I'd think it would be easier to say than it is: "TAX THE RICH!"
But "TAX THE RICH!" seems impossible for our terrified, hide-under-a-rock, wimpish Democrats to say. Instead, what I hear in TV interviews is a muttered, meandering mash of random soft sound that's indistinguishable from background static and is quickly lost under the sharp, explosive blasts of the right-wing's aptly-named bullet points.
Here's what we're up against:
Too many Democrats hesitantly skitter sideways out from under their desks and gently deposit dissolving marshmallows in the mud before turning tail and vanishing under their desks again:
* "We need shared sacrifice." (What does that mean to the man-in-the-street? Political junkies hope it means TAX THE RICH!, but Random Joe on Atlantic Avenue has no idea. This just becomes background noise and is lost.)
* "We have to balance conflicting demands; the responsible thing is to focus on long-run solutions, on entitlement reform, and on revenue enhancement." (Soft, academic muttering that is lost in background noise. And a good thing, too! If voters actually knew what "entitlement reform" meant, they'd be pissed off! Maybe that's why the Democrats use such mealy-mouthed, soft, disappearing phrases? They're afraid of being Democrats! And why are Democrats using the term "entitlement" to refer to Social Security? Why don't they call it "earned benefits"?)
* "Yes, the stimulus was somewhat useful, but we have to find a path from the current short-term stimulative policy into a more balanced trajectory going forwards towards a more long-term focus on exports and blah, blah, blah." (Asleep, yet? Mealy-mouthed enough? Echoing Republican talking points enough?)
In contrast, Republicans use clear, sharp, repeated slogans fired straight between the eyes at the "animal brain" that reacts to fear. They're lies, but their impact is massive:
* Tax cuts create jobs!
* Spending cuts create jobs!
* Only rich people create jobs!
* All government is a failure!
* All government employees are overpaid fools!
* All government spending is wasted!
* All unemployed people are lazy!
* The stimulus failed!
* Protecting the environment kills jobs!
So, while the Republicans are slamming a voter's face and gut with a lead-weighted bat, the Democrats are far in the distance, sitting on a small hill, playing an introverted flute melody of logic and intellectual discourse. It's not working; the only thing the voter pays attention to is the bat!
We need OUR DEMOCRATS to FIRE BACK:
* End the super-low 15% tax rate for the Wall Street fat cats! TAX THE RICH!
* End the billion dollar subsidies for oil companies! TAX THE RICH!
* The top 1% are paying HALF the income tax rate that their employees are paying! End the effective 17% income tax rate for the top 1%! TAX THE RICH!
* End the free ride for spoiled rich kids! The only work they did was pick the right womb to be born in! TAX THE RICH!
* The Wall Street casino-for-the-rich is bleeding the country dry! TAX THE RICH!
* TEN YEARS of Bush's big tax cuts for the super-rich, and we got RECESSION! TAX THE RICH!
* The middle class creates demand, which creates jobs; tax cuts don't! TAX THE RICH!
* Government mans the DoD, the FDA, the CDC, keeping us safe; it created the Internet (ARPAnet); it built the Interstate highways, it runs the FAA. The researchers, the Forest Service, the mailman, the teachers ... they're making much less than if they were stockbrokers, they're serving US. TAX THE RICH!
* "We The People" are the government!
* "We The People" are all Americans; we look out for each other!
* America isn't a playtoy for PAMPERED RICH and their SPOILED KIDS!
TAX THE RICH! MAKE THEM PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE!
(And yes, in response to comments, not all rich are bums, of course! Many of them are willing to contribute to the well-being of America and realize that all of us sink or swim together.)