Why settle for "can" when you have a more active word in "will"?

Reservation is for the weak, and "can" is a very reserved word.

Americans want strength, stability, and the knowledge that tomorrow will be today only shinier.

"Together, America WILL do better."

It's a promise.  It projects strength.

Christ.  Can't the Dem leadership cut the bullshit and the hemming and hawwing long enough to use a direct, active word in a sentence?

I hate to be a second-guesser, but this slogan blows.  "Do better"?  I could have donme better cleaning my stove the other day.  How about something that tells voters who fucked up?  How about dusting off the old chestnut, "Had Enough"?

Screw "together," while we're at it.  Go 50 states, yes ... but I'm not pandering one inch to the religioso goobers who trundled into their church vans last November and put this scum with legs back in office.  "Want Decent Healthcare? Vote Democratic."  "Had Enough? Crush the GOP Crooks."  "No More War Dead -- No More GOP."

Democrats Do It Better

This one has been around for a while.

hate it.

we need a real message- not this canned stuff.

Lakoff's idea- or just the product of too many cooks?

"Together" and "we" convey the message that Dems are on America's side.

It can convey that America hasn't done better under the Republicans. It also allows Democrats to flesh the message out by reminding people that the 1990s rocked, when the Big Dog was pres, and many Democratic criticisms of the GOP and Dubya fall in nicely under that slogan (e.g. corruption, federal deficit, etc.) The proposed slogans look forward without forgetting where we have been and where we are now.

It's short, simple, and sounds like a really good tag line at the end of an ad. It's something that every Dem candidate can put in ther campaign lit. It'll unify the Dems in a very broad way, but with the Dems, this might actually be an improvement, lol.

When voters hear "we can do better," they'll think, "well, okay. IA that we can do better, but how?" That's where the Dem platform comes in.

"Together" also allows down the ticket candidates to use that slogan, too. I can see this being used down the ticket to the office of dog catcher. We'll get lots of repetition, which is crucial in an environment with such diversified media.

The slogan also works, because the vast majority thinks that America is going in the wrong direction. It taps into what Americans are feeling about the GOP-controlled government.

Now, I'm not saying that this is the best slogan that the Dems could come up with, but there are many reasons to be for it. Don't just look at the slogan at face value. Think about what concepts it communicates and how it taps into the American psyche.

Wimpy words like can and better and together should be among the first ones excluded.

I have no idea why we need a slogan this early. The dynamics of fall 2006 are still unclear. Criticizing the GOP will never get us anywhere. I hoped we learned that last fall. The opinions of this president and administration are locked in and no one is thrilled. But until we present a definitive alternative our election results will never match the unease with Bush, or the generic Democratic/Republican congressional percentages.

The consistently overwhelming and significant number is the right track/wrong track percentage. I would have thought an early slogan would try to focus and capitalize on that, using the specific terms.

"Better" solely focuses on how Democrats are IN RELATION TO REPUBLICANS, rather than addressing Democrats' merits on their own. It claims to nothing more than "least worst" status and supports that frequent assertion that the Dems are just hoping to benefit from the GOP's miseries without taking strong stands themselves. We need a more affirmative and optimistic slogan. Something about being for the people, or using all of our resources to meet modern challenges. People can figure out that we think we'd do "better."

a comma --- in a slogan?? "together [pause] ..." and the audience is gone, thinking about something else.

i just posted something similar, here. but here's what i'm thinking. yea, comparing us to republicans is dumb. it's the whole republican-lite thing again. we should show that we don't NEED republicans anymore to run this country, because we do it so freakin well.

a better slogan would IMPLY how republicans love their power and politics, while democrats want solutions. efficient government. smart government. it would stress our independence from politics -- and its corruption -- by emphasizing how dems want answers, statistics, information, etc to find the best solutions out there. republicans, on the other hand, want power and all its trappings.

something like "a brighter future??" could stress a "better" future and a smarter gov. the best and the brightest, rather than the worst and the wealthiest.

i dunno ... something like that at least???

