Most of the coverage of the recent
NYT/CBS poll focused on Bush's abysmal numbers. Not a lot of attention was paid to some interesting results in the
What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? question.
David Roberts at
Gristmill did a
short post on the environmental numbers, but below the fold I want to play the frame game to show how Democrats can link the environment to other key issues that matter more to average voters, while at the same time energizing the environmental wing of the party.
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The question is
What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?
Nineteen different answers were given excluding "Other" and "Don't Know/Not Applicable. "Environment" got a seemingly paltry 1%. It can be assumed that our core environmental voter and activist bloc is contained in that 1%. It must be sadly noted that "Global Warming" was not listed at all, but that might have boosted the environmental score slightly, and perhaps some of the "Other" voters did have this in mind.
It seems from these results that playing up the environment is not a big winner for the Democrats. But, that's where we need to create an intricate progressive narrative on the issues. I doubt that anyone here really thinks that the "Environment" is a stand alone issue. The environment necessarily encompasses all issues to some degree and a lot of hot button issues especially. The key for Democrats is to tie these issues together.
The most obvious tie in is with the "Heating oil/Gas Crisis" which garnered 14% of those polled, placing it in 3rd place behind "War" and "Other". The oil crisis has clear environmental connections. Democrats need to come out strongly for real sustainable energy initiatives, such as those offered by Energize America here at DKos, or the Senate Democrats own Energy Independence 2020. Bold initiatives such as these need to be hammered upon when Democrats are asked what they would do with control of Congress. This speaks to both to environmentalist activists in our tent and to less eco-friendly voters who want something to be done about the oil crisis.
Once the connection between the environment and the oil crisis is made the connection to "War", which garnered 19% of the vote can be made. A lot of the people most concerned with war are probably looking for competent leadership out of the Iraq debacle, and Democrats should offer that. A lot of those people are also probably worried about a future war with Iran. Either way getting off of oil and being less dependent on a hostile Middle East is essential. Complete energy independence would save us from future mistakes, and this point needs to be made clearly. Democrats need to make it clear that only they can really lead on this issue. Nancy Pelosi's statements a few weeks ago should serve as an example to other Dems in the run-up to November '06.
There are still other tie-ins with the environment. 8% of people think the economy is the most important problem. Well, let's tell them that Democrats have a plan for that too. We need to get off of our current Oil economy and build a sustainable economy out from renewable energy sources. Americans are independent minded innovators by our very nature and sustainable solutions that free us from foreign oil are going to be huge in the coming decades. We need to take a leadership role in developing sustainable technologies for the world. Investing in such technologies would be a huge boost for our economy. Wind energy alone has the potential to create a lot jobs here at home. If our goverment would seriously subsidize the renewable energy sector like it does big oil, nuclear, or even corn then we could make some serious gains.
The final connection is to values voters. Reaching out to them can always be tricky as seen in the blogosphere reaction to Howard Dean talking to the 700 Club. We need to focus on people with our values. People that value equality, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Those are values worth voting for, and I think that most Kossacks are these kinds of value voters.
The key for Democrats is to create an interwoven narrative of what they stand for, and then to actually stand for it when given the chance. Democrats need to become unified behind core principles, like environmental stewardship that unite us and a majority of Americans.
Posted to Daily Kos Environmentalists.