For to long we have allowed the right to take a condescending approach to us. From Reagan's famous "There you go again" to the more recent claims that changes from Clinton to Bush were "Letting the grown ups" take over.
We need to reframe the debate in simple terms. Rather than come up with a list of talking points or ideas, we need an umbrella that all of our ideas fall under. What separated us from them. It exists, because we all know when we read a decision what side we are on, without having to consult the oracle of DailyKos, and yet we all generally come to the same conclusions.
So what is that simple difference? We are Ants, and they are Grasshoppers.
You all have heard the story, the grasshopper celebrates all day, while the ant works hard and plans. When winter comes, the grasshopper starves, while the ants flourish.
Now let's translate it to the issues.
The Deficit - Republicans borrow now, leave the debt to the next generation.
The Environment- The Republicans serve the short term goals of big buisnesses like Enron, but there short sighted policies leave nothing for the future. If we use all of our resources now, we will have nothing later. If we don't address environmental issues, we will eventually have to deal with the consequences.
The War on Terror - The Republicans burned all of the bridges with our allies, forcing us to go alone with more of the world angry with us. We have had prisoners at Gitmo for five years, but no one in the Administration has any idea what to do with them, because they never thought about it before they acted.
The War in Iraq - Republicans rushed in without thinking about a plan to get out, because they never consider the long term. They rushed in blindly with no plan for the peace, and now years later, the only solutions they have are to stay the course.
Katrina - There was no plan, no organization, no forethought, in the agency they created, Homeland Security, or from the person they appointed to head, Michael Brown, who had no experience other than being a friend of the President. Wasn't Ken Lay a friend of the president?
Politics - Republicans run attack ads that divide us, because they only care about getting elected. You can tell that is all they care about because when they do get elected they don't do anything.
I could go on, (and you should in comments) but it comes down to the same talking point I want to hear over and over.
Republicans act on impulses like children, while Democrats plan for the future. They are the Grasshoppers, we are the ants.