Republicans may not create every problem in the world but they are the biggest obstacle to solving the most dangerous problems we face: our forests are on fire, our cities are flooding, extreme wealth inequality, epidemic gun violence, epidemic medical bankruptcy, an epidemic of police killing unarmed black people, and right-wing extremists tearing down our Democracy, in a country that has an enormous stockpile of nuclear weapons. Other developed countries have avoided or fixed some of these, and we know how to fix them; but, Republicans won’t allow it in the U.S.
Before our last presidential election, Republicans gutted the Voting Rights Act, slowed down the U.S. mail, intimidated voters, closed polling stations and ballot drop-off boxes in Democratic districts, and invested heavily in disinformation. Now they are passing laws that will let them overturn the results if they don't like the outcome. Regardless of what happens with Republican voter suppression and nullification efforts, we must make sure those efforts blow up in their face. Below are my top suggestions on how to do this.
Below are the same suggestions with more detail and examples. Many of the suggestions are intentionally overlapping and reinforcing. I hope you have good or better ideas and share them in the comments.
1. Replicate what Stacey Abrams did in Georgia
This should be a no-brainer. To win swing districts and states like Arizona, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, we need to replicate what Stacey Abrams and Fair Vote did in Georgia. This means starting early to recruit volunteers who can register and educate enough voters so that by-election day you have enough voters to win. This work may take several years before it pays off. Getting the resources to make all this happen is a big challenge, and Stacey Abrams and Fair Vote did it on a shoestring budget, which is an important point that also needs to be replicated.
Reaching out and listening to voters at their door and on the phone is the best way to learn which voters have already made up their minds and who is undecided and needs persuasion. Getting an early start gives campaigns more time to persuade more voters and work out any problems voters might encounter (photo ID, change of address, absentee ballot, away at college, etc.). Recruiting and training volunteers to do this work is also very hard. The remaining steps below, are largely intended to help make recruiting those volunteers easier.
Example: Stacey Abrams and Fair Vote in Georgia 2010-2020
2. Do more to promote the Democratic Party
Republicans have a terrible record to defend and Democrats have a great record to promote, but that message does not get through to the American people. The story of the Democratic Party is largely told by FOX News, conservative talk radio, and social media. We need to do a much better job promoting the Democratic Party, including the contrast with the GOP.
Spend more money on targeted social media ads to strengthen and expand the base, as well as improve the brand with undecided voters. Specifically, focus on increasing volunteers, donors, and party affiliation. Not a rebranding but a restoration that brings out the good things Democrats have done and are trying to do.
Democratic Party Platform — The Party Platform is great but not many people are going to read it at 90 pages long. The preamble is 17 paragraphs and the main topic titles are too long and convoluted. I recommend providing an upfront summary, similar to what is on Wikipedia to make the platform more accessible to more people. The preamble should be no more than 3 paragraphs that include: 1.) This is who Democrats are and what we stand for. 2.) This is our record/what we have achieved and 3.) This is what we want to do moving forward. If the whole thing can be boiled down to ~20 pages, that would help. Below are the current topic titles and then examples of more concise titles, broken out into smaller chunks and reorganized for more impact.
Too long and convoluted:
- 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 sys...
- 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
Clear, concise, and smaller chunks:
- Strengthen our Democracy
- Recover from the Pandemic
- Renew American Leadership
- Rebuild Our Infrastructure
- Build a Thriving Economy
- Equal Pay for Women
- Universal Healthcare
- Paid Family and Medical Leave
- Free Pre-K & Childcare
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- Improve K-12 Education
- Tuition-Free College
- Serious Immigration Reform
- Combat the Climate Crisis
- Convert to Clean Energy
- Create New Clean Energy Jobs
- Build More Affordable Housing
- Serious Criminal Justice Reform
- New Domestic Terrorism Law
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Let’s Tell Our Story - The DNC web page has a thin history page that only has four topics. It needs to be beefed up a great deal with many more topics that include a clear contrast with Republicans. Here is a link to a historical timeline that could serve as an example: Democrats, Our Story.
Branding ― Updating the logo might help? Something bolder, with more blue? Less like a target or old Bell telephone logo? Here is the current logo design with a suggestion on the right. Please add your constructive suggestions in the comments.
