To be clear, I’m referring to this recent Twitter thread, which I believe mirrors the NYTimes article from Saturday, and her TV appearance on Sunday:
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1324694301234921474
My conservative neighbors are not impressed with Republican-light. They roll their eyes, chuckle a bit, and take it as a sign that Republicans were right all along, about everything, and Democrats just need to admit it. Appealing to their supposed grievances doesn’t win anything, it is now abundantly clear, and is a huge waste of time.
There are messages that can work here. They work best when neighbors are talking with neighbors. The problem is mostly execution and technical ability, as AOC rightly calls out.
The conservative message has talk radio all day, everyday; Fox News every night; Sinclair Broadcasting when switching to local news; and a well-curated right wing Facebook stream going 24/7. Combined, it takes up every bit of oxygen in the area. And we just don’t have the resources to present a better, positive message on a consistent basis.
The problem isn’t the progressive message. $15/hour wage, green jobs, and universal health/child care would get some attention. Neighbors now know, from recent-ish experiences, that sending police to a drug overdose isn’t all that helpful. They can be surprisingly open to reforming who gets dispatched to what emergency. We just don’t have the resources, technical experience, or those with dedicated time to get these and other messages out.
I’m talking transitioning the email list to Constant Contact, along with starting (and continuing) a regular newsletter. Setting up a HootSuite account to unify social messaging. Creating an ActBlue account to raise money from everyone who was born here and moved away. And, most importantly, organizing the data from those efforts to constantly improve and fine-tune the local party’s approach. And building it all in such a way that little is lost when volunteers re-focus on other aspects of their lives (as is always inevitable).
We need to see which email newsletters get forwarded and which social media messages are shared. Learn what creates engagement, and do the slow, hard work of building on every tiny bit of success. It’s all oh-so-very possible, and not-so-very happening. Rural means we’re light on people with time and ability — but not capability.
Getting it all going would take time and effort that could use a bit of support. Once it’s all running though, well, this is an incredibly cheap media market by comparison. Here’s the very little the local party was able to accomplish during this election:
https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&view_all_page_id=1144318875648500&sort_data[direction]=desc&sort_data[mode]=relevancy_monthly_grouped
A lot was learned. But this shouldn’t have been a “learning” election. It should have been one where we executed. And we need help with that. This is the area where rural progressives need your support.
Georgia doesn’t need to be an anomaly. Instead of air dropping huge sums to the Amy McGraths of the world (no offense intended), we’d do better unleashing countless energizer bunnies all over the country. Organizing, organizing, organizing their neighbors.