It happened once, twice; I trust the third time could not charm me more. I have witnessed the power of a gesture, one made without words. I have seen the light that glows when people connect in quiet ways. Now experienced on more than one occasion, I have come to appreciate the peaceful power of consistent communication. I had not fully acknowledged what could be accomplished until I arrived on the scene, alone. Then I saw it. I felt it. I could hardly believe that a single steadfast individual, could convey a message without words, and still receive such a resounding response. Yet, while there, it occurred. I was struck by what had not been apparent for near a decade. The stance of a quiet soul, stated calmly, clearly, and with care, can move more persons than I ever imagined.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) unveiled a hard-hitting new radio ad yesterday in response to CEO-funded attacks on the middle class.
Ellison's radio ad stands up for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would help rebuild the middle class by making it easier for people to form or join unions.
Ellison shows his true colors by standing up for this core progressive value. Here's how he closes the ad:
"Politicians who support the Employee Free Choice Act, like me, want to provide a fairer way for working men and women to rebuild America's middle class. I urge you to support candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act and to reject the lies of those CEOs who want to continue lining their pockets while they keep picking yours."
I generally think Chris Bowers' analyses are spot-on accurate, but there have been a couple of things lately I need to quibble with. One is his dismissal of the possibility of Scott Kleeb winning in Nebraska. I disagree with that strongly, and will do a post as to why sometime very soon. The other is his post on Obama's first general election ad, which is the topic of this piece.
I will start by admitting that I might well have been confused by some of his fundamental points, but rather than just ask him privately about what he meant, I thought it would be worthwhile to go ahead and have an open debate here on OpenLeft. So Chris, if I'm misinterpreting your arguments, feel free to push back at me.
What I found troubling was that many of the phrases Chris referenced as conservative frames were in my view very appealing phrases that have been hijacked by conservatives. Here are the phrases Chris listed as "conservative frame" phrases:
A big thank you to all our sponsors here on the site. All good progressive orgs here this week, and all help keep us up and running for you.
Shout-outs:
-The Obama campaign continues its debate with the Clinton campaign over foreign policy here with their ad. Links to the Obama site where you can see the debate video transcript of Obama discussing his views on talking to foreign leaders.
-AARP is advertising up at the top for the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act, which reauthorizes CHIP (Bush has threatened a veto on this... which has a chance to be overridden) and makes modifications to the 2003 Medicare Act with respect to Rx drugs. Go over and sign the petition. There's a chance we could get this reauthorized over Bush's veto.
-Sen. Durbin, after leading a FANTASTIC discussion here last week on drafting legislation re: national broadband access and discussing net neutrality, asks for suppport for his Fair Elections Now Act, which would get rid of the system of big contributions (and small) and introduce public funding in elections.
A variation of this is on the books in Arizona and Maine already, with a good deal of success. It would be nice to see politicians spending less time fundraising, especially making promises to high-dollar donors and PACs. It would also be nice to not have to see our candidates, with a better message and better on the issues, go down just because they were outspent 2 or 3-1. Sign the petition for clean elections!
-New Progressive Coalition works on connecting funders with innovative progressive organizations. You can look at Mike's original posts on Bloggers and Donors (here and here), and NPC's response for more on the topic.
We've just started here at OpenLeft, and helping us get off the ground is our sponsors. As the site administrator for ads, I'd like to extend a big thank you on behalf of all of us for buying an ad on the site. More than most know, one of the biggest ways to support the progressive netroots is to simply buy an ad. It financially sustains us and helps the organizations who sponsor when you click through and tell people you know about it.
So buy an ad. It keeps us and the orgs in the progressive movement going.
-Working Assets, who are running some great deals on cell phone plans. Your money from buying and using their everyday products, like cell phones and credit cards, goes to your favorite progressive organizations. You even get to vote on which orgs receive the money. Easy way to give.
-Center For A New American Dream is spreading the word about how important it is to buy your food locally. Look for farmers' markets, local co-ops and signs at Whole Foods. Take the pledge to buy 1 lb. a week and you can win a newly designed eco-friendly garden.
-The Carter Gilson Report, a great progressive podcast/blog. Fantastic commentary on just about everything.
STATE BLOGS
