HOW TO DEBATE A CONSERVATIVE: A GUIDE FOR TODAY'S DEMOCRATS


ECONOMY

----- Talk about the economy using "facts and figures."

----- Talk about the overall size of Bush's proposed tax cut.

----- Describe how repealing the estate tax protects America's
wealthiest families.

----- Talk about the economy without bringing up 9/11.

----- Recall how Bill Clinton produced balanced budgets in the late
1990s.


BUDGET 

----- Remind people that conservatives want to make painful cuts in
vital government services.

----- Talk about the deficit without bringing up 9/11.


SOCIAL SECURITY

----- Remind people that the financial services industry has been
embroiled in scandal and corruption.

----- Note that money contributed to private accounts will "go into
the hands of greedy Wall Street fat cats."

----- Point out that proponents of Social Security privatization "lack
factual discipline." 

----- Tell people that the push to privatize Social Security is about
partisan politics.


ENERGY

----- Tell people what ANWR stands for.

----- Say, "We should rely on American ingenuity and not the Saudi
Royal Family."

----- Talk about how drilling for oil harms the environment.

----- Always say "Drilling for oil"; Never say "Exploring for energy."

----- Give specific examples of safety and security problems at
nuclear power plants.


PATIENTS' RIGHTS

----- When talking about trial lawyers don't use words like "creeps,
bottom-feeds, overpaid and evil." 

----- Say, "When innocent people who are injured seek compensation
from those who cause their injuries it's anything but frivolous. When
a preventable careless medical error forces a child into a wheelchair
for the rest of his life, it's anything but frivolous. And when
someone close to you suffers due to doctor negligence, their right to
a day in court is anything but frivolous."

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