Republicans are the problem, not progressive or moderate Dems
Yay, Biden won but Democrats lost seats in the House, failed to clearly win the Senate, and failed to win control of any new state legislatures and lost one, in New Hampshire. This means Republicans will continue to gerrymander districts in a large majority of states for the next 10 years. The 2020 blue wave was less than expected and the 2022 midterms could be a big problem if we don't get our sh!t together and learn how to win more elections in swing districts, including exurban and rural areas. Districts with a Cracker Barrel vs a Whole Foods.
"Republicans are going to have a huge year in 2022 just looking at this data, looking at our exit polls...if the Democrats don't correct course." - Joe Scarborough MSNBC
"It was a comprehensive failure for the Democrats’ hopes of replicating the big GOP victory in 2010, which...allowed Republicans to dominate the redistricting process that gave them a structural advantage for the decade that followed." - Politico
"Democrats blame Trump, uphill races for failure to win state legislative seats" - NBC
Our planet is on fire. A pandemic is raging. Children are mass murdered in our schools and caged on our borders. Unarmed people of color are killed by police on a regular basis and Republicans keep making it worse with anti-science, alt-facts. Republican tax cuts for the rich have caused crushing public debt, and the worst income and wealth inequality since the 1920s. We have massive student loan debt, out-of-control healthcare costs, and skyrocketing medical bankruptcies.
We (Democrats) need to get our sh!t together and beat these greedy, Republicans, so we can fix these problems before it is too late. I am going to focus this post on party building and volunteers and avoid candidates and campaigns. What do we, Democratic party voters, need to do to help Democratic candidates and campaigns breakthrough the next level of stubborn gerrymandered districts, so we can pass policies that help everyone and not just the rich? I am open to anything that might work and I have some thoughts. I hope you do as well? Please read this first and let your thoughts fly in the comments.
ANALYSIS:
More voters are more racist than pollsters expected
And we had a giant fear monger and racist at the top of the Republican ticket.
2020 Election Was a Reminder of White Supremacy’s Hold on the U.S.
Great, so what happened to the big blue wave? As the demographics in the U.S. continue to move toward Democrats, Republicans continue to increase their use of fear, lies, voter suppression, and cheating to maintain power.
Republicans gutted the Voting Rights Act, slowed down the US mail, intimidated voters (with armed domestic terrorists), closed polling stations and ballot drop-off boxes in Democratic districts, and invested heavily in disinformation. - paraphrased from Mikel Jollett
Republicans lied about peaceful protesters causing violent riots. They lied about “defund the police,” convincing people it means eliminate police, which would lead to mass violence and anarchy. And they spent hundreds of millions on TV ads to convince voters Democrats supported this. They have lied for decades about Democrats supporting “socialism.” They tried to push a Hunter Biden email conspiracy that didn’t really stick. We had Russian disinformation and Qanon lunatics spreading lies about deep state cannibal-pedophiles. All desperate, stupid and crazy, but effective because Republicans have the TV, radio, and social media networks to spread these lies.
Trump Drops 'Socialism' Tack and Goes After 'Defund The Police' - CNN
In the past, Republicans scared people with lies about Hillary's emails, Benghazi, Ebola, Death Panels, IRS scandal, High Corporate Taxes, Dangerous caravans are coming to kill you, Democrats will take your guns, turn your children gay and kill babies. They use whatever people will believe. All of these attacks eat away at the reputation of Democrats and make it easier for Republicans to tear down our candidates during the heat of an election. Even many progressive voters cringe over voting for Democrats. The Democratic Party brand is in bad shape.
Republican Weaknesses:
- Tax cuts and deregulation for the rich
- Wrecking our economy over and over
- Widespread voter suppression
- Lies about abortion, immigration, and socialism
Republicans are weak on tax cuts and deregulation for the rich (trickle-down economics), where they just give our taxes to the rich. They tell people some of it will trickle down and too many people believe it. They also eliminate regulations that protect us from things like financial abuse and pollution but Republicans call it fighting “big government” and “socialism” and too many people fall for it. Republicans commit a ton of voter suppression, disinformation, and election cheating. And they scare other people into voting for them, using lies about abortion, immigration, and socialism.
PROBLEMS:
Republican lies and fear are the biggest problems
Republican attacks on Democrats are far more effective than they should be. The base of the Democratic party is not big enough or strong enough to withstand Republican attacks, effectively respond to those attacks, and hit Republicans where they are weak. This makes it possible for Republicans to hold on to enough swing districts to keep Democrats from fixing the problems Republicans create and from passing policies that help everyone and not just the rich.
