Campaign Memo: The Katrina Spot

The media is full of Katrina recollections and evaluations right now, and by Labor Day, they’ll be gone. Democrats can’t let America forget Katrina.

I say this because those responsible for the unnecessary tragedies in the Gulf, and the sickening fact that they continue, must be held accountable, and must be prevented from endangering more lives. This is a dangerous situation, for the American present and future, and just about all the nation can do at this point is to break the Republican rule of the federal government by electing Democrats to Congress.

So I am going to be unapologetically political here. Each congressional race is different, but there are themes and storylines that unite the Democratic quest to regain Congress. These stories should be part of all campaigns, but they can also be told nationally, as a national effort that supports local candidates.

Those major storylines are Katrina and Iraq, and Democrats demanding accountability. As I wrote last time, the main message is that Republicans control Congress: Republican One Party Rule.

The storylines are that Republican rule is responsible for the ongoing tragedies of Iraq and Katrina. These catastrophes are characterized by lies and corruption, and it is the responsibility of Congress to get explanations, to get facts on what should be done and what will work, and take action.

But with Republican One-Party Rule we haven’t gotten the facts and we won’t. No one is asking questions and demanding answers. Government is broken. It’s time to end Republican rule.

Some pols believe it isn’t advantageous to sound a Democrats v. Republican theme. National polls may not tell us how local races will turn out, but they sure show one thing: the generic Republican candidate is a loser. I believe it is precisely the Democrats v. Republican theme that will work, because voters don’t like how things are going, they can register that disapproval and try to improve things in a fairly low-risk way by electing Democrats to Congress. (It’s low risk because it will mean a divided government, so they aren’t turning over the country entirely to the Democrats, yet.)

Anyway, I illustrate one storyline, Katrina, with this first draft for a TV spot. The writing isn’t polished, I didn’t time it or anything, but I think it’s useful.