Verbalpaintball's rec listed post mortem about poor D messaging makes some very good points with which I agree. Democrats have not had a clear emotion-based message and that is part of the reason we lost.
But it is not the main reason we lost.
Because the fact remains is this:
We won in places where our message, poorly crafted as it was, got through.
We lost in places where it didn't.
I'd like to see someone do an overlay of the blue/red shift in the electoral map compared with the saturation of Fakes News watchers and hate radio listeners.
THAT is why we lost, and Verbalpaintball offered the perfect analogy in a comment in the other diary.
Follow me below the fold for the exchange of comments that inspired this diary, and for my solution to solve this problem in time for the elections in 2012.
First I posted this:
even if we craft the PERFECT message (0+ / 0-)
how do we get the low information voters to hear it?
how do we break through to the voters who get all their information from GOPropaganda?
THAT is our task for the next two years.
"Politics is like driving. To go backward put it in R. To go forward put it in D."
I don't want to take my country back. I want to take my country FORWARD.
by TrueBlueMajority on Wed Nov 03, 2010 at 10:05:06 AM EDT
then Verbalpaintball posted this:
Would you buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner? (0+ / 0-)
I sure as shit would.
Their commercials are simple, address what the consumer already has in their mind about the type of product, and puts a clear, concise spin on it.
There are no numbers. No mention of BTU's or any complex garbage that the viewer can't process.
It is a successful commercial because it addresses your concern and provides an emotional response. It speaks to people on a level they understand. Clinton did this.
The message doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be clear and emotional, whether through hope or fear. Republicans know this. Why don't democrats?"
It doesn't matter whether you win or lose. It's how you ladle the gravy." - Felix Ungar
by Verbalpaintball on Wed Nov 03, 2010 at 10:14:03 AM EDT
My response to that comment got so long I turned it into this diary.
Of course I would buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner! You know why? Because I have seen the commercials! Many times.
But if the only channels I watch never show those commercials, I won't be exposed to the very effective Dyson vaccum message.
First let me say again that I COMPLETELY agree with Vpb about the need for simple, clear, emotional messaging. Ds have NOT done this and I have complained about that a lot over the last 30 years and over the last six years (since my Deaniac days, since I feel Howard Dean is one of the few D spokesmen who does this pretty well).
But crafting a strong emotion-based message is only the first step.
The more important step is to find a way for the voters to hear it.
Vpb's example is damned near perfect, because if you ask Jane Redvoter whether she would buy a Dyson vaccum cleaner, her response will probably be: "What's a Dyson vacuum cleaner?"
THAT is what we must concentrate on for 2012. OUR ability to break through the media filter and get the message out directly to people.
We lost because there are millions of people who thought their taxes went up this year when they went down.
We lost because there are millions of people who think Obamacare is going to take benefits away from them instead of make it easier for them to get health insurance and health care.
We lost because there are millions of people who think Obama increased the deficit rather than reduced it.
We lost because there are millions of people who think we are losing jobs since Obama came into office, when in fact we are gaining jobs.
THIS should be our focus for the 2012 campaign. How do you effectively spread information when faced with a propaganda machine that has effectively silenced you? A lot of people agree with Dems once they hear the truth about our positions. But millions of people have almost no access to the truth about D positions! How do we spread the truth?
We need to act like an underground movement because we are. We flourished during the Bush years in part because we KNEW we were fighting a regime that was attempting to control the flow of information and stop the dissemination of truth. We got creative. We took over the internet. We used Comedy Central. We built the kiss float. We told each other about the few news sources that were out there and encouraged each other. We won big in 2006 and bigger in 2008.
Then for some reason people thought that getting the presidency meant we suddenly had access to the levers of real power. But all Obama won was the presidency. He did NOT win control of the propaganda machine.
And the people who controlled the propaganda machine were angry. Partly (largely) fueled by racism, but also fueled by the genuine fear of losing power if the broad coalition of people who voted for Obama actually accomplished progressive goals.
And then the Roberts Court made it possible for the propaganda machine to have access to unlimited amounts of money.
We blame O for poor messaging. He's not as bad as John Kerry (is anyone?), but he's not simplistic and emotional enough to appeal to the voters whose information palate was formed on easy to swallow sound bites. A child who grew up eating chicken nuggets for 10 meals a week is going to turn up his nose if he is presented with beef bourguignon. It's unfamiliar! It's foreign! It tastes different! It tastes "funny"! And all the people closest to him are saying "that food has poison in it!"
Back to the perfect perfect perfect example of asking me would I buy a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
In this election we were trying to sell a Dyson vacuum cleaner to Joe and Jane Redvoter who have never seen the commercials. Or maybe they've seen the commercial once, or twice.
But the Republicons are telling them that times are hard. The Dyson costs fifteen times as much as this Dirt Devil over here. Rs don't say anything about the long term cost of the Dirt Devil because of the price of filters and bags, and the fact that the Dirt Devil will need to be replaced faster. I would buy a Dyson in part because I have been preconditioned by other factors in my life to prefer quality and to be willing to pay more for a quality product that will last longer.
