Democrats Screwed Up The Messaging, part 2
Earlier today I posted " Democrats Screwed Up The Messaging" about how they've not just lost the messaging war for this year's election but have underperformed on messaging for several years running. There are two important facets to messaging.... It's not just what you say but how you say it. In my previous blog I explained the high level mistakes in "how". Here's a bit on the "what".
BTW, you might be tempted to dismiss this as "Monday morning quarterbacking". Well, election day's not 'til tomorrow! So this is more like "Inside the 2-minute warning quarterbacking." 😅
In my previous blog I described that Democrats' 2022 issues of protecting reproductive rights and protecting the right to vote against conspiracy nuts gaining control over the levers of power got hijacked by Republicans making this election about household issues of inflation stretching family budgets, and crime. Because the Democrats have long been seen as the party of working class Americans it's notable that Republicans are further stripping away this demographic from them. It's not longer just the "God, Guns, and (anti-)Immigrants" White Christian working class that's with the Republicans; recently it's more ethnic minorities, too.
So, what could Democrats do (or have done) differently? Dems could own these issues. Here's just an off-the-cuff level response I'd make on inflation if I were a Democrat leader:
"You're worried about inflation. We get it. It's tough when prices on almost everything are going up. But while we've tried to pass programs that would help working families, Republicans have blocked them. And what does the Republican party propose to do instead? They've got nothing. Nothing.
"So look at what they did last time they were in power.... They passed a tax cut benefiting the rich. A tax cut that had to be paid for by the government borrowing more money. Excessive borrowing is part of what's caused this inflation!
"And what have the rich done in return? Just this week the world's richest man, an outspoken supporter of Republic politics, bought a company and promptly laid off 3,700 employees. 3,7000 well paying jobs, gone. You can't trust these people to fix inflation."
And on the subject of crime:
"You're worried about crime. We get it, we don't like crime either. But the Republicans are feeding you scare stories about how bad things are. The fact is that crime is at a historic low in the past 50 years. You and your kids are safer now than in your parents' or grandparents' generation.
"There's one sub-category of crime that really does seem to be getting worse, though. Mass shootings. These used to happen once a year. Then once a month. Then once a week. Now they actually happen more than once a day. They've become so frequent that most of them aren't even news anymore. And that's doubly terrifying.
"People in churches and schools shouldn't have to worry about getting shot by a nutjob with a gun who thinks he's fighting a race war. Yet what are the Republicans saying about crime? They're blaming it on immigrants and communities of color, fueling the racial animus of these mass shooters, and then saying the solution is more guns. Do you really want more guns in the hands of troubled people fed stories of racial hatred?"
Again, this just an extemporaneous take on how Dems could be looking to take control of the message. It's sad that with their wealth of experience and power they've missed so badly. That's why it's time for new leadership. New Democrat leadership.
BTW, you might be tempted to dismiss this as "Monday morning quarterbacking". Well, election day's not 'til tomorrow! So this is more like "Inside the 2-minute warning quarterbacking." 😅
In my previous blog I described that Democrats' 2022 issues of protecting reproductive rights and protecting the right to vote against conspiracy nuts gaining control over the levers of power got hijacked by Republicans making this election about household issues of inflation stretching family budgets, and crime. Because the Democrats have long been seen as the party of working class Americans it's notable that Republicans are further stripping away this demographic from them. It's not longer just the "God, Guns, and (anti-)Immigrants" White Christian working class that's with the Republicans; recently it's more ethnic minorities, too.
So, what could Democrats do (or have done) differently? Dems could own these issues. Here's just an off-the-cuff level response I'd make on inflation if I were a Democrat leader:
"You're worried about inflation. We get it. It's tough when prices on almost everything are going up. But while we've tried to pass programs that would help working families, Republicans have blocked them. And what does the Republican party propose to do instead? They've got nothing. Nothing.
"So look at what they did last time they were in power.... They passed a tax cut benefiting the rich. A tax cut that had to be paid for by the government borrowing more money. Excessive borrowing is part of what's caused this inflation!
"And what have the rich done in return? Just this week the world's richest man, an outspoken supporter of Republic politics, bought a company and promptly laid off 3,700 employees. 3,7000 well paying jobs, gone. You can't trust these people to fix inflation."
And on the subject of crime:
"You're worried about crime. We get it, we don't like crime either. But the Republicans are feeding you scare stories about how bad things are. The fact is that crime is at a historic low in the past 50 years. You and your kids are safer now than in your parents' or grandparents' generation.
"There's one sub-category of crime that really does seem to be getting worse, though. Mass shootings. These used to happen once a year. Then once a month. Then once a week. Now they actually happen more than once a day. They've become so frequent that most of them aren't even news anymore. And that's doubly terrifying.
"People in churches and schools shouldn't have to worry about getting shot by a nutjob with a gun who thinks he's fighting a race war. Yet what are the Republicans saying about crime? They're blaming it on immigrants and communities of color, fueling the racial animus of these mass shooters, and then saying the solution is more guns. Do you really want more guns in the hands of troubled people fed stories of racial hatred?"
Again, this just an extemporaneous take on how Dems could be looking to take control of the message. It's sad that with their wealth of experience and power they've missed so badly. That's why it's time for new leadership. New Democrat leadership.