Example 1: Democrats created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Minimum Wage Law, 40-hour workweek, Overtime Pay, Workers Compensation Act, Unemployment Compensation Act, Equal Pay Act, job safety regulations, child labor laws, public education investments, Rural Electrification Act, Federal Housing Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), Securities Exchange Act, GI Bill of Rights, Pell Grants, School Lunch Program, Occupational Safety & Health Act, Operation Head Start, Peace Corps, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, National Science Foundation, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Family & Medical Leave Act, Fair Housing Act, consumer protection, mass transit projects, and affordable healthcare for millions of Americans. These are some of the many investments that created and grew the middle class and we need to promote this. Republicans opposed all of it. This needs to be promoted more.
Example 2: In 2009, Koch brother/Mercer family organizations tapped into white anger over a Black president to explode the size of the Tea Party, which took over the Republican party and ultimately gave us Trump. FreedomWorks paid for and organized over 80 Tea Party protest rallies around the country, leading up to the huge Taxpayer March on Washington in 2010. They used a basic marketing and advertising formula, with a simple message that appeared on every email, banner, sign, sticker, and grip card. That message was: "Lower Taxes, Less Government, More Freedom."
Most rallies had a popular country music band, along with local and national conservative talk radio personalities to whip the crowd into a racist, hate-filled frenzy. They would trot out local Republican candidates or elected officials to let the crowd know the only way to relieve the pain they were feeling was to vote for Republicans. I don't want Democrats to use this formula, but I suggest the party invest in more basic marketing and advertising to promote the Democratic party. More traditional party-building efforts are covered in suggestion 6, further below.
3. Adopt a clear and compelling national message
The national message of the Republican party is: "Lower Taxes, Less Government, More Freedom." They left out the part about it only being for rich, white men but they have spent a fortune to promote it aggressively for many years. The consequence of Democrats not having a clear national message is it leaves a void that Republicans fill with: "Democrats are a bunch of tax and spend socialists, who enjoy murdering babies." The problem with this should be obvious. The suggestion here is to replace this message with something that will make people want to vote for Democrats.
The argument against adopting a national message is that it might make it difficult for Democrats to win in some tough districts. Such a message must work in every district. It should reflect what Democrats have done and the current party platform. I submit that Democrats already have this message and both President Biden and President Obama have used some form of it many times. That message goes something like this:
Yes, it’s boring. The truth is boring. The most important thing is to have something we can use to push back against Republicans telling people what Democrats stand for. Below are links to videos of Presidents Biden and Obama talking about investing in all of us.
Biden: Rebuild from the middle out
Obama: Grow from the middle out
NOTE: I’m using the word “invest” instead of "grow" because measuring economic success by never-ending growth is unsustainable. We need to talk about a strong, stable, and thriving economy, where everyone does better, not just the rich.
I would also suggest adopting a guiding principle that states what Democrats stand for. Something consistent with past accomplishments, the current party platform, the national message, and where we want to take our democracy next. What do we mean by “a more perfect union?” Something like this:
Below are more narrative talking points with details and contrasts. Again, I don’t care what we use but it needs to work in every swing district. It should reflect what Democrats have done and highlight current priorities (party platform). It should also serve as a strong contrast with the Republican party. Please add your constructive suggestions in the comments.
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Democrats invest in all of us because it creates a stronger, more stable economy that works better for everyone. Republicans divide us with fear so they can give tax cuts to the rich.
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For people who believe in Democracy and want equal opportunity and justice for all, Democrats deliver policies that help everyone and not just the rich and they have the record to prove it.
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From FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, the Clinton boom, and the Obama rescue, Democrats created and grew the middle class, which made America great and Republicans opposed every step.
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When we move people out of poverty and into the middle class, it creates more people who can buy goods and services, which is what drives our economy.
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We know this works because every time Republicans wreck our economy with trickle-down economics, Democrats clean up their mess by investing in infrastructure, education, affordable housing, raising wages, and more.
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This works, until people forget and put Republicans back in charge and they wreck our economy again.
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Republicans give our taxes to the rich and block everything else, the greed gets out of control and our economy eventually runs off a cliff into a recession or depression.
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Including Trump's 2020 COVID response disaster, Republicans wrecked our economy in 2007, 1990, 1973, 1969, 1958, 1953, and 1929.
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We need to break that destructive cycle by voting for Democrats in every election.
