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Let's face it. We live in a market-based world where everything seems to be treated as if it's up for sale. Political parties, whether they want to or not, have to "sell" themselves and their positions to voters. After all, we are asking those voters to be motivated to go to a polling place on a Tuesday and cast a vote for a Democrat who has promised them all sorts of things.
We Democrats in Virginia have a product to "sell," as well. I'm assuming that the product we are trying to sell is government that works for the average American, not just for the wealthy elite; government that protects ordinary citizens from the tyranny of the powerful; government that puts the environment and real people above court-mandated corporate "persons."
If we Democrats are going to market our party to voters, we should be able to tell people, concisely and clearly, exactly what we believe in and what we want government to do.
Recent history certainly has shown that the Democratic Party of Virginia needs to learn to market itself to the Commonwealth's citizens. It must communicate in clear, unequivocal language. It's time to stop talking vague policy and arcane procedure to the voters and start talking principle. Then, those principles must be translated into a legislative and executive agenda that can be presented to voters.
How else do we think we will ever get those first-time and presidential-election-only voters to realize that they are vital to bringing progressive change to Virginia and that we need then for every election. They need to be sold on the idea that their self-interest is at stake in local and statewide elections, not just national ones.
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