What just happened?
After months of the media tut-tutting about Biden’s unpopularity, his age, etc., after all the media narrative that Democrats just can’t get anything done and keep their promises, after all the media predictions that Biden and the Democrats are doomed to go down to a massacre in the midterms — Democrats have managed to get major legislation through the Senate, and Republicans are starting to sweat that maybe overturning Roe v. Wade (something they’ve been promising for decades) and pushing more guns everywhere may come back to bite them in the butt.
With all the screaming about inflation, gas prices are coming down and Democrats can point to the Inflation Reduction Act — which also includes action on climate just when extreme weather events are all in the news, and has good stuff for healthcare. (And taxes that target the high end, with more money to enable the IRS to go after tax cheats too!) Oh, and job creation has been booming — employment is back to pre-pandemic levels while wages are rising.
And now the FBI has raided the former guy’s crime lair. Weeks of January 6 hearings have been pulling back the curtain on just how close the coup attempt came to succeeding — and how Republicans are doubling down on it.
We are nowhere near being out of the woods yet, mind, but things are not quite as dire as they seemed not that long ago — like last week.
Be glad you are not a pundit or beltway press insider. These recent events go a long way to overturning the conventional wisdom that’s their bread and butter. They insist on looking for clouds while ignoring silver linings — or actual sunny skies.
We should give partial credit to the Republicans — they have become so blatantly extreme and openly contemptuous of women, veterans, etc. that the media reflex to both-sides everything is getting to be a tough act to pull off. They are still using two sets of rules when it comes to political coverage though. IOKIYAR is still in effect.
Remember all the fuss about Democrats working to get Republicans nominated in the hope that they’d be easier to defeat in the general election? Igor Derysh at Salon has the numbers on how much money Republican-allied groups are pouring into campaigns to knock-out Progressive Democrats. Where are all the opinion pieces about that?
[A side observation: while Democrats are trying to ‘help’ Republicans put their most extreme candidates in front of the voters in hopes they’ll be rejected because they are so extreme, Republicans are working to keep progressive Democratic candidates away from the voters, lest they actually get a chance to vote for them and their ideas.
What does that say about the direction of things and what real extremism is — and the media’s reflex worry about Democrats going too far left by concern-trolling that progressives can’t win?]
Trump 2.0 — the smarter version — Governor Ronald Dion DeSantis of Florida still keeps getting admiring coverage in the press even as he beats up on teachers and gays. He’s a ‘strong leader’ who toughed his way through the pandemic (don’t ask about the body count) and is very attractive to the Fascism-curious in the GOP. That automatically gets him reflex respect from the media.
You can be a terrible person embracing terrible things, but as such people can now be Republicans in good standing that’s not newsworthy to the media; it barely registers. (Look up defining deviancy down as applied to Republican politics.)
The B.F.D. of the moment is the FBI raid on Lard-o-MAGA at Mar-a-Lago. If there is anything that terrifies Republicans, it’s anything that looks like accountability. They put so much effort into avoiding it.
They were already freaking out about the January 6 hearings, calling them a witch hunt and worse even though so many of the witnesses are Republicans. The latest revelation of photos of torn-up documents in Trump’s handwriting clogging toilets is adding fuel to the fire. (Now we know why Trump obsessed about toilets that wouldn’t flush — and why Mark Meadows used the fireplace in his office in the White House.)
Meanwhile...
Republicans and right wing media are throwing a giant hissy fit and promising multiple kangaroo-court hearings if they take back control of Congress — and the mainstream media will likely oblige them by transmitting their talking points. (Get ready for the Hunter Biden scandal extravaganza 24/7 — it’s what they do.)
And yet where’s the attention in the press on how they plan to take back Congress — by gerrymandering on steroids that has given them state legislatures? They can ignore the will of the majority of the voters and defy the courts with illegal maps. Jane Mayer at The New Yorker has a must-read article:
State Legislatures Are Torching Democracy
Even in moderate places like Ohio, gerrymandering has let unchecked Republicans pass extremist laws that could never make it through Congress.
Democrats really need to get an election reform bill through Congress if and when they still can. If you don’t know what
Project REDMAP is and how it has already tilted the playing field, look it up. The Democrats really need
a new 50 State strategy on top of voting reform to keep America a democracy.
So Now What?
The key phrase here is forward momentum — and I don’t mean Andrew Yang’s delusionary third party ego project. Here’s some suggestions:
Winning beats whining. Democrats need to give up the reflex of apologizing when they win out of, I don’t know, the belief that it would seem too partisan or something. One of the biggest mistakes in hindsight was the way Democrats ran away from the Affordable Care Act after getting it passed into law. They allowed the GOP to shape the narrative around it and make it a negative. How many red staters realize they could be eligible for Medicaid — IF the Republicans running their states would allow it? How many know that Republicans would cut subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and make it more expensive for those who need it the most? (And Republican Senator Ron Johnson wants to do away with Social Security and Medicare as we know it.)
When you win, own it. No Senate Republicans voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. Not one. They will still go back to their states and take credit for the things it does that voters want. Don’t let them get away with it. Point out that Republicans blocked capping prices on insulin. Point out that sulking Republicans refused to vote to give veterans healthcare for exposure to toxic burn pits until they were shamed into it. Hammer Republicans for all the things they refused to support — like extending the aid that lifted children out of poverty.