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Democrats are the only party listening to people and giving them what they want and need, while Republicans try to block all of it and scare people with lies. We need to do a much better job of making this clear to more people.
Listening and talking to voters at their doors, on the phone, or online is the most effective, and hardest thing we do to get Democrats elected. It’s hard to recruit and keep these volunteers and it’s hard for potential volunteers to learn and gain the confidence needed to be willing and effective.
"Listening to Voters" should become a primary tab/page on every local, state, and national Democratic party website. It should contain the most important resources on how to best listen and talk to voters and it should be talked about by every popular Democrat and candidate. Replace terms like canvassing, door knocking, and phone banking with "Listening to voters." Make it clear to everyone how important it is to have meaningful conversations with undecided voters and give our volunteers a safe environment to learn and practice. This will help us recruit more volunteers, improve their skills and get more Democrats elected.
Focus on undecided voters who can be persuaded.
Listen to them. Many will tell you what you need to know.
Try to connect them with the policies your candidate is running on.
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Background: A good field campaign is expensive and a massive pain in the ass, which is why so many are tempted to skip it or only do the GOTV part and spend most of the money on TV ads (ex. 2016). Obama's 2008 campaign introduced the first nationwide (mostly volunteer-based) Voter ID + Persuasion + GOTV, field campaigns, and it worked then and again in 2012. In 2016 we were still talking to Trump supporters during the last 4 days of GOTV because the campaign wasn't even looking at the data to remove those voters and we lost. Michigan reported the same problem. In 2017, 18, 19, and 20, Virginia ran great field campaigns and won big in all four. And then came 2021 in Virginia. The biggest complaint by Independent voters was they did not feel like they were being listened to. The Republicans ran a more extensive field campaign and won.
During Voter ID, we listen to voters to find out if they are supporting our candidate, the opponent, or are undecided? During persuasion, if you get the voter talking they will often tell you what you need to know to persuade them to vote for your candidate. We generally ask every voter what issue is most important to them. All of this information is recorded and is critical for a campaign to learn exactly who their voters are so they can get them out to vote by election day. Over time, a campaign can see where they are doing well and where they are not, so they can make better decisions on how and where to spend their money.
Build Volunteer Confidence
Some people need a much longer ramp to gain the confidence needed to begin interacting with voters but many of these people become the best door knockers and phone bankers. Training that helps these volunteers gain that confidence needed can help us recruit, train and retain more volunteers. Let new volunteers know about the ladders of engagement and assure them they will not be asked to do anything they are not comfortable doing. Let them know that they will not be doing persuasion unless they want to. That they will only be doing voter ID, which is simple but very important. Volunteer recruitment calls should only be calling Democratic voters, which is also preferred by many volunteers who don't want to talk to Republicans. We also need better training videos, quick reference guides, and live practice sessions, with some form of feedback.
Quickly Narrow Voter ID Lists
I would suggest using less expensive, 1-color post-it notes during the summer for people who do not open their doors that just say something like "Candidate/Office - Sorry we missed you. We want to hear from you. Please go to ****.com and tell us what issues are important to you." Provide a survey on the website that voters can use to provide their feedback and ID themselves. Strike decided voters off of the lists until GOTV. We can also encourage our own base to fill out these surveys and ID themselves to narrow the lists and save time and money.
On the Listening to Voters page, add a prominent link to another web page about “Responding to Republican Attacks,” which provides information on how to more effectively respond to Republican attacks. See next topic for more information.
5. Attack Republican lies to make room for the truth
Republicans have an “alt-facts” propaganda powerhouse that has demonized Democrats for over 50 years. FOX News, Newsmax, OANN, Breitbart, Clear Channel, etc. stoke fear and resentment with lies, to cultivate a base of voters who are easily triggered and who do not value science, math, or facts.
Democrats need to learn how to more effectively respond to Republican attacks and pivot to our candidate’s message. But we also need to tear down common Republican lies to make room for our candidate’s message. Republicans scare 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 want to kill babies.
All of these attacks eat away at the Democratic brand and make it easier for Republicans to tear down our candidates during the heat of an election. Even moderate and progressive voters barely vote for Democrats because they let some nonsense from FOX News take root. Below is a link to a video of President Obama calling out Republican lies in 2018 where he uses the word "lies" more than once. He was the only one doing it but we all need to do a much better job of this.
