This series tries to make the case that the Democratic Party desperately needs to rethink how it communicates to America and that to connect with voters Democrats should focus on four primary themes:
- These are the values Democrats stand for.
- Democrats fight for workers and the poor.
- Democrats are the party of reform and clean government.
- Conservatism is dead.
This post will focus on message #2.
Yesterday the Washington Post ran a story titled "Despite recent wins, Democrats remain divided about what they stand for." How is it possible that Democrats are still debating this? It's not hard to come up with a unifying, populist message for the party: Democrats fight for the underdog--for workers, the poor, and anyone who needs a voice in society. Why aren't Democrats telling that story?
The idea that Donald Trump won the presidency as the champion of working people is an obscenity. Democrats have been fighting for American workers for a hundred years; we should have owned that issue. The harsh truth is, we forgot who we work for. While we obviously do a lot of good things for workers, in many respects we seem to have lost our identity as their champions. As proud Democrats, we must return to our roots as defenders of workers and people in poverty. We must let them know that we will be their voice in government.
We can regain the trust and support of workers with these four steps:
1. Rebrand Democrats as the party that fights for the underdog.
The underdog theme unites so many issues for the party, from the minimum wage and health care to rights for LGBTQ people, minorities, and others. It's a message that the vast majority of Americans can identify with, and it answers every scurrilous charge of "identity politics" or "class warfare."
2. Tell workers exactly how we will improve their lives.
Lay out a very specific agenda that will help voters visualize a better life for themselves. (Hint: The wonky, disjointed, overly complex "A Better Deal" campaign isn't it; if your agenda contains more than 10 bullet points, you've already lost the communications battle.) Democrats should lay out a handful of simple, easy-to-understand proposals that will directly improve the lives of workers, and then hammer those points relentlessly. We can debate the details, but here are a few ideas:
- Tax cuts for the middle class and eliminating loopholes for the wealthiest people and biggest corporations
- Truly universal health care
- Raising the minimum wage
- Affordable college tuition
- Affordable child care
- Guaranteed sick pay
- Paid family leave
- Vocal support for unions and for rescinding anti-union laws, to give people a voice in the workplace
- A workers’ bill of rights
3. Remind America of the proud history of the Democratic Party.
People want to belong to something—to a cause, to a tradition. Democrats should take every opportunity to remind workers that we have had their backs for nearly a hundred years. The Democratic Party has brought them most of the reforms they now take for granted as part of the American way of life:
- The 40-hour workweek
- Social Security
- Medicare
- Paid vacations
- The idea of a minimum wage
- Time and a half for overtime
- Unemployment insurance
- The right of equality in the workplace for women and people of color
- Affordable health care
- Consumer protections
We have a right to be proud of our history. Democrats know we can make life better for Americans because we have made it better—time and time again.
4. Attack the record of conservatives.
Democrats already do a pretty good job of painting Republicans as the party of the rich and big corporations. That message needs to be constantly reinforced by pointing out the stark contrast between the two parties:
- Democrats support unions. Conservatives want to destroy unions.
- Democrats want to raise the minimum wage. Republicans oppose it.
- Democrats gave health insurance to millions of people who couldn’t otherwise afford it. Republicans want to take it away.
- Democrats want to enforce the banking reforms passed after the Great Recession. Republicans want to get rid of them.
- Democrats passed the Credit Card Act and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect Americans from the worst abuses of the credit and financial industries. Republicans sided with the credit card industry and Wall Street.
- Democrats oppose repealing the inheritance tax for mutimillionaires. Republicans want more tax cuts for the wealthy.
- Democrats are fighting for paid sick leave for all workers. Republicans side with business and oppose it.
- Democrats are working to keep the internet fair and equal for everyone. Republicans are on the side of big business.
With a record like that, how in the world can Republicans be considered the party of the little guy? Democrats need to aggressively point out the hypocrisy of conservatives.
Posts in this series so far:
The New Democratic Message: A communications plan to win back America
The New Democratic Message (Part 2): Don't talk about issues. Talk about VALUES.
The New Democratic Message (Part 3): Democrats fight for workers and the poor
The New Democratic Message (Part 4): Democrats are the party of reform and clean government
The New Democratic Message (Part 5): Don’t attack Republicans. Attack CONSERVATIVES.