Democrats are not getting their message out to American workers. They trust Trump on the economy over Biden by a 47%-36% margin. Democrats know that working Americans will be much better off with Biden! It’s so frustrating.
Q. How can Democrats get their message across.
A. Be honest (Duh!). We have a good story to tell. However, we have to be extremely careful in how we tell it. If we simply say, “Don’t worry! The unemployment rate is historically low at 4%. 353k jobs were added in January. Inflation is down,” we risk putting our credibility at risk.
“Why,” you ask.
The reason is that while these numbers are all true, they don’t reflect the felt reality of today’s workers. 78% of workers fear getting laid off in the inevitable next recession. Admittedly the poll is two years old, but I’d challenge anyone to show that people feel differently now. Despite the fact that unemployment is historically low and inflation is coming down, Americans are scared. Employee confidence is at the lowest level since Glassdoor began tracking it in 2016. And while inflation is coming down, prices aren’t.
The way we present this information is more important than the facts themselves.
I’m not a psychologist, but several psychologist friends have told me that the way to deal with a deep fear is NOT to confront it directly. You have to find out what’s behind it and deal with the real cause. As multiple studies show, the real cause of Trump’s support has nothing to do with economics; it’s that fear of being displaced by the other.
“America is the world's dominant superpower, and white Christian males sit at the top of our nation's food chain. That's the right and proper hierarchy, and it's under serious threat.
When blue-collar whites heard that implied message from Donald Trump, many realized it aligned with their own beliefs. As a result, they broke with precedent to support the Republican candidate for president.”
Let’s take this a little further. Again, I’m not a psychologist, but anyone whose spouse has come home complaining about work knows that now is not the time to offer solutions. What they really want is validation; validation of themselves as human beings.
Now I’m going to tell you something that will make you gag up your lunch. But I’m going to ask you to listen anyway. Democrats need to tell Trumpers that we value them as human beings. How? Well, not by stating that explicitly.
Instead of telling American workers that they are wrong in their feelings and citing facts to prove it, Democrats should emphasize the positive steps we are trying to make to make their lives better:
- If they get laid off, most Americans lose what little health insurance they have. Democrats should broadcast that they want to strengthen ACA so that if someone does get laid off, they won’t completely lose their health insurance.
- Don’t talk about inflation being down! Yes, the rate of price increases has dropped. But the prices are still high. And although salaries have recently caught up with inflation, I don’t think anyone can be sure that will continue. Democrats should shout out that inflation is caused by the federal deficit, which was profoundly increased by Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires. Those tax cuts will lapse in 2025 if Biden is elected.
- Promote the “Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act”. It would add $2.7 trillion in revenue over a decade.
There are many more that you can think of. The most important point is to frame these as positive actions that Democrats will take if elected in 2024. Of equal importance is that they have to be repeated until they echo off the walls. Trump repeats his big lies until people can’t tell what’s real.
Democrats need to shout out the Big Truth until it becomes part of the air we breathe. We can all do our part:
- Social media
- Billboards
- Restroom doors – the best I’ve ever seen: ‘Don’t switch D%*&s in the middle of a screw. Vote for Nixon in ’72.’
- What are your ideas?