Obama: Trump and Republicans 'just making stuff up
Rachel Bitecofer's Strike Pac seeks to turn the tables on Republicans and help Democrats win up and down the ballot by attacking Republican lies and by building a positive Democratic brand with year-round, proactive party messaging. My biggest complaint with most Democratic messaging is that it rarely sounds like the way normal people talk, which means no one will remember or use it. A good message needs to use plain language, it needs to be short and easy to remember, it must be effective (focus group tested), and it must be repeated over and over and over and over.
"defund the police" stuck because the GOP's electioneers are expert "nailers." Messaging ineptness is the Democrats’ problem. The Dems' don't message at all, and when they do, it's defensive. Democrats need their own set of hammer & nails. ― Rachel Bitecofer
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Examples of responses to common Republican lies
These are just suggestions. We need to find what works best and share them.
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GUNS ― Dems will take your guns! >>>> Republicans let children die to protect wealthy gun makers. 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 ― Dems will turn your children gay! >>>> Jesus lived with 12 men and none of them said a word about gay people. They did say "Judge not, lest ye be judged," "love thy neighbor as thyself," love your enemies, turn the other cheek, bless the peacemakers, feed the poor, heal the sick, and welcome strangers. Nothing about persecuting gay people. Giving LGBTQ people legal protections does not take anything away from you.
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ABORTION ― Dems are baby killers! >>>> Republicans oppose every solution that actually reduces abortions, like free contraception and better sex education. Instead, they still push abstinence-only programs, which do not work and they want to make abortion illegal, which does not reduce the numbers. It only makes abortions dangerous for poor women. If you really care about life, let's focus on the solutions that work, and make sure our babies get the healthcare, food, clothing, and education they need to succeed in this world we all live in together.
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TAXES ― Dems will raise your taxes! >>>> Republicans keep our taxes high by cutting taxes on the rich. Since the 1950's Republicans have shifted most of our tax burden onto the middle class. After loopholes and exemptions, U.S. corporations pay less than 13% on average. That’s nearly half the rate that most people pay. More than 50 Fortune 500 corporations, that make billions in profits each year, pay no taxes at all. U.S. corporations hold $2.1 trillion overseas to avoid taxes. If you want lower taxes we have to stop Republicans and get the rich and corporations to pay their fair share.
SOCIALISM ― Dems want socialism! >>>> This is the Republican's favorite scare word. They use it for anything that isn't giving our taxes to rich people. Policies that help most people and not just the rich can be a part of any system of government. It’s how we got out of the Republican Great Depression and built our middle class, which made America great. Republicans opposed all of it because all they ever get done is tax cuts for the rich.
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IMMIGRATION ― Dems want open borders so illegals can vote! >>>> Republicans are the ones who opened the border with Mexico to give their donors cheap labor and to hurt labor unions, which also hurt the Democratic party. Both parties know exactly who votes in every election. Every vote can be tracked down and verified and Republicans know this.
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The solution for securing the border is simple. Lock up the owners and executives of the companies that hire undocumented workers; like factory farms, construction, manufacturing, food-processing, and large service industries. Republicans will never do this because those are their donors. Republicans will never close the border with Mexico because it would make U.S. labor unions so strong, Republicans would never win another election. Under Reagan, Republicans helped ship millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas and they opened the border with Mexico to give their donors access to cheap labor. That weakened U.S. labor unions, which also hurt the Democratic party.
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America is a Republic, not a Democracy >>>> Every Communist country is a Republic, like the Republic of China or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Republic just means there is no Monarchy. The United States of America is a constitutional republic with representative democracy. ‘America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy’ Is a Dangerous—And Wrong—Argument
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Both parties are bad >>>> "Both sides are bad" is disinformation Russians have used since the 1930s to divide us. Republicans amplify this Russian propaganda for the same purpose. The Internet has made it much easier. Please remind people of this every time it comes up.
6. Strengthen and expand the Democratic base
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." ― Bertrand Russell
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Republican attacks on Democrats are far more effective than they should be because Republicans are more aggressive and fanatical and Democrats are more passive. We need a much larger, stronger, better trained, and organized base. One that can withstand GOP attacks, effectively respond to those attacks and advance our candidates' positive messages. To fix this we should increase recruiting, marketing, networking, and training for the Democratic base. Yes, preaching to the choir to get them on the same sheet of music and facing in the same direction.