The Republican party has a terrible record, and the Democratic party has an excellent record that not many people know about. Democrats created the middle class, which made America great, environmental protection, civil rights, women's rights, affordable healthcare, and many other programs that help most people. Republicans oppose all of these programs because they only help the rich. So Republicans have to scare people into voting for them and scare other people into not voting.
"We lost races we shouldn’t have lost. Defund police almost cost me my race because of an attack ad. Don’t say socialism ever again. Need to get back to basics." - Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Republicans were the ones yelling socialism)
Moderates vs Progressives - Republicans figured out how to get moderate and progressive Democrats to attack each other, using a common divide and conquer approach. Republicans have spent hundreds of millions of dollars, for decades to make the words "socialist" and "socialism" radioactive with tens of millions of American voters. Especially in moderate districts. Republicans have also convinced these voters that everything is "socialism" except when they give our taxes to the rich or eliminate regulations that protect people from financial abuse, dangerous products, or pollution. Many of these voters are victims of con artists.
When Republicans attack a moderate Democrat with ads calling them a "socialist" who wants to "defund the police" and that candidate loses or nearly loses, that candidate might lash out against "socialism" in public. Many progressive voters will take this as a personal attack and then attack that moderate Democrat. The problem is that in order to get serious criminal justice reform that will actually stop unarmed people of color from being killed by police, Democrats need to win seats in these moderate districts. The same is true of getting any policy that helps most people and not just the rich. We need to figure out how to get our voters, candidates, and elected officials from falling into Republican traps like this one.
SOLUTIONS:
Strengthen and expand the base of the party
Identify ways to reach out, inform, educate, strengthen, and grow our own Democratic base. The reason we need to strengthen and expand the base is to help our candidates breakthrough the next level of very stubborn gerrymandered districts that we need to begin passing policies that help everyone and not just the rich. The Democratic party needs to be able to better withstand Republican attacks, effectively respond to those attacks, and be able to hit Republicans where they are weak so that we can breakthrough.
These suggested solutions are meant to avoid interfering with any potential candidate or campaign messaging. The focus is on party building and volunteers and messaging is restricted to telling the story of the Democratic party, promoting the current party platform, and the historical record of the party. There are also suggestions on how to respond to common Republican attacks on things like guns, gays, abortion, immigration, and socialism.
When Democrats rebuild after Republicans wreck our economy, there is never anyone solution that fixes everything. So we try many different ideas until we fix the problems Republicans cause. Below is a list of different ideas to help us strengthen and expand the base of the party. I hope you have ideas on how to make these better and other suggestions that might help. Please add your ideas in the comments.
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Attack Republican Lies - Democrats need to learn how to effectively respond to Republican lies and quickly pivot to our own message, but we also need to start attacking common Republican lies about things like abortion, socialism, and immigration. It's not enough to just tell the truth or state the facts. We have to call out the lies first and then state the truth in a way that knocks the wind out of the Republican. Next, we have to hit them where it hurts and hit them like the survival of every living thing depends on it. And don't stop until every science-denying, alt fact, Republican is gone.
Republicans control the narrative by always attacking (offense), which keeps Democrats on defense, reacting to whatever attack Republicans are making. It also keeps us on the battleground Republicans have chosen, where they always have the high ground. Democrats can’t resist getting bogged down in awkward explanations that repeat the language Republicans are using and we too often end up convincing voters Republicans might be right.
Republicans have to lie because all they actually do is give massive tax cuts and deregulation to the rich, which wrecks our economy and hurts everyone except the very rich. They also commit a ton of voter suppression and that is not a message people will vote for. This gives Republicans the freedom to use any pack of lies that can have the most impact on voters. By always staying on the attack, Republicans give no room for Democrats to attack their lies.
Of the many lies Republicans use, lies about abortion, socialism, and immigration are among the most common and harmful but they also have the most potential because of how far over the line Republicans have pushed these lies. On abortion, every solution that actually reduces abortions is supported by Democrats and is opposed by Republicans. I would even suggest Democrats add "Reduce Abortions" as a plank in the Democratic party platform since the solutions that actually work are already in the platform.
