programs at once, Pomeroy said. They have to find an illustrative cut thats absolutely outrageous, and help the public understand this is very bad policy and its reflective of what a lot of the cuts represent.
Beckel suggested that Head Start, a popular supplemental education and nutrition program for low-income kids, would fit the bill. Republicans have proposed to cut the program by more than $1 billion this year, eliminating hundreds of thousands of kids from the program.
Thats real people, thats real stuff, Beckel said. Its not a Michele Bachmann rally someplace.
Beckel said the Democrats should be willing to let the government shut down before capitulating to the Republicans current proposal. You cant just destroy Head Start because a bunch of Tea Party people campaigned on $100 billion [in cuts], he said. The hell with em.
I think they'll find the public not nearly as easily suckered this time.
They may even be angry enough to resent being manipulated with pictures of deadbeats who don't pay taxes and who've been gaming the system for decades now.
Quick! Find someone to pretend they will die without NPR!
Welfare queens living in luxury and leisure should be trotted out as a counter example...
You nailed it. The libs have overplayed the boo-hoo card. When there are Americans barely scraping by and working any job they can get just to survive, it’s going to be hard to gin up much sympathy for higher taxes, failed programs, and corrupt bureaucracies. In other words, the Left’s business-as-usual.
The pity well done run dry.
$14 trillion in debt.
I don’t think sob stories about grandma not being able to afford dentures are going to cut it anymore...
Notice they do nothing to humanize the bill PAYER.
To tell them the truth IMHO I think Americans are fed up with the sob stories they keep trotting out.Most people know whenyou soend too much you have to cutback or go bankrupt and lose all,it’s a pretty simple thing to understand.Cuts hurt and some nights while you may want a steak instead you get beans anbd rice or worse nothing.You live through it and tomorrow is another day.They are losing the message because people are awake and paying attention and don’t really care about the sob stories anymore they want action and are adult enough to understand it will hurt.
Guess the cowboy poet didn’t work.
One of the Cowboy Poets presenters is the daughter of Michael Martin Murphy, of “Wildfire” fame. I would think Michael could afford to sponsor the competition.
But, HOW CAN THIS BE!!??? Isn’t it ALWAYS for the CHIRRUN?? And aren’t women and minorities ALWAYS hardest hit??? And doesn’t the left owned/controlled/populated media ALWAYS report just this way!!??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.