Charles Shiflett Column October 10, 2005

Are You A Victim?

Don't tell John Kerry, U.S. Senate candidate Denise Majette, congressional candidate Ricky Crawford, or any
of their fellow Democrats who are running for seats in the state legislature, but I've found a top-secret
chapter from the Democrat election playbook. Democrats may be too liberal for mainstream America, but
they are good at political strategy. I'm excited about sharing this with you so let's jump right in:

"To achieve Democratic victories, at least fifty percent of the population must be convinced that they are
victims and only Democrats understand and will work to take care of them. Voters are more intelligent now
and it's more difficult than it used to be, but by following the steps below John Kerry can be elected President
and Democrats could possibly gain a majority in the U.S. Senate and House.

(1) Identify all potential voters in your state or your legislative district and divide them into small groups so
they can be more easily manipulated. Break them out by race, by age, by gender, by income level, by
education level, by sexual orientation, by occupation, and other identifiable groupings. Any grouping that can
be tagged with "victim status" is fair game.

(2) Identify issues that will appeal to the various groups named above. Don't worry if the issues are not
currently on the minds of voters, we'll fix that later. Some issues like Social Security may have been used
many times in past elections, but that's OK. Those issues are still vital weapons in our arsenal.

(3) Find people from each of the groups we've identified who will agree to help generate publicity for the
issues we plan to use. Work on developing human-interest stories the media will be willing to run with.
Widows, orphans, permanently disabled people, unemployed workers, and senior citizens always tug at the
heartstrings.

(4) Don't get bogged down in proposing solutions. We are identifying and exploiting problems. Speak in
generalities and embellish when necessary. Use statistics from leftwing think tanks. It doesn't matter if 20
million Americans don't have health insurance, we can find an "expert" who will state there are 80 million.
Most media outlets don't have the manpower to check facts and will use yours if you'll supply them with a
press release or research paper from your "expert".

(5) Before you leak a human-interest story, you need to put all of the political machinery in place. For each
issue, develop press releases, TV and radio ads, and direct mail pieces. Have everything ready to go. Find
an organization or advocacy group that supports the position you are taking, or create your own group.

(6) A public rally or protest will draw reporters and TV crews. Have talking points distributed to all those
taking part in the event so if interviewed they can put out the proper spin. Always plant a heart wrenching
example in your crowd… female reporters are drawn to them like flies. There's nothing like a TV news report
showing a "victim" others can identify with.

(7) Have your candidate at the rally so he or she can get a sound bite on the news identifying with people
who have this problem and promising to find a solution. No specifics, just promises. Don't worry about
where the money will come from. If pressed, just say the problem is too important to ignore and we'll have to
find the money somewhere. Quickly shift back to the problem."

Folks, there's much more, but by now you can see these Democrats really have their political machinery
greased up and ready to go, and they're coming for you. The odds are that almost anyone reading this
column could be classified by Democrats as a victim.

To Democrat strategists, the vilest phrase in the English language is "personal responsibility." No matter
what choices you have made in life to get where you are today, Democrats say it's not your fault.

Have rotten teeth? Republicans should have subsidized a toothbrush for you. Are you going bald? Must have
something to do with Republicans depleting the ozone layer. I'm sure you get the point. No matter what your
station in life, there is always someone who earns more, owns more, looks better, or has a better life.

So if you see people with Democrat signs in their yards or Democrat bumper stickers on their cars, just
remember they probably consider themselves to be victims and they want Democrats to use your money to
make them feel better about themselves. I believe they're victims too… victims of a Democrat propaganda
machine that is undermining our nation and creating division among our citizens through class warfare.