Socialism is tricky because Republicans have spent a fortune for decades to make the words "socialism" and "socialist" radioactive with tens of millions of American voters. Republicans have also convinced these voters that everything is "socialism" except when Republicans give away our taxes to the rich. We need to attack this one without using the word "socialism" and make it clear how Democrats have made our Democracy strong and the many ways Republicans have made our Democracy weak. We don't have to win these issues, we only have to push back and prevent some of the damage to win more elections. Remember it's not enough to just tell the truth or state the facts. We have to call out the lies first and then state the truth in a way that knocks the wind out of the Republican. Next, hit them where it hurts and hit them like the survival of every living thing depends on it. Don't stop until every science-denying, alt fact, Republican is gone. For messaging about abortion, immigration, and socialism see the Rapid Response section further below.
Obama calling out GOP lies: “Trump and other Republicans 'just making stuff up'”
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Preach to the Choir - Promote and tell the story of the Democratic party to our own base. To help strengthen and expand our base. Use both the historical record and current party platform and recent events. Include clear contrasts with Republicans. Develop a bench of stories w/ videos when possible to promote the Democratic party, including current and historical topics, interviews of elected leaders, and publish via social media and email on a regular basis. Sample topics may include: Running for Office, Who We Are and What We do at the DNC, Talking to Voters, Expert Phone Banking, Voter Registration, Precinct Organizing, Voter Protection, What is Deep Canvassing?, Telling Your Story, Volunteer Recruitment, Campaign Management, Campaign Communications, Middle-out vs Trickle-down Economics, Winning in Districts with a Cracker Barrel, Help Stop Russian Hacking, The Obama Rescue and Recovery, Republican Dirty Tricks, The Clinton Economic Boom, The Rise of Conservative Media, Reagan Gave Us Mass Incarceration, Jimmy Carter's Sacrifice on Inflation, Nixon Really Was a Giant Crook, MLK's Poor People’s Campaign, When Dixiecrats Joined the GOP, LBJ and The Great Society, The John F. Kennedy Legacy, The Buck Stops Here - Truman, FDR and The New Deal, The Republican Great Depression
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"defund the police" stuck because the GOP's electioneers are expert "nailers." Messaging ineptness is the Democrats' problem. The Democrats don't message at all, and when they do, it's defensive. Democrats need their own set of hammer & nails." - Rachel "The Doc" Bitecofer
Messaging - Tell the story of the Democratic party. Republicans have a terrible record to defend and Democrats have an excellent record but not many people know about it. The point of this messaging is to preach to our own choir to get everyone on the same sheet of music and practice, so we can sound better and recruit more singers. We also need to prepare our choir to respond to the hecklers or common Republican attacks.
Party Message - My suggestion for a proactive party message is to lead with themes like make our Democracy strong, equal opportunity, justice for all, and voting, to help counter Republican lies about "socialism." Then use what Obama used to draw a clear, contrast between Democratic middle-out economics and Republican trickle-down economics. Please watch the video and read the article linked below.
Obama talking about growing our economy from middle-out
Middle-Out Economics: Why the Right's Supply-Side Dogma Is Wrong
Talking Points:
- Building new infrastructure, poverty insurance, higher wages, better education, affordable housing, and affordable healthcare, are investments that grow our economy from the middle-out which creates a stronger and more stable economy that works better for everyone, rich and poor.
- Look at the record. Republicans wreck our economy every time they take control, with massive tax cuts and deregulation for the rich. The crashes hurt everyone but the very rich and that makes our Democracy weak.
- When Republicans give our taxes to the rich, the rich keep it, because money flows up, it doesn't trickle down. Forty years of Republican giveaways to the rich have decimated our middle-class. We now have over $100 trillion dollars of wealth in the U.S. but almost all of it in the hands of the very rich.
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Every time Republicans crash our economy, Democrats bail us out by putting money in the hands of working families first, knowing that money will flow upward and grow our economy in a way that helps everyone.
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Republicans also have a long record of making it harder for people to vote and of actively suppressing the vote and that makes our Democracy weak. Democrats have a long record of making it easier for people to vote because that makes our Democracy strong.
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Don't believe Republican lies and fear-mongering. If you want to keep our Democracy strong, vote for Democrats.
More Detail:
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Including Trump's 2020 COVID-19 recession, Republicans crashed our economy in 2007 (Bush Jr. Great Recession), 1990 (Bush Sr. Reaganomics recession), 1973 & 1969 (Nixon recessions), 1958 & 1953 (Eisenhower recessions), and of course Herbert Hoover's 1929 Great Depression.
