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Finally, I was able to upload a version of my REPLY #1 VIDEO, addressed to Firedoglake at large, and I would be happy to get your feedback.

VIDEO LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzT3Nv-Sdw

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and here was my original comment somewhere in this thread:

I am new here, so I do not know how this community’s protocols work… but i’ve been very active wit grassroots media since Dean campaign. thank you)

—-
rhfactor to JANE at Firedoglake — re BushCo trying to “conclude” these proceedings

Jane, Marcy et al:

They’re already winning the MEDIA WAR — which ultimately supersedes all the annoying little facts that darn left wing brings up.

I don’t know how to encourage this any stronger — but in all seriousness if the good guys on the left don’t reframe the totality of what has been happening for American mainstream audiences (TV WATCHERS) — from GWB43.com to Plame to USApurge to Cheney claiming to not be part of the Executive Branch, then we are ceding the whole game while complaining about BushCo lying cheating stealing abusing power, shredding constitution.

YouTube is not MSNBC or CBS — but it’s a hell of a lot better than what was avail 2 years ago. You and Marcy and Josh Marshall are 3 specific people (talents) who have the ability to CRUNCH this stuff down to bite-sized morsels for mainstream America to digest — and so with with a pleasant presentation style.

That’s critical because swingvoters have long ago already been programmed to view the left as “the angry left” and “they’re just out to get Bush in any way possible”… And the Wurlitzer has then on top of that, planted and reinforced the idea of “bloggers” being extreme people who wear pajamas and type type type and never see the light of day to experience the “real world”… So the mainstream media has marginalized bloggers in a way that compounds the “angry far left” foundational association.

All of that translates, to mainstream America, as “I don’t care what some blog says. I don’t have time for that. I hear they can’t be trusted. They’re not real news people.”

But we here on the left who partici[ate daily in the blogosphere obviously find all that preposterous.

My point for several years, since the Dean campaign, has been “well that’s TOO BAD that it’s preposterous and wrong and highly inaccurate. Because you don’t change a perception by continuing to simply assert “the blogosphere got it all right,we were correct — it was the mainstream media who blew it on the runup to Iraq, on torture, on wiretapping, on and on down the line. It doesn’t matter, effectively, because mainstream America isn’t coming to these “CHANNELS” of content and investigative reporting.

It has been my strong contention that we need to go where THEY are, and use the medium THEY use — and that’s quite simply, TV. And communicate in that medium.

THe beauty of this is: it’s not like you have to develop some new skill. You and Marcy & Firedoglake team PIONEERED this by your standup commentaries during Libby trial.

Those are beautifully accessible and “play” to mainstream, because they are a format the mainstream gets.

Please do not squander these opportunities in time. There are very short expiration dates on the time to influence America.

if Bush pushes out the meme “this whole thing is over”, yet Leahy and others cannot make a clear “mainstream” case for why it is NOT over — and what REALLY has been going on, then it will play out exactly in that predictable way: The public gets jaded by the Dems doing the investigating, they buy inot the mIghty Wurlitzer framing of “much ado about nothing” “no underlying crime” etc, and we get pissed because yet again the Bush Admin gets away with total abuse of power.

It really IS in our hands — not Leahy’s — they are not good at communicating with “the people”. But you are, Marcy is. ANd I hate to say it but it’s up to you two and Josh Marshall and anyone esle who can crunch this stuff down and TELL THEM whta the big picture is, and why it is not as the President portrays it.

All it takes if for you to either work with PTV — or even just use a simple webcam — record your standup pieces — nightly, or 3x a week, then upload them to YouTube — tag them effectively, get C&L to embed your videos, diary at Dkos and embed those videos, same at Firedoglake — and push this stuff out.

Please. The text text text her and throughout the blogosphere informs us beautifully — but it also enrages when the public is still not making heads or tails of it.

my more than 2 cents.

but i do want to footnote it: I put my money where my mouth is a week ago when you asked for contributions. I ponied up $200 – and asked that it be used to establish a FDL YouTube Channel. I’ll help you do it. But it’s YOUR talent and Marcy’s that would instantly make a huge difference.

