This thread will be mostly me ranting. I'll say it at the outset. But more and more, as I watch healthcare reform heading toward the same fate that it did in 1993-1994, I feel frustrated that the Democrats--and the left--still have yet to learn their lesson. After more than sixteen years since Clinton first won, more than a decade since Fox News first came on the air, the left is still incompetent with PR.
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I'm just utterly frustrated that I see no pro-reform TV ads on the air responding to industry front groups like Conservatives for Patients Rights. I see no ads challenging the background and involvement of the head of that organization, who has connections to HCA. I see nothing challenging his organization.
I've heard the numerous excuses:
- We have no money.
Are there no wealthy liberals who feel strongly about this issue? I find it hard to believe that there are NO wealthy liberal billionaires and millionaires out there who would be willing to air ads promoting healthcare reform. It never ceases to amaze me that we give the wealthy people on our side a free pass so much. Why are we not lobbying them more.
- They control talk radio and Fox News.
This is probably close to #1 because it comes down to money. I still can't believe that there are no wealthy liberals out who would be interested in funding a left wing version of Fox. As much as I dislike him, in "Dude, Where's My Country?", Michael Moore even asks why the left hasn't made their own TV network. I don't know why no one has lobbied a wealthy liberal to donate funds for a left-wing network. I am sure that the right billionaire or millionaire would provide financing if presented with a viable business plan.
- We don't need a media presence like Fox or talk radio because we have the Netroots.
This site and other blogs are great to organize people who are part of what I call the "already converted". This site is a great way for activists to get out the vote in close races, discuss strategy, analyze trends, and work together. It is a great way to promote second and third tier candidates that the national party and key commitees overlook.
However, when it comes to communicating to the public at large, specifically to swing voters and those on the fence, this site falls short. This site's limitation is that it doesn't lend itself well to persuading those on the fence. It's more for the already converted.
The Netroots don't even come close to compensating for the lack of an effective presence on talk radio and on TV. So I strongly disagree with that argument.
- They have a stronger organization.
What angers me about this point is that the left still has to come up with one simple message to reach the public. Well into the media and slick marketing age the left still doesn't know how to leverage PR and the media to their advantage. The right talks in catch phrases like "Government-run healthcare" and other simple phrases that reach most people. They know how to make catchy ads that appeal to most people. That's why most people accept conservative assumptions on policy issues because they have used the media effectively to convince even liberals that they are right.
I recall reading about Gingrich's group GOPAC. Through working with GOP consultants they poll-tested words to describe Democrats like "liar, cheat, steal, criminals' rights, and arrogant". They worked extensively with focus groups.
Where are our soundbites? The closest one is NYCeve's "murder by spreadsheet" prhrase. Where are our ads of stories of people ending up in bankruptcy or dying because the insurance companies dragged the feet, unfairly dropped people, or retroactively denied claims? I don't see them out there.
When is the left going to learn that to win a policy debate, you do need slick marketing? When are we going to learn that we need to use marketing and we need to present our ideas in a brief and to the point fashion that will reach people?
The bottom line is that we are going to lose this debate this go-round unless we develop effective marketing yesterday, start airing ads highlighting the horrible stories out there, and define the opposition in simple words that highlight the negative effect that they have on our system?
I want to close with the fact that the left is NEVER going to get the upper-hand on any policy debate--be it healthcare, the economy, taxes, spending, transportation, defense, national security, the environment, and education--until it learns how to create a simple message that will appeal to most people. This is why we are most likely going to lose the healthcare debate.
A lot of this is frustration on my part. It just still never ceases to amaze me how inept our side has been with advancing these issues. I just don't know our side can't learn how to debate and use the media effectively.