Just say, "I'm a Democrat"
Thu Aug 16, 2007 at 11:16:29 AM PDT
It just might work.
I just finished re-reading The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, one of my favorites. If you haven't read it, it's about social phenomenons like fads, but it also delves into what can cause sudden, large changes in the public space on everything from early literacy to crime and smoking. Gladwell talks about "The Law of the Few", who "Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen" are, and the translation that needs to occur between Early Adopters and Early to Late Majorities. The book is thought-provoking, and presents a challenge to readers: What change do you want to see, and what might cause that idea for change to "tip"?
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It got me thinking about the smallest, simplest thing we can all do that could yield an outsize postive effect on public life in America. We know that the vast majority of the public supports our ideas, and yet elections are still in doubt, and Congress has an abysmal approval rating. What's going on here?
In polls, only around 1/3 of Americans say that they're Democrats, and some of those people have very weak party affiliation. Many of them live in states where you have to register in a particular party, and so they're "democrats", but they may not feel invested in Democratic success, and may have no idea that they could have a voice in the workings of the Democratic Party.
So what can we do? My conclusion is this: We can tell people we're Democrats.
Self-Identification
I first stumbled over the "self-identification" problem in my "80% Democratic performance" precinct (that is, of those who vote here, about 80% are voting for Democratic candidates). As I canvassed the precinct for the first time, a long-time resident remarked to me, "We haven't seen a Democrat in years". Well, since that resident was himself a "democratic voter", I was a little confused. A little more conversation made it clear that, in his mind at least, simply voting for democratic candidates didn't make him a "Democrat" - he thought that designation was for "party members" only, and that to be an actual party member, you had to pay dues, or go to meetings, or some-such. I think this sentiment is fairly widespread, though it is amplified here in WA state by the fact that you simply register to vote - you don't "register as a Democrat".
I only became politically active during the Dean campaign, but I've always thought of myself as a Democrat, because my parents were very matter-of-fact about their affiliation. So, I grew up thinking everyone "self-identified" politically. It took me quite a while to realize I was wrong.
I'd wager that most of us here on the site are some wonderful mixture of Malcolm Gladwell's "Few" - we're part Connector (people who participate in more than one community), Maven (experts) and Salesperson (people who are passionate and communicative about something). So we're well positioned to "tip" the great ideas we have.
But most of us are also "Early Adopters". We are part of the vanguard of the current resurgence of the Democratic party. In order for this thing to really, truly, "tip", we need more people on board. This requires two things: translate the idea, but more importantly "give permission".
Translate the Idea
We need to make this simple. We want people on our side, not the other side, nor wavering in the middle. So, we have to do that thing which is so hard for die-hard Democrats: simplify. We're members of this wonderful club, or family, or whatever, and all it takes is for a person to say, "I'm a Democrat". Self-identification, that's it!
Quibbles about policy positions and political strategy can take a back-seat. When someone's interested in that stuff, they'll ask. And they will ask you, because you're their Maven. But you have to get them on board first. And we can do that by self-identifying ourselves, and making simple, positive statements about that identification.
Give Permission
As we're all too aware, the right-wing has for years kept Democrats isolated and quiet. And they've done it with memes like "ugly partisanship", "wacky liberals", etc., etc. They even get mileage out of our natural politeness. How many times have you heard that it's rude to "talk religion or politics"? And yet, somehow, the right-wingers do it all the time, while we've sat back politely. Perhaps we thought they were being rude, but I believe we need to get over it.
By getting over it ourselves, we give our friends and neighbors permission to get over it, too. I do kind of laugh about using Gladwell's "giving permission" theme, since all of his examples are about bad behavior, like smoking, but I think it is appropriate here. If we want people to feel comfortable with expressing their identity as Democrats, after years of timidity, we perhaps do have to be a bit like the rebellious kid teens admire, who makes it seem "OK" to light up. That is, public and comfortable with our "democracy habit".
So, we shouldn't talk about ourselves in the third-person. If the Democratic party is doing something good, own it. Say "We've done this thing". If the Democratic party is doing something bone-headed, own your activist part. Say, "We're trying to get turned around on this". Don't say, "The Democrats are. . ."
And just sneak it into conversation. My favorite method is this: When a some news item is being discussed, I'll say, "Well, as a Democrat, I think. . ." There's almost always a way to drop it in without having to make a big deal about it. And when someone agrees with me, I'll attempt to include them as a Democrat, and then - if it's an appropriate situation - I work a little persuasion if the person says, "well, I vote for Democratic candidates, but . . .", or something wishy-washy like that.
Every person who goes down the street with the thought in their head, "I'm a Democrat", is one more person who will take right-wing attacks personally. It's one more person who might drop into a conversation, "Well, as a Democrat, I think . . .". And the more often people hear other people self-identify, the more likely they are to join in.
(I'd like to note that the DNC's "50 State Strategy" is definitely along the right track here - but on a macro level. What I'm suggesting is the interpersonal version: We need to make being a Democrat a lifestyle option for every individual person, not just a voting option in every state :)
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