Many main issues put forth by Democrats are of a populist nature; health care, jobs security, worker rights, veterans benefits, safety standards, fair tax code.
However, you're right, Dems need to neutralize populist wedge issues, which means minimizing some traditional liberal views like politically correct secularization, gay marriage, abortion rights and talking down to rural whites whose main issues may be irrational fears of losing their guns, decimation of family values or having their country swamped by illegal aliens.
Tricky business. You can't be everything to everyone, but you can fight for the workingclass. Gore and Kerry both made those top issues, though GW Bush's southern twang and image-distortion (as if GW Bush isn't as elite as they get) blurred the real issues.
Bottomline though, now the biggest issues have become the massive blunder in Iraq (Bush's fault), the gross corruption and incomptence in DC (Bush's fault) and the unfair giveaways to the CEO and billionaire class (Bush's fault). Plus out of control deficit spending and reliance on oil/gas for which we're being gouged unmercifully. So taking on big oil and other interests like that (Bush's best pals) is a winner issue as well. Another winning issue might finally be the environment as global warming is seen as for real now, and contributing to hurricane strength and forest fires.
Keeping it simple though I'd run on competency, honesty and fair common sense solutions. |