How does the new slogan stack up against GOP strategist Frank Luntz's "Republican Playbook 2006"?

http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/001185.php#1185

http://realitique.blogspot.com/2005/03/luntzing-toward-bethlehem.html

Their slogan was "We Try Harder"
They were number 2 behind Hertz and were implying they would treat you better because they wanted to become number 1.

I hate the two proposed slogans. Together, we can do better sounds like we weren't doing so well before but we'll do better next time.

America can do better sounds like when you don't like your daughter's boyfriend and you tell her that she can do better. Thus the slogan implies that America can do better than the Dems.

1992's slogan seemed to work.....
"Put People First...for a Change!"

or something like that....

The sense of relief after 12 years of Reagan/Bush would have to be as great now...and the message about putting people first has to ring as true, IMHO.

http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/ClintonPuttingPeopleFirst92.jpg

Dean has been saying this since he became DNC chairman and Democrats of all stripes need to pick it up

"Republicans can't govern"

it is a perfect frame for EVERYTHING-
from Failures of economy , iraq to Karina and Plame affair.

it flies in the face of the Republican frame that
"Democrats have no ideas"

the subtext is that we have been listening to Repubican 'ideas" for the last few years and ideas are not worth the paper they are written on if you aren't capable of governing . of actually making the government work or making sure that we don't get into a war because of lies.. that we can actually make government protect and serve people.

proposals:

"Putting people first"

"The Democratic Party - the party of the people"

Messes Since 1933

We'll see how this goes.  I'm sure it's been tested, so it will  probably work.  

But, I prefer slogans that draw on two metaphors: [unity] as [standing together] and [time] as [money].  Something like

America can't afford to waste any more time.
For our children.
For our future:
It's time to Stand Together Again

 (Long version with sloga at the end.)

For god's sake think outside your gated mind!!!
To regurgitate such a slogan and think all will be good? How about American Responsibility or The New Moral Path? I do not pretend to have "the know", but to repackage, come on folks.

And frequently have when it comes to slogans.  This is better Building a Bridge to the 21st century.

It is somewhat reminiscent of Labor's message during Blair's first campaign.

"Let's get back on track."
"Let's bring democracy back to Washington"

Democrats seem to be surrounded by silence. But here are a few suggestions that feel better as they escape one's mouth.

Making government work for all Americans

The Democratic Party: Making work work for working Americans

(not inclusive enough, but still catchy)

For all the reasons posted above.

My humble suggestions:

Republicans can't govern. Together, we can get back on the right track.

This brings uo the point that over two thirds of this country thinks we are on the wrong track, and that we are in this together while mixing in all the cronyism, incompetence and lying that are going on.

How about WILL do better. Trying is not good enough!

I really don't like either one but if they replaced can with will, it is at least tolerable

What would have been the slogan of the passengers on the Titanic? "Together, We Can Do Better"?

What part of our world is being hijacked by a cabal of lunatic end-timers don't these Democrats understand?

Together, we can do better.

Better than what? We who? Together - does that mean you talk I shut up? Does that mean you lead I follow?

I am going 100% GREEN if this is the best the "opposition party" can come up with.

Sheesh!

"What the Hell Was That?" would be a great slogan.  It focuses blame on those who deserve it.  It can be used for many situations.  It puts the Republicans in the past.

Can't you just see Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid saying things like:

"Iraq.  What the hell was that?"

"The Bush economy.  What the hell was that?"

"Misuse of intelligence to lead us into a quagmire?  What the hell was that?"

It sort of like an updated "Where's the Beef?"  Not only can we criticize their record with the phrase, but we can say it every time they issue an attack ad or may some bogus claim on TV or on the stump.  The only response necessary would be "What the Hell Was That?"

Think about it.