Thanks very much,

rhfactor

sighhh – we need a media outlet to amplify our message… blogosphere is fine but a wider outlet is definitely needed – now how to get that i dont know – smarter folks on the lake than i must have ideas…i’m weary of setbacks and even more weary of neocon repugs….

You need to listen to, and tell EVERYONE YOU KNOW, about Randi Rhodes, Ed Schulz and Air America.

We HAVE an outlet.

A TV network, is next. *G*

Till then, as RHFactor has posited, FDL and the Bloggers MUST post in a civics minded way, a CONTINUAL STREAM of vidreleases on ALL issues, ALL THE TIME.

Flood YouTube with it, generate it’s OWN CATAGORY!! It’s own meme.

Label it, own it, and SHOUT IT OUT.

MSM will follow. *G*

RH, minute I get a dime, I’ll toss some towards that endeavor and I sure hope, by dawg, a blog takes it and runs with it.

I wanna see Jane, CHS, Marcy, Josh, Digby, Juan Cole, AlfredK (permitting he’s ok with it), Raimondo, and ALL the others EDITORIALIZING on each and every single issue, like Marcy and Jane did in their vid stand ups.

BRING IT ON!!!

This would fall in line with the Open Left site that just opened, and THEIR definition on how blogs can grow and influence in positive ways.

Daily Stand Ups. Take the thugs to task, each, and EVERY, time. Over, and over. Every day.

And, the PEOPLE who read the blogs, link and email the media, day after day, each and every Stand Up. Every one.

Overwhelm the MSM. And at the same time, boycott the MSM sponsors, and NAME them, and BOYCOTT THEM!!!!

Hurt them where it counts. Their sponsors and ad revenue.

It’s simple.

But, it’s not getting done. Why?

Even though they have let us down lately, I’m proud that the Dems stuck in there like they have for the last six years. They were the only think standing between democracy & autarchy.

Not.

They ARE the autocracy.
Autocracy is NOT defined by party.

Only the people can avert this now.

And it will take MILLIONS in the streets, demonstrating, and BOYCOTTING and NOT BUYING stuff, to get the attention of the autocrats.

A month of minimalist living by millions, while it may hurt some businesses who are PART of the people, will get the attention of ‘the corporatists’.

They can’t declare martial law over spending cutbacks on the part of the people.

Do the people have the ‘guts’ to do this?

Sure haven’t proven it to me, yet.

All I see and hear is talk . . . the masses of the people have yet to act.

Till then. Zip. Dems are bad, too. All of them. Party affiliation means NOTHING, to the autocrats.

Harumph.

Censure. I think there are some folks who might consider that word to be weak. What does it say really?? You have to be pretty smart to parse the word and get it’s meaning. It doesn’t work for an emotional word. Impeachment is far more emotional. Censure is an intellectual term. Impeachment has mixed meaning but it’s emotional, because many folks learned it through Nixon and Clinton.

Ollie North was convicted. He became a hero. Americans love rebels and underdogs. We have to fit the narrative that americans love. In my mind the best bet would be to work hard to make a hero out of fitz. He’d make a great underdog. He’s mysterious, he’s patriotic and smart. And those criminals have him on the ropes.

We need to tell that story. And we need to impeach. Why…bigger hub bub. Even if we didn’t win, if it happens the story will be told. And it’s more likely to be told from different angles when it’s told more than once. This is just a journalistic issue. The more you have to tell it, the more you want the scoop and the more willing journalists are to go out of their way for the story.

Furthermore, while Bush is being impeached he cannot pardon. It limits his power. This we need.

It needs to go to the top even if we risk losing because that’s where the emotion is.

Public relations grad, and therapist.

Katie, I concur with it all, good PR, and good therapy to HAVE something to wish and work for!! *G*

I thoroughly enjoy this type of discussion on political tactics- we should, however, keep in mind–WE’RE WINNING. Let’s not steal bad ideas from the losers.

I ALWAYS like your postings and thoughts.

But.

SAY, WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!?

There is growing talk of war with Iran. What will the public reaction be if Bush orders a strike?

THAT’S a discussion I’d like to see.

The first strike(s) will elicit one thing.

Then, what’s the IMMEDIATE blowback on us? What are our losses gonna be?

Then the outrage around the world will build considerably, and THEN a different type of shit will begin to happen.