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FDR saved America from the Republican Great Depression and created our middle class, with New Deal policies that grew our economy from the middle-out. Democrats Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and Obama all continued to make investments that grew our economy from the middle-out, which moved more and more poor people into the middle class. Republicans opposed every step forward and wreck our economy every time they take control.
Republicans oversee recessions and Dems oversee recoveries? True
Rapid Response - Organize a national rapid response team of volunteers to fight back against Republican attacks. Develop strong responses to common attacks like guns, gays, abortion, immigration, and socialism. These have to be published well in advance so people have time to learn and practice before the campaign year begins. Below are my thoughts ...
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Guns — Republicans don’t care about guns. They only care how they can use guns to scare people into voting for them. We have epidemic gun violence in America and no other country has this problem. We need common-sense gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of children, dangerous criminals, and people who are mentally unstable.
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Gays — Republicans don’t care about LGBTQ. They only care how they can use people who are LGBTQ to scare other people into voting for them. LGBTQ people have been around since the dawn of human history. Giving them legal protections does not take anything away from you or anyone else. Love your neighbor, with no exceptions.
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Abortion — Republicans know that abstinence-only programs and making abortion illegal do nothing to reduce abortions. Republicans only use abortion to scare people into voting for them. Every solution that actually reduces abortions is supported by Democrats and is opposed by Republicans. Free contraception, sex education, universal healthcare, long-term paid family and medical leave, free universal day-care, and lowering the poverty rate are all proven ways to reduce abortions and Republicans oppose every single one. If you really want to reduce abortions in America, vote for Democrats.
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Immigration — Republicans will never close the border with Mexico or stop shipping U.S. jobs overseas because it would make U.S. labor unions the strongest political force in America and Republicans would never win another election. Republicans just lie about immigration to scare people into voting for them. What we need is a comprehensive immigration reform that protects U.S. workers but also helps America compete in a global marketplace. If you want more and better-paying jobs in America, Vote for Democrats.
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Socialism — Republicans lie about Democrats and call us names because they don't want voters to notice, they only help the rich. Democrats fight for policies that help everyone because that is how we created our middle class, which made America great. Our economy was the envy of the world and it helped us spread democracy throughout the world. Building new infrastructure, poverty insurance, higher wages, better education, affordable housing, and affordable healthcare, are investments that grow our economy from the middle-out which creates a stronger and more stable economy that works better for everyone, rich and poor. Look at the record.
Republicans wreck our economy every time they take control, with massive tax cuts and deregulation for the rich. The crashes hurt everyone but the very rich and that makes our Democracy weak. When Republicans give our taxes to the rich, the rich keep it, because money flows up, it doesn't trickle down. Forty years of Republican giveaways to the rich have decimated our middle-class. We now have over $100 trillion dollars of wealth in the U.S. but almost all of it in the hands of the very rich. Every time Republicans crash our economy, Democrats bail us out by putting money in the hands of working families first, knowing that money will flow upward and grow our economy in a way that helps everyone. Don't believe Republican lies and fear-mongering. If you want to keep our Democracy strong, vote for Democrats.
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Branding - The Democratic Party brand needs all the help it can get.
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Logo - Update the party logo to something more serious that looks less like a target? See one example here.
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Slogan - Adopt a bold slogan that fits the party platform, and sets up a contrast with Republicans. Something like "Equal opportunity and justice for all" As in, Democrats fight for equal opportunity and justice for all. This would be a counter to Republican slogans like “Make America Great Again” or “Small government, low taxes, more freedom.”
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VOTE - The word "VOTE" is powerful and Democrats should take ownership of this word and use it wherever possible. It sets up a clear contrast with Republicans who only want certain people to vote. Make it more clear that voting is how we protect and strengthen our Democracy and getting everyone out to vote is how we achieve equal opportunity and justice for all. Increase the use of VOTE in photos on the DNC website and in promotions.
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Plain Language - Stop using convoluted and esoteric language. Use plain language that will have more of an impact on voters (see PlainLanguage.gov). For example, the party platform is 90 pages long and the preamble is 17 paragraphs long. It should be more like 20 pages and the preamble should be about 3 paragraphs otherwise, not enough people will read it. Below are the current chapter titles of the platform and then below that are examples of more concise titles, broken out more and reorganized for more impact.
