Kathy Hochul's surprising victory in NY's 26th Congressional District has awaken many within the Beltway to the possibility that Democrats might be able to use Republican attacks on Medicare to win back control of the House in 2012. It remains to be seen, however, if the Democratic Party's 'leadership class' has finally absorbed THE single most important lesson that Hochul's victory underscored in dramatic fashion: FEAR is the key emotion that determines the outcome of all electoral contests.
The Fear Factor
Paul Ryan is quite aware of the supreme political value of fear. It's the reason why Republican leaders have been united in their efforts to decry the 'scaremongering' of Hochul's campaign.
That is almost precisely the same complaint that is leveled at Republicans by many Democratic voters during the final weeks of almost any national campaigns. I must say I've always found it a rather odd sort of criticism to voice, given the fact that political campaigns have always contests between competing sets of fears.
Consider the fact that, even when people say that they are motivated by hope, the key emotion that actually inspires them to act with a sense of urgency is their fear of missing out on the thing they are hoping for. Indeed, people are optimally motivated to support a political campaign when they are inspired by fear of a lost opportunity.
Fear is the one emotion that is strong enough to motivate people---who have never voted before---to get off their duffs and go out and vote. If your big thing is GOTV, always keep this in mind. The ultimate truth of political competition is that Swing Voters always vote for the candidate/party that they fear the least.
The problem with fear is not that politicians use it to inspire voters; the problem is that some politicians create fears that are irrational or unjustified or exaggerated. When such fears are used to intentionally mislead citizens into voting against their own best interests, then the use of fear is unethical, if not downright evil. In contrast, if the fear that politicians inspire is legitimate---if their intention is to alert voters to an actually existing danger that they have the power to protect themselves from---then the use of fear is truly virtuous.
What Democrats need to understand clearly is that Swing Voters can be persuaded to fear either party. Right now, thanks to Republican duplicity and the seeming emotional blindness of Democratic politicians, far too many Swing Voters fear The Democrats more than they fear The Republicans. They will come to identify with the Democratic Party if/when they come to realize that it is The Republicans whom they ought to fear, not the Democrats. It is the Republicans who are not like them, who are simply looking for yet another opportunity to play them for fools.
Some Democrats think it is better to emphasize anger rather than fear, but I have to point out that the anger approach can backfire on you. We do not want to be characterized as Angry People who are always angry [in a threatening sort of way]. Voters need to see that behind our anger is a real fear for the well-being of the American People and for America’s reputation around the world. We should never hesitate to express our fear of Republicans, but we need to make it clear in our tone that our fear is appropriate and that our anger is controlled & justified.
Think of the many times when Republicans have accused Democrats of 'hating America' or of 'hating George Bush.' They make this charge to evoke an image of people who are imagined to be inherently angry and who are therefore a threat to 'us normal people.' But now think of how that image changes if---when we are accused of hating---we respond by saying no, it is fear that we feel. That is something every average voter understands. It really is our best defense.
We want the Swing Voters to see us as people who fear the Republicans, but we also want them to see that we are also brave enough to take on the threat. Like the sergeant said to the private in the foxhole, "Everyone’s afraid, son. But we can’t let that fear stop us. We still have a mission to carry out." Yes, we are afraid of them but we also have the courage to take on that threat. We just know that we must oppose evil when we see it. Verbalize fear. Show courage.
This how political parties are branded. With emotion. It's nice that Democrats can be so objective and fair, but it is not so nice when they continue to lose to cunning Republican opponents who know how to manipulate the emotions of Swing Voters, to make them afraid to identify with Democrats. If we want to Get Out The Vote and persuade more Swing Voters to vote for Democrats in these last days, the emotion we to communicate and express and feel is fear. It is, after all, the appropriate emotion that most Americans should feel when they think about the possibility of a return to Republican Rule.
Swing Voters and motivationally-challenged Democrats have got to see the fear in our eyes in these final days. I’m not recommending that we engage in cynical manipulation like the Republicans; I’m just saying that we need to fully communicate our fear of the Republicans with some passion, so that the Swing Voters understand that we are not just playing politics.
Go ahead; tell the misguided Republicans you know that you are afraid of the Republicans' willingness to distort the truth in order to get elected. Model your fear for them to see. But then let them see your courage and determination. You are serving a worthy cause. You must act to help people who are in need. Our hope is simply too precious to us. If we cannot fear the loss of our hope, then we truly are doomed.
It sometimes seems as though Democrats are inherently reluctant to criticize the Republicans with strong language because that is just the sort of thing that the Mean Cheerleader (Sarah Palin?) always did to the nerdy over-achiever (Barack?) in high school. They know it is wrong to isolate those who are not members of their group. So they naturally feel inspired to model the kind of respect for their opponents that they think everyone is entitled to.
But Democrats really need to start asking themselves if they don't actually have a moral obligation to alert America’s Swing Voters to the great threat they are facing: the willful efforts that the Republicans make to misrepresent the truth about the Democrats. After all, when the Republicans manipulate Swing Voters with expressions of ridicule for imaginary defects, they are acting to deprive the Swing Voters of the better life they would have if the Democrats were in charge of the government.
If we don’t believe that then we should just hand over the government to the Republicans and STHU.