I’m predicting, our losses immediately and in the long run are gonna rip us up bad.

And THAT, is gonna fracture this country completely. Even Blackwater and martial law won’t be able to hold it together.

And as usual, the worst battles will be fought over resources:

1) Travelways (highways/train tracks/shipping lanes)

2) Water. Likely, water is gonna be THE biggest resource fought over.

Control the water, control the populous.

(reposted from a Digby thread)

But thinking is done with the brain not the gut and we desperately need some leaders who think.

mmmm . . . maybe sorta, but not quite. Yes, we need leaders who think, but woe unto the Politicians and Political Party (I’m looking at you, Democrats) who ignore the importance of the Gut.

The Brain thinks; the Gut decides — the Gut is the Decider.

Seriously –

When people are asked what kind of car they want, their Brain says a fuel efficient hybrid; when the walk into the dealership, their Gut tells them to buy that hybrid crushing SUV. Guess which one they buy?

Of course, now that it costs $100 to fill up the SUV, the pain from their wallet is felt in their Gut, and some of the Gut Deciders are now buying fuel efficient cars.

But the point is still valid — unless the Gut agrees, the Brain can’t tell anyone to do anything.

What I’ve read on this topic indicates that first we fall in love and then we look to the logic and information to find a rationale for making the purchase.

So, who do the electorate fall in love with…a small number of charismatic nice people.

Then, who does the electorate choose to vote for…someone in the first group who doesn’t tick them off with crap ideas, policies, tics, etc.

That gives us nice looking, nice sounding people who don’t scare us and then hopefully someone among those who has better qualities, like intelligence, a vision, a plan, good policies, etc.

There’s hope for a second-tier candidate if the first-tier people fall hard, but it’s not a great chance. Once that first cut (the ‘falling in love’ part) is done that narrows the field considerably.

TexB @ 80

In whose account?

Account? We doan need no steenkin’ account!

Kelly’s Heroe’s!!!! *G*

Was it under the table bribe money for Iraq?

Under the table money for Contractors/Halliburon/Blackhawk?

Or, was it part of the missing billions, being sat on to be soon moved to Abu Dhubai?

How does that amount of money go UNGUARDED by at least an army?

How do only two or three people steal it?

Was it set UP to be stolen? If so, whose money was it, and who was intended to steal it? And why?

-so few answers . . . . .

“The political brain is an emotional brain,” he said. “It prefers conclusions that are emotionally satisfying rather than conclusions that match the data.”

i want BOTH!!! (emotionally satisfying and logically reasoned)

and the dems are giving me neither.

Maybe part of the Republican party strategy is to appeal to both logic and emotion, despite the logic being flawed and the emotion being hysterical anger.

Dems try to use real sound logic, so we can eventually govern well. Repubs don’t worry about governing the way they said they would. They simply lie.

Dems can’t use emotion as well because it seems our electorate becomes scared easily and shy away from emotional candidates. See Biden’s loud speeches for example. He’s smart as a whip, but scary. Remember how we loved Dean, but the electorate thought he was out of control and scary. Same thing.

So, the current Dems are trying to win over voters with real logic and small emotional moments.

I think that’s why Obama won’t wear well. His emotionally charged speeches (not quite Mario Cuomo, but) are perhaps too much.

And, I think it’s why Hilary is resorting to occasional humor to ‘help’ her audience like her. Call it likability, but it’s part of the emotional sell.

I think Edwards has the likability award hands down. But, for him the challenge seems to be in conveying a sense of strong determination to go with his natural leadership. For some reason people don’t always recognize leadership by words & policies. It helps them to see a person like Reagan or even Kennedy who show it in their face and with their language tenor.

On the Republican side I think Giuliani is versatile with language and facial expression, but obviously has a multitude of other problems. He’ll evoke the emotion of disgust.

McCain is evoking humor in a way he never wanted. As his campaign melts he’s being pitied and laughed at.

We have yet to see Thompson in the ring (not really), so I don’t have a clue how he relates to people. He probably just looks down at them and glares. He’s quite tall.

Most senators I’ve noticed are quite soft-spoken (see Harry Reid for example). I guess it’s the ‘not scary’ presence which is required with some of the electorate.