General Discussion

You get the rest of my unused valentines.

This is the kind of thinking we need.

Similarly I have suggested that Dems should develop a "National Conversation" (give it any name you like) program that brings together prominent, trusted, thoughtful people from all across our society. Certainly not just partisan Dems and liberals, and certainly not just politicians. But people who will talk honestly about where we are as a society and where we need to be going. I think this could be a very popular program if it happened, say once a month or even 4 times a year -- a regular enough schedule that people would follow it.

I'd like ti see it covered by the legacy media as well as streaming/podcasting/all of the above. It could be organized by a respected group like the League of Women Voters.

Politicians tend to be followers, so it should not be dominated by politicians. But certainly all the past Presidents, VPs and prominent national leaders should be invited in the rotation. It should include people like Cher, Dolly, Beyonce, and many more from the entertainment world. It could include Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and other successful business people who could lend expertise on practical economics. There are many thoughtful people in sports, such as Lebron James, Steve Kerr and many others. Some great thinkers like Neil deGrasse Tyson. Authors like Stephen King. Late night hosts. Many more. The common element is no lunatics, and no spewing of talking points. They would need to have an honest dialogue, acknowledging pros and cons of each others' positions, showing respect for the intelligence of the American people.

I really think this could become a must-see program if packaged and presented smartly. And this is the kind of program that could drive news cycles. The legacy media could spend the following week with "The other evening, we heard Mary Barra of GM say ... and people have been talking about what Brad Pitt and Pete Buttigieg had to say about that. We'll take a further look ..."

The key thing with both of these ideas is for Democrats to take the initiative and not just sit silently while the Republicans burn everything to the ground.