I've read a lot about how Democrats have to learn how to speak to people locally, understand each regional group, learn to speak in a language that can resonate with the voters.
That brought to mind an old folktale I read in the book Jewish Wit and Wisdom edited by the wonderful Nathan Ausubel. Many of the stories in this book are most likely archtypes that can be found in many religions and cultures.
Anyway, the story is on the flip.
There once was a very accomplished rabbi, a brilliant Talmudic scholar, a leader in rabbinic thought. In the days of the diaspora in Eastern Europe (let's say the late 1700's-early 1800's), most Jews were scattered in shtetls, little villages where there weren't large academies of learning -- the Jews were pious but not particularly educated in the niceties of Torah and Talmud.
Well this Rabbi, let's call him Sam, was traveling from his home to a big conference of learned rabbis in a city several hundred miles away. He stopped at a little village with his wife to spend the night, staying at the local inn.
Some of the community members approached him and asked what he did for a living.
"I do cupping," Sam replied. Cupping, of course, was the old method of medicine where you applied leaches to the skin to draw out the "bad blood," much hailed in its day.
So the delegation of villagers stayed awhile and discussed this fascinating topic with Sam, and everyone had a good time.
Afterwards, Sam's wife objected to his conduct.
"Sam! You are one of the most illustrious Talmudic scholars in Europe! How could you lower yourself and say that you did cupping for a living! I am so embarrassed!"
Sam looked at his wife and replied,
"Look at this village, dear. Most of the residents cannot even read, they all work very hard just to put food on the table, yet they are good Jews and do their best to obey the laws and treat each other with dignity. If I had told them I was a Talmudic scholar it would not have meant anything to them. But a cupper! Now that's something they know about and it has value to them. Believe me, I have far more status with them this way."
And his wife was satisfied.
Well I told this story badly, but hopefully well enough to make my point.
The Republicans are trying to paint Democrats as "elite liberals," and the common stereotype is that Democratic contenders are out of touch with the heartland, etc. We see here at Daily Kos how much honesty and straight talking is valued and how little patience we have with Democrats who hew to their Beltway consultants when bringing out their message.
I would like to see Democratic candidates reach back into their memories to a time when they were not politicians -- when they did other jobs (and most of them have). Not as a ploy -- but that they really should remember what their interests and concerns were before they represented anyone and what they wanted their representatives to do for them.
And I'd like to see this reflected in their campaign speeches, in their own words. Doesn't matter if they're in the south, north, east or west -- Americans can sense honesty and straight talking no matter what the anecdote. The one thing we all have in common is we work for a living and have to put food on the table. It's time for Democrats to connect back to that basic fact and show that they are not only politicians, but citizens as well.