In the introductory diary to this 3-diary series, I wrote:
The first [of two preliminary steps] is a disclaimer of sorts and it is this: first ideas are not necessarily valid or practicable but never dismiss them out of hand. Their true value lies in their being a launching pad, a means of stimulating the little grey cells of others who then produce other ideas followed by more and even better ideas until finally a workable and effective solution is reached. So if my ideas seem to you unworkable, don't stop at that but offer an improvement or a better idea. This is the process whereby solutions are reached and that must be our goal if we want to turn the Democratic Party around.
I am aware that some believe it is not possible to substantially influence change at the state and national levels; that we are at the mercy of the movers and shakers within the party. But I believe otherwise. I believe it is time to be brave and be bold. What we can all achieve together – a progressive agenda that works for everyone – is much greater than the greed and self-centeredness of the Right and special interest groups. Yes it's a huge challenge but it's not insuperable. It will take time and effort and enterprise but there is that in abundance in the Daily Kos community.
In reading extensively about the messaging failure of the Democrats, it occurred to me that the one thing missing is a nationwide campaign. Because of this, general elections sprout a miscellany of individual campaigns ranging from Senate and House seats to state government and local positions. Instead of a unified and co-ordinated national platform it is, to put it politely, a hodgepodge mess and it is one of the main causes of Democratic messaging failure. Presidential elections don't entirely solve this problem either. The discordance of downticket messaging is still present in the hundreds of individual campaigns, each with their own separate playbook.
There are other, profound problems with Democratic messaging including the actual messages themselves (such as Republican lite policies and running away from Democratic achievements) all wrought into tired old negative advertising and begging emails. Notably too, a barrage of doomsday emails from the Dem acronyms elicited anger and vows never to support them again. That isn't to say that supporters won't donate to campaigns. There is a long accepted culture of supporting preferred candidates with donations and GOTV efforts. They are simply and very clearly stating that they will no longer support non-progressives or the Dem acronyms.
Phase Two of the People Power Plan attempts to address and, more pertinently, redress these problems. It's a plan whereby progressives take the initiative and very deliberately pre-empt Democratic messaging. To accomplish this, we need to launch a nationwide campaign of our own. What I am proposing is the establishment of People Power supported by the People Power PAC.
The objectives of People Power
First we need to establish what we mean by progressive values and then determine a populist, progressive platform that embraces a broad spectrum of voters and addresses their concerns. I propose we do this via a series of diaries which initially ask for suggestions, and then conduct a series of polls to refine the lists (one each for values and policies) into a comprehensive platform that is supported by the majority. I'd suggest beginning with Senator Bernie Sanders' 12-point progressive vision and Elizabeth Warren's 11 progressive tenets which already have enthusiastic support in our DKos community.
Then it's on to the action plan - producing nationwide ads and press releases. The PPPAC is not intended to be used to support any individual campaigns but to communicate progressive values and populist policies nationwide. The idea is to pre-empt Democratic messaging, especially that of the plethora of individual campaigns, and corral them into a unified platform that elbows them all to the progressive left.
We begin by communicating our progressive values. If this plan has sufficient support, I'll follow up with a separate diary on what I have in mind for this.
Then follows the promotion of our progressive platform using a variety of approaches in order to widen their appeal. For example, there is the compare-and-contrast approach:
Which America do you want to live in?
Do you want an America that runs a budget surplus (pic and text: “Democratic California: $4 billion surplus in the current financial year”) or a nation whose credit rating is downgraded (pic and text: “Republican New Jersey: Eight credit rating downgrades in 2014” or "Republican Kansas: over $600 million in debt and raiding pension funds to stay afloat")
Do you want an America with good roads and safe bridges (pic and text of place and time) or gamble your life on crumbling infrastructure (pic of damaged highway and cracks in bridges with text of place and time, possible tunnel damage in New Jersey)
Do you want your children in well-maintained, fully-equipped schools with smaller classes (pic and text: Colorado school that is benefiting from the marijuana tax) or in large groups crammed into small classrooms without enough worn-out books to go around (pic and text: Wisconsin perhaps?)
Do you want to breathe clean air and drink clean water (pic and text of blue state) or air choked with unregulated industrial smoke and water poisoned with unregulated industrial waste (pics of industrial chimneys in a red state followed by a pic of Elk River with the text: “House Republicans quietly passed a bill to gut hazardous waste regulation on the same day a chemical leak poisoned the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians”)
Which America do you want to live in? Which future do you want for your children and your children’s children? It is your choice America. All Democratic candidates pledge to promote the safety and wellbeing of Americans. The Republicans vow to defund and deregulate. The future is in your hands, in your vote.
