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August 14, 2005
Democrats Have Moral Authority to Speak for American Families
Framing expert Dr. Jeffery Feldman has a very interesting analysis of Cindy Sheehan's accomplishments at his Frame Shop website. He feels that her valiant quest has forced the media and the public to see the issue of the Iraq War through a frame of "family" rather than a frame of "terrorism." In so doing, continues Feldman, Sheehan has made it possible for the Democratic Party to reclaim "the moral authority to speak for the American family." Democrats really are the ones who stand for keeping families together, and this fact resonates not only in Iraq War issues, but also in many state and local issues facing us right now.
Dr. Feldman contrasts the moral authority of the Democrats on family issues to the cynical manipulation of them by Republicans. Although he begins with the example of Sheehan's family perspective on war, Feldman's conclusions touch on the battle that we will be fighting here in Texas against HJR6. Read Feldman's words below, paying special attention to paragraph 4:
The implications of this shift from 'terrorism' to 'family' in the country's thinking about Iraq are profound. Not only does this shift forewarn a political tidal wave soon to break on the President's foreign policy, but also of a much deeper, tectonic shift in the strategy beneath all the recent gains in the Republican party.
The great success of Cindy Sheehan's protest, therefore, is no less than the moral authority for the Democratic Party to speak for the American family.
In other words, there are now two very clear claims on the American family at the heart of politics, and the claim by the anti-War Democrats has so much momentum that it has already forced every single Republican candidate running for office to rethink their strategies for the next few years.
At the heart of the Republican claim to speak for the family is a very narrow idea of marriage, and a reactionary nervousness about 'the culture' as a cause for social problems in America. For the Republicans, the key to translating this claim into political gains has been a broad scale effort to use state legislators to strip homosexuals of the full rights and privileges of American citizenship.
In Feldman's words, the Democratic Party is rebuilding its "moral authority to speak for the American family." The Democratic Party stands for keeping families together, whether they be families with military members or families with gay members, or both. The Republican Party tears families apart with lies for political gain, lies that whip up fears about nonexistent threats, including lies about nonexistent threats to marriage.
Again, quoting Feldman, the Republicans are translating these fears into political gain with their "broad scale effort to use state legislators to strip homosexuals of the full rights and privileges of American citizenship." Thus, we can say that HJR6 is the Texas Republicans' cynical attempt to strip same sex couples of the full rights and privileges of American citizenship.
Or better yet, HJR6 is the Texas Republicans' cynical attempt to strip some of our friends and family members of the full rights and privileges of American citizenship.
Democrats stand for keeping families together, anchored on our nation's foundation of equal rights: we stand for FAMILY, FAIRNESS, and FREEDOM. In contrast, Republicans stand for tearing families apart and denying equal rights: they stand for LIES, FEAR, and BIGOTRY.
The Democratic Party can rightfully claim to be the party of true family values, and the first ingredient of "family" is the right to choose one's partner for a loving, committed relationship. Other upcoming state and local issues will reinforce that Democrats stand for protecting families and keeping them prosperous and safe: school finance, fair taxes, health care, and cleaning up pollution, to name a few.
Posted by at August 14, 2005 07:41 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Noble sentiments, and yes Sheehan has given the DEmocratic Party the chance to take the high ground vis a vis family values. That said, to put gay rights in the context of keeping families intact and using as a lynchpin for your argument that the first ingredient of "family" is the right to choose one's partner for a loving
committed relationship" gives you about as much chance of prevailing on the issue as selling ice to Eskimos. All it does is reinforce the unfortunate view of most Repub trolls and used to be Democrats that the Democrats are still the captives of the gays, Michael Moore, the spics (see my last name), the blacks, and the lefty crazies.You might more fruitfully tie it to a consttutional and God given right to protest, especially against something morally reprehensible, like Sheehan is doing; just as it is equally morally reprehensible that gays should not share equal rights under the law as good lawabiding Amurikans. It's a tough sell,but I wish you well, and about the best I can do off the cuff. Don't get me wrong I'll pray for your success, but I'm also a realist and unfortunately you've got to beat the thugs at their own game in this still great state.
Posted by: John Martinez at August 15, 2005 02:16 AM
Thanks for the input, John. It is good to see things from different perspectives. Building on Dr. Feldman's frame, though, is the idea that Democrats have the moral authority to speak for families. Democrats have that authority precisely because they do rely on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in calling for equal rights and fairness in all sorts of issues that touch families. Does this not fit with your observation that it is morally reprehensible that "gays should not share equal rights under the law as good lawabiding Amurikans"? How should we communicate this to "Repub trolls and used to be Democrats" who think "that the Democrats are still the captives of the gays, Michael Moore, the spics (see my last name), the blacks, and the lefty crazies"?
Posted by: Marguerite Reed at August 15, 2005 04:30 PM