So answer me this: how many Dyson vacuum cleaners do you think get sold in the red states? I'd like to see someone do an overlay comparing the blue/red shift in the electoral map compared with the purchase of Dyson vacuum cleaners!
If you spend any time listening to hateradio, you know that Rs are planning a future as a ruling minority. All their rhetoric points that way. They know that long-term demographics are working against them, and 2008 scared them that the end of white majority rule is closer than they thought. Listen closely--all the people they admire talk this way. There was a wingnut radio host around here who used to refer to "the 30%" that "work hard and pay taxes and speak English". That is the model they are using.
What is our model?
I ask and answer this in complete seriousness.
Our model should be the means people have used to spread messages of freedom in other circumstances when they were blocked from mainstream media access.
Start with the assumption that we are fighting against the most effective propaganda machine the United States has ever seen. NONE of the major media outlets is getting our message out consistently. We have to let go of the fantasy of objective mainstream journalism. It has not existed for more than 30 years. We can put out all the press releases we want, but there are newspapers that will not print them. We can have all the press conferences we want, but there are networks that will not show them. Even if the newspapers print them, the people we have to reach don't read those newspapers. Even if some TV stations show the press conference, the people we have to reach don't watch those channels, or they change the station when our commercials come on.
Use underground communication methods. Never forget that the aptly named Democratic Underground is the blogfather to the that In fact, we must study how countercultural messaging was done effectively in countries with harsher propaganda systems than ours. People always find ways to spread the Voice of Truth. Direct conversation is best (once we get the emotionally resonant message crafted, we have to keep talking to people who disagree with us). But we also must take advantage of the fact that applied creativity is on our side. Use street theatre, music, homemade publications (much easier in the age of desktop printers), and of course we have the present advantage of the internet and the power of viral videos and emails (but that is in danger—why do you think the powers that be are fighting net neutrality so hard?).
Put forth our most charismatic leaders. Policy wonks and over-explainers have to take a back seat right now to people who express themselves simply and powerfully, and who have an approachable look. Truth be told, Obama is better at this than people give him credit for, when he is in campaign mode. When he is in governing mode though, he has to have the same army of supportive talking heads that R leaders take for granted. They ALL must be people who express themselves simply and powerfully, and have an easy accessible manner. No one should be speaking for the administration who lacks the visuals and the voice to be an effective spokesman/woman.
And G~DDAMN IT we need to ENCOURAGE each other. No you did it wrong no you did it wrong no YOU did it wrong and other circular firing squads will not get us anywhere. We are in this together, and nothing helps the Red Team more than when members of the Blue Team are fighting among themselves. Meet in small groups. Get to know each other. Strengthen each other. Then we will be empowered to invite the skeptical into conversation with us over meals or coffee, or at the laundromat or in the grocery store line or at church, and spread the news one person at a time.
We have two years to do this.
Two years from this coming Saturday will be the next Election Day: November 6, 2012.
And the 2012 campaign officially began at midnight.
Using whatever modicum of influence I have on this blog and in the real world, I am beginning right now to fight for taking back the House, increasing our margin in the Senate, and a second term for President Obama, by using these five guidelines:
Increased emphasis on direct communication methods, "underground" communication methods and creative arts communication methods. Frequent in-person and telephone contact and conversation, first and foremost with people who disagree with us and/or have not heard our message presented to them in simple terms. In other words: the GOTV effort we put forth for the last few weeks, but done every day for the next two years. Talk to everyone you know. Tell them them to talk to everyone they know. Post on your Facebook walls. Get progressive messages on your car bumpers and your backpack buttons and your t-shirts. Forward the clips of Rachel and Colbert. And keep the date 11/6/12 in front of people's faces.
Don't like D messaging at the national level? Create your own at the local level. If they don't print your Letter to the Editor, make xerox copies of it and leave them/post them in public places. We can create things on this blog for each other to use, and share. Create your own videos, compose your own debunking emails, write your own protest songs. Paint your own poster and put it in your window. Everyone needs to be a one person Blue Team message machine.
As for talking heads, promote the visibility of plain-spoken D leaders with whom the voter can personally identify. If anyone has an effective public appearance, reward him or her with thank you calls and emails and campaign contributions, and send clips around. Grayson lost last night, but he was targeted by Rs precisely because he was a threat--he cut through the media filter like no one else. And when someone garbles the message, gets it badly wrong, or is a bad spokesman/woman for the blue team, complain loudly and immediately. If the national party will not enforce message discipline, WE must be the ones to enforce message discipline.
Encouraging and supporting kogs and other like-minded people who are working together in the fight for our country's future. Participate in community diaries that ease people's stress level by letting them vent or by offering pleasant distraction. Connect off blog with people who resonate with you. Network, network, network. All politics is local. Get involved with the D party mechanism at the local level. Go to meetups and give real hugs as well as virtual ones. And get thyself to Netroots Nation!
All of these things AND developing good messaging/framing based more on emotional resonance than analytical thinking are the recipe for victory. And there are some key off year elections in 2011 that will let us practice this approach.
This is my game plan for 2012, and I am fired up and ready to go.
Who is with me?