"Democrats: Restoring Honor and Integrity to Washington"

Flush Bush
Flush the GOP
All politicians must be drawn & quartered
Spineless Demublican Whores
Complicit Republican Lite
GOP.  Got Turd?
Fight the power

ok i tipped it in favor of America can do better.

I'd like to see progressives own as much patriotims as possible.  The tech side of bloggers can be a put off.  For example during the Kerry Campaign the Kerry Blog kept saying bloggers, bloggers, bloggers, instead of Americans, citizens, fellow countrymen, etc.

So half of America thought that Kerry's Campaign was only speaking to bloggers and instantly walked away.

'Together we can do better' is a great slogan. FINALLY, a positive spin on what the Democrats have to offer:

*improving what's been going on
*working together as a community is what makes improvements possible
*defining the community as everyone in the U.S. (not just the rich folks and 'insiders')
*takes everyone's needs into consideration
*would apply in every arena -- health care, foreign policy, education, military policy, FEMA

the best suggestion i've seen on this thread is: had enough? (& i don't know if that was intended as a suggestion). i'm sure you can see how applicable it is to everything, how short it is, & how, frankly, it gets to the point.

had enough?

i know i have. s.

I like soup and I like you.  For who among us does not like soup?  And who among us does not like you?  

... but I like it better than the other two choices. Talk about cliche as hell. My idea for a slogan? It's radical. But thanks to the TaliBorn Again and the Republican "ownership society", they've brought these radical times on us with their undying support of sanctimonious "Religion LLC" (Dobson, Falwell, etc.) and multinational corporations (Viacom, News Corp, Halliburton, etc.). Therefore my slogan isn't really a slogan at all -- it's simply the barebones truth:

BREAK THE MONOTONY - BUST THE CORPORATOCRACY!

• Say "NO" to tax-breaks to corporations. Period. If corporations say they'll provide American jobs as long as we'll provide the tax breaks and other government handouts, tell them payment will not happen unless the services have been rendered. No exceptions. It's provide FIRST and maybe we'll consider a tax-break or hand out. Without exploiting the freedom of America, these corporations would be nothing. But the inverse cost of freedom is responsibility and if they don't want the responsibility and just use America and her people for exploitation in exchange for exhorbant windfall profits then why grease our squeaky wheels when we can replace them? If American labor is too expensive for them, they are too expensive for America to keep around.

• Say "NO" to the corporate media by correcting two of the biggest mistakes we've seen in over 20 years (1) the repealing of "The Fairness Doctrine" and the passing of the Deregulation Act of 1996. The results of these have allowed the CEOs of Viacom, NBC/General Electric, Disney, Turner/Time Warner, News Corp, and Clear Channel to dictate all aspects of our information. If doing so means they have to sell stations and fire some lobbiests ....... Good!

• Say "NO" to religious organizations that violate their tax-free status by getting too involved in politics. Our forefathers didn't mind religion influencing government but they drew a thick line in the sand at religion permeating government. It's why our forefathers voted with their feet and founded America in the first place.

Heh, yeah. I ran these ideas by a friend of mine and he said, "I've got a new nickname for you: 'Black Market'". I asked him why call me that and he said, "Because you'd create a lot of 'em if your survived assassination and got elected!" :-)

"I like Boston Cream Pie" would bring in the Volvo driving, sushi eating, Birkenstock demographic.

We wouldn't want to impose an ideological hegemony on Southern voters, so they should be allowed to use "I like Pecan Pie."

In the Midwest "I like Cherry Cobbler." would lock in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

We could get the Italian vote with "I like pizza pie."

We could shore up California with "I like quiche."

How about "I like mud pies." for Generation X?

There's only one type of pie I'm interested in -- Cow Pies! If the Democrats can manage to shovel a bushell or two of 'em right into gullet of the Republicans, I'll be a happy camper. I'm a firm believer in "You Reap What You Sow". Rethugs sowwed shit? Let 'em eat shit (and without the Cool-Whip, too!)