Message Like You Mean It. Don’t expect the media to praise and promote these accomplishments; they see their job as providing ‘balance’ — by parroting GOP talking points. The GOP will, of course, lie their butts off. Mitch McConnell’s constituents are getting washed away by thousand year floods made worse by decades of coal mining. He claims people don’t care about the environment — their priorities are crime, the border, and inflation, so landmark legislation on climate is a waste. Make him eat those words.
Don’t complain — brag! Sure, there are ways the Inflation Reduction Act could have been bigger and better, and contains things that are less than ideal. Put on your big boy/big girl pants and brag about the positives — there are plenty of them. Frame your complaints in a way that moves things forward.
Make the point that a plan that’s a good start is way better than a perfect plan that never happens and that this is only the beginning. Don’t be the turd in the punchbowl. We can count on Republicans for that. At the end of the day, it comes down to More Democrats and Better Democrats. (Remember that link above about the GOP doing their best to block progressives?)
Talk people, not policy. Craft talking points that explain exactly how Democratic wins in getting things through Congress benefit people personally, how it will make their lives better, and get them things they need. Tell them that this is what it looks like like when government works to give them their fair share as Americans and looks out for their interests.
Here’s an example: the White House Fact Sheet on the CHIPS and Science Act. Summarize it into simple messages, things like:
- It will keep China from stealing our technology.
- It will create good jobs here in America, not overseas.
- It will keep America a leader in critical technology.
- It will make America more secure in a dangerous world.
Be prepared to amplify each of those points, using simple phrasing that connects the act with the people hearing about it.
Here’s another example, from Senator Chuck Schumer’s web page talking about the Inflation Reduction Act, with emphasis on what it will mean for Schumer’s own New York State.
And when all that has been done, the job is not over. Don’t forget to remind people that the Republican Party is against all of that. Upstate Republican Elise Stefanik, third-ranking House Republican, has nothing to say about the CHIPS act or the IRA — but she’s outraged by the FBI raid on Trump.
Take a cue from the January 6 Committee. They’ve been working hard to present their findings in a way that is compelling to hear and watch. They have been very clear about what they are finding. They are promising more to come -and then they deliver on it. They back up what they are showing with video clips, powerful testimony, transcripts, email, text messages and more, things that can engage watchers on a personal level.
When the IRA makes it through the House — and it’s looking good so far — President Biden should make signing it a Big F*cking Deal. The ceremony should include talking points about it that will connect with people at a personal level. The climate elements of the bill can be illustrated with real world examples, including video of the flooding destruction in Kentucky as an example of the need to act — a tacit slap at McConnell’s narrative that people don’t care about climate.
Biden should make it an all star presentation, with relevant members of his cabinet explaining how their agencies will be translating the bill into action. Emphasize that it’s a team effort and it’s going to be much more than just an ‘infrastructure week’ sham.
And above all, make sure voters know that this bill is for all Americans regardless of the color of their state — and that only one party is willing to do something like this.
With Congress going on break, the followup should be all Democrats going back to their home districts and states, and messaging on these accomplishments. They can tailor it for their own particular cases, but they damn well better be loud and proud — because these are some real accomplishments and they deserve to be celebrated, especially if we want more of the same.
As for Republican outrage over the FBI raid on Trump, there’s a simple response.
If he’s done nothing wrong, he has nothing to worry about.
There’s really no response to this they can make other than to double down on the performative hysteria. Because they are suffering from epistemic closure, they have become an authoritarian cult who can admit no wrong-doing and can only exist in a world of alternative facts. The problem can never be them — it can only be someone or something else.
[Another side observation. About that raid. It’s easy to get excited it finally happened, but the FBI and DOJ better have gotten something out of it. If no charges follow, if nothing is found, you know Trump will claim it ‘proves’ once again he’s innocent and the whole thing is just another partisan witch hunt. Fingers crossed.]
That need to deny reality to avoid accountability is why Republicans are so invested in the Big Lie — and are threatening a do-over of January 6. If they want to go that route, they should be forced openly say that’s what they are prepared to do, so no one can say they didn’t see it coming — especially before the midterms.
If the success of Biden and the Democrats is giving the mainstream media a hard time framing things according to the stock narratives (Democrats in disarray, etc. etc.), imagine their problem when Republicans openly threaten to go full rogue — they’re already headed in that direction and after January 6 it’s going to be just a bit harder for the press to pretend they are still a legitimate partner in American democracy.
So, what happens next?
Tuesday, Aug 9, 2022 · 7:37:01 PM +00:00
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xaxnar
UPDATE: Charles P. Pierce on the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago:
...This is an investigation into a possible federal crime. No legitimate aura of authority surrounds ex-presidents. The republic can survive the investigation, indictment and even the conviction of a former president, no matter what that old fool Gerry Ford thought back in 1974. But nothing permanent can be done about the reaction until someone or something knocks from a lot of heads the notion that every political defeat is Concord Bridge and that every pronouncement from their favorite TV news star is a message from Thomas Paine from beyond the grave. In 2016 (albeit with some help from abroad), the country elected a grubby little crook riding America’s longest lucky streak to be its president. Now the bill has come due.
This wasn’t a presidency, it was a burglary. And they got caught.