- Protecting Americans and recovering from the covid-19 pandemic
- Building a stronger, fairer economy
- Achieving universal, affordable, quality health care
- Protecting communities and building trust by reforming our criminal justice system
- Healing the Soul of America
- Combating the climate crisis and pursuing environmental justice
- Restoring and strengthening our democracy
- Creating a 21st-century immigration system
- Providing a world-class education in every zip code
- Renewing American leadership
Use more concise titles, broken out, and reorganize for more impact:
- Strengthen our Democracy
- Recover from the Pandemic
- Universal Healthcare
- Build a Stronger Economy
- Equal Pay for Women
- Paid Family and Medical Leave
- Create Clean Energy Jobs
- Convert to Clean Energy
- Rebuild Clean Infrastructure
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- Combat Climate Change
- Free Pre-K & Childcare
- Improve K-12 Education
- Tuition-Free College
- Make More Affordable Housing
- Serious Criminal Justice Reform
- New Domestic Terrorism Law
- Serious Immigration Reform
- Renew American Leadership
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Party History - The DNC web page has a thin history page that only has four topics and is upside down. It starts in 1920 and scrolls down to current history. It should begin with current history and scroll down to past history like IMDB. It also needs to be beefed up a great deal with more topics and include a clear contrast with Republicans. Below is a link to a historical timeline that could serve as an example or draft. Democrats, Our Story. Democratic Party History Timeline
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2020 Debrief - During the expected DNC complete analysis and debrief, stay focused on how we win more elections in swing districts, including exurban and rural areas? Districts with a Cracker Barrell, not a Whole Foods. Let's hear from Congressional, Senate and state legislature races we narrowly won and lost. What do we have to do to win more swing district races? What worked, what didn’t work and how do replace what didn’t work with what does work?__________________________________________________________________________________________
Small Donors - Increase the number of new donors and the number of donations by 20%. As we get our choir on the same sheet of music and improve our message and delivery, coordinate that with passing around the collection plate to increase the number of small donors and donations to the DNC. The benefit is not just the money, it is also the commitment and better contact data. This is also one way to measure what promotional ideas are effective. The target audience is the Democratic base. These are people who vote on a regular basis and always vote for Democrats. Targets should be set, results tracked, and reported
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Social Networking - Build a strong network of Democratic social media volunteers to help protect our candidates from online attacks and amplify their message online. Specifically help our less active online volunteers and candidates feel more comfortable using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools. Facebook and Twitter Basics
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Train and Practice - Create a virtual way for volunteers to train and practice talking to voters. Build a network of volunteers who talk to voters on the phone, at their doors, and/or online. National Democratic Training Committee. Develop and provide quick reference guides. Why We Talk to Voters, Talking to Voters - Slides, Democratic Voter Database, Democratic Persuasion Guide, Facebook, and Twitter Basics
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Reconciliation - Bring moderate and progressive Democrats together and try to get many of them on the same page. Republican lies and fear-mongering are the problems, not progressive or moderate Democrats. Fight for policies that help everyone and don't let Republicans divide us. Stay focused on common goals and objectives. We need to stop getting hung up on what we call things? When Republicans spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make a word or phrase radioactive, like "socialism" we must not repeat their frame. We must also hit Republicans where they are weak. __________________________________________________________________________________________
Share Best Practices - Crowdsourcing tools like My Starbucks Idea and Campbell Ideas are great examples of how we could improve what we do by engaging our base to submit, discuss, and vote on ideas to improve everything we do. These automated tools have mastered the problem of automatically finding trusted advisors to manage responses and make sure only productive ideas are advanced. This might also work as a Facebook or other social media group?__________________________________________________________________________________________
Be More Likable - This may sound like mastering the incredibly obvious but people need to like Democrats to vote for them. The problem is we don't always do a good job with this. No amount of great messaging or framing will overcome a likability gap. It is easier to be likable upfront and maintain it than it is to make up a likability gap after you have one. This is true for our candidates but also Democratic volunteers. Undecided and persuadable voters are among the least interested in politics, while volunteers trying to persuade voters are among the most excited about politics. Try to keep this in mind and see things from the voter's point of view. When you talk to voters, do not preach, lecture, or argue. Ask questions and make it clear you are listening to what they are saying. People will tell you what you need to know to persuade them. Voters will not remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel. Keep it simple, say please, and thank you and if your face does not hurt, you are not smiling enough.
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These ideas for improvement are meant to stimulate a discussion and I hope you have ideas and suggestions. Please share them in the comments. While putting this together I kept looking for articles and posts like this one but did not find anything else that really focused on constructive solutions. If you know of one please share it here but only links you recommend as constructive.