Ads featuring lines such as "Democrats pledge to" will either push them to the progressive left or leave them scrambling to justify themselves.
Consider an ad with this subtext:
If your democratic candidate does not support these policies, if their voting records are at odds with their claims, demand from them an explanation of why they are standing as a Democratic candidate if they aren’t promoting Democratic values.
...is going to elicit screams of agony and anger from establishment and blue dog candidates as well as the Dem acronyms but so be it. If they won’t do the job then we can and it's far better that they experience the pain rather than have them inflict it on us one more time.
It will, above all, place them in an impossible position. They can hardly come out and say that Democrats do not support these popular ideas while admitting that these ads do not originate with them. No doubt mainstream media will be very interested in what the Democratic leaders have to say about these ads and that's good news for People Power because it will lead to several free inches of publicity.
People Power is a solution. We don't like their messaging? So let's take charge of the messaging ourselves. You will no longer donate to non-progressive candidates and the Dem acronyms? Then donate to PPPAC which is dedicated to communicating a nationwide progressive platform on behalf of all Democrats, a platform in which all of us have a say. This is your government, a government of the people, by the people, not just for the people. You have a voice and your right to use it is enshrined in The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. Combined voices are much louder and more effective than a thousand individual voices.
But the expense...
Yes, I know it's expensive to produce ads and buy advertising space. That's why we need to get creative in how we go about this without ever resorting to corporate advertising agencies. There are talented Kossacks who can produce very effective videos as we saw during the midterms. Get them on board. There's also a wealth of talent in college and small film groups who will happily produce very professional videos on a budget. All prospective ads should use Daily Kos for audience testing prior to release. That way we all have a say in what is communicated and how.
Buying advertising space is trickier but restricting buys to national media, rather than piecemeal in local media, will help. Bolster this with ideas for free promotion such as media releases and media invitations to events. I imagine the Dem acronyms might inadvertently help in this. Corporate media will no doubt seek their reactions which will give the PPPAC the perfect opportunity to claim several free column inches in response.
I'm sure there are plenty of other creative ideas out there of how we can go national on a budget. We have a politically savvy community here of thousands. You all comprise a very rich resource so get your thinking caps on, do some brainstorming and publish your ideas in diaries or comments.
Framing Messaging
We need to become very good at how we frame our messaging. Even Democrats use the terminology that Republicans have devised and that has to be eliminated. We need to devise our own terminology. For example: Republicans have redefined income equality to mean that everyone receives an equal pay check. Of course this is nonsense but it has been gaining traction nevertheless.
So we need to talk in terms of prosperity being shared; that employers should not profit by a thousand percent more than workers who have not seen a decent raise in fifteen years but have contributed to that increased profit. Everyone should gain in the prosperity stakes; all of America should get a raise and we'll begin by raising the minimum wage so that no-one working full time is in need of welfare.
We also need to talk in terms of reinvesting in the country that nurtures us. Everyone who prospers by being an American in America should reinvest in the country and pay it forward. Those who receive the greatest share of prosperity should reinvest a greater amount in parity with their share so executives and CEOs should not pay a lower percentage of tax than their workers. They are getting the most out of this country so they should be putting the most into it. Nor should any business making more than $250,000 net profit per annum receive any kind of subsidies.
So income equality becomes income parity and taxes become reinvestment in the country and paying it forward. For more information on framing messaging, The Winning Words Project is an excellent site to pick up ideas and I strongly recommend it.
Questions you may have:
Who will administer the PPPAC?
I think we first need to establish that it's a viable idea with plenty of community support. Should it go ahead, I would hope that one or more Daily Kos staff will be on board in an admin capacity. Other than that, I welcome your suggestions.
Where did this idea come from?
Good question! It was a process as all ideas are. How much of it was processed subconsciously I couldn't say. It emerged out of all the post-midterm diaries and articles I was reading. I concluded that the major problem with Dem messaging was that it was not unified and lacked a progressive populist theme. It seemed to me that the best way to overcome that was by way of a national campaign that pre-empted the Dem acronyms that comprise the main barriers to a unified and progressive agenda.
In the words of Howard Dean:
Only through the action of each of us, working together in common cause, can great change happen in America.
We can be the cause of that great change. Working together in common cause, we can all achieve the change we want.
Follow-up diaries:
The People Power Project Presents: A Message from the Republican Party
People Power Project Announcement: Two New Daily Kos Groups
People Power Project National: It isn't Size that Matters... Ideas in the comments are well worth reading
People Power Project National: What Has Government Ever Done For Us? This may be our first ad so please check it out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☸~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~