"Party building" includes helping to recruit, train, and organize new local party members, new candidates, and volunteers to register and mobilize voters. It can also include helping to raise money, organize precinct operations and raise candidate visibility at public events like fairs, festivals, and farmers markets. The suggestion here is to try several programs that would help state and local parties gain more members, candidates, and volunteers to do a better job of all of the above.
Preaching to the Choir ― Democrats are a big tent party with all kinds of personalities and it is no easy task getting them all working together to get our candidates elected. We need to constantly preach to our choir to get them on the same sheet of music and facing in the same direction, to practice and improve the quality and volume of our work. To keep the base informed, trained, and organized, I suggest several programs that expand on or tie into existing programs. These include a national, monthly newsletter, a major focus on listening (and talking) to voters, a stronger, ongoing social networking program, and a more robust training and practice capability for volunteers.
Democracy News! ― A national, monthly newsletter called something like “VOTE!” or "Democracy News!" along with a companion podcast/videos that both focus on informing, strengthening, and expanding our base by sharing best practices from around the country, interviews of elected Democrats, training and practice opportunities, studies of successful Democratic policies, and telling the story of the Democratic party. Maybe a curated list of relevant podcasts? From Pod Save America, FiveThirtyEight Politics, Politics Girl, Words to Win By, The Weeds (Vox), etc? The newsletter format could be just 5-6 topics each month, with current and historical articles and notable DNC press releases. Ask state and local committees to submit articles from their newsletters. Compelling videos, photos, data visualization, and graphics would be helpful. Most training courses from Democrat Events, Best Practices Institute, or National Democratic Training Committee could have an article that links to the training course at the end.
Example Story Ideas: Mobilize for the Win!, Who We Are and What We do at the DNC, Election Protection, Computer Security, Our Voter Database, Flipping Swing Districts, Precinct Organizing, Volunteer Recruitment, Campaign Management, Running for Office, Campaign Communications, Listening to Voters, Telling Your Story, Expert Phone Banking, What is Deep Canvassing?, Online Voter Registration, National Democratic Training Committee, Middle-out vs Trickle-down Economics, Help Stop Russian Hacking, Fighting GOP Disinformation, Criminal Justice Reform, Combating the Climate Emergency, Building a Thriving Economy, Creating Clean Energy Jobs, Clean Infrastructure, Building Affordable Housing, Immigration Reform, The Obama Rescue, and Recovery, Republican Dirty Tricks, The Clinton Economic Boom, How Reagan Gave us Mass Incarceration, Carter's Sacrifice on Inflation, Nixon and the Southern Strategy, That Time Nixon Committed Treason, When Dixiecrats Joined the GOP, LBJ and The Great Society, The Kennedy Legacy, FDR, and The New Deal, The Buck Stops Here - Truman, etc. There are plenty of topics to draw from.
Better Social Networking ― Invest in better social media management to implement a strategy far beyond what we have today. An ongoing program to build a stronger and stronger network of Democratic social media volunteers to help protect our candidates from attacks (Online Rapid Response) and amplify candidate messages. Specifically, help hesitant, less experienced volunteers and candidates feel more comfortable using social media tools. This would include training and guidance and a place for interested people to get started. Topics like How to Protect Your Privacy, Facebook and Twitter Basics, How to Build Your Network, How to Translate Online Activity Into More Votes.
More Training and Practice ― Invest in more and better training, including listening and talking to voters and social networking with volunteers and voters. Provide a way for volunteers to practice with each other online and receive feedback. The DNC currently offers free virtual training through the Best Practices Institute and on Democratic Events. Free eLearning and in-person virtual training for party leaders, campaign staff, and candidates can be found at the National Democratic Training Committee. Let's expand, improve and promote these to a much wider audience.
7. Beat Republicans in every swing district and state
Harnessing all of the solutions above, focus our bigger, stronger, better trained, and organized base of volunteers and donors on the most important swing districts and states that we need to hold to maintain a majority in congress and continue to hold the White House. We already have the virtual tools to allow volunteers and donors to help anywhere in the country by phone banking, text banking, social networking, and donating. It would help if this was better organized by priority.