[Superman]

Very good question. It seems to me that the Republican party has in past years, probably couple of decades at least, kicked the Democratic party's butt up one side of this nation and down the other when it comes to marketing its policies. Now, being a liberal thinker myself I would LOVE to see my party take the battle back to the other guys. I'd like very much for Kerry or somebody to outline what our thinking it, and why. Support that with some evidence, historial, statistical, whatever. There are a great many people who are liberal thinkers. We think we understand what can make an economy strong, and we have got some fairly good econometric data showing somewhat conclusively that the economic policies of democratic administrations have resulted in the periods of good economic health, and also showing the Republicans' policies, led by tax cuts for investors and businesses, is convenient for those entities but not for the nation's overall financial and economic health.

I would expect that a successful or at least compelling platform can be built around stuff like health care, social security and other specific issues. Crises, is more like it. But this thread is indeed interesting because I have been frustrated for years that the Democratic party has allowed the Republican party to kick its ass in this area, and it is particularly irksome to me how the Republicans have stolen our thunder. Buzzwords like "family" and "freedom" are like cardboard faces placed on the ugly monsters of comporate welfare and intrusion into people's private lives. Heck, the conservatives want to regulate people and their private lives (abortion, gay marriage, patriot act) and reduce regulation on business. How'd they steal the "family" and "freedom" thunder?