To me the focus should be on the pain that people who are not college-educated, and now losing or have lost jobs, and who think, as one of them said to me today: we think they are all stupid. Some are nuts, but many are not; many are just suffering and do not trust they belong. Yes focus on Mitch, he is a clear and present danger. But there is a divide in this country that has to do with identity pure and simple. We have to address it without rage or contempt. With real results and real respect. Not just for the sake of principle. First step: win GA. Bc Biden and team have got to get some real results for this country.
Hello to Dan and followers! If you, like me, are a bit confused about how to help win the Georgia Senate runoffs, read on...
Swing Left SF is joining a coalition of GEORGIA grassroots organizations that have identified a set of infrequent voters to create a plan to vote!
We are looking for 200 volunteers who will be assigned 100 Georgia voters each. Swing Left volunteers will support their voters in creating and implementing their voting plans. It may be re-applying for an absentee ballot, locating an early voting site, or identifying their January 5th polling location.
Before starting to call, volunteers will be trained and then assigned voters. We estimate,our volunteers will need to spend 12 hours over the next two weeks.
Please sign up TODAY to join Swing Left SF and our Georgia partners for this in-depth voter engagement program. We call it Virtual Canvassing! In supporting Georgia grassroots organizations, we will personally connect with voters, to increase turnout for the Senatorial special election. It is so very important!
Please share this opportunity with your friends and family so we can work together to get our country back on track!
Agree - would only add that the added dimension has to be to go more aggressively after corporate grifters/corruption. This was was largely absent from 2020 and is critical for getting back sections of the priority states.
I agree this is one of the things that needs to be looked in an after-action report. I saw a lot of polling before the election about how that message was relatively ineffective when used on Trump
How that guy creates such a vortex of opposite-world around himself and dodges the truest criticisms is mind-boggling...if only we could harness it for the power of good 😂
I agree it's a great line but we need simple slogans to win. Republicans seem to be the master of it, Socialist, take away your doctor, defund the police, ANTIFA.
We need, in the age of the low information, uneducated voter, be able to neutralize these slogans and create ones of our own.
Our messaging sure was poor; I agree. And in this day and age, MOST people, educated or not, do not read beyond the first sentence...and then there are those that get their news from FB (palm smacks forehead emoji).
I agree. When Trump was first elected I said the best thing we could do would be to starve him from the attention he so desperately craves. McConnell on the other hand prefers to do his evil quietly and so focusing on him would be very uncomfortable for him. We need to focus on the Grim Reaper moving forward for sure. This has the added benefit of being able to relate to folks who aren't getting what they want by highlighting the obstruction/corruption from Mitch and gang that stop progress on things regular people actually want.
On a separate personal rant WHY is it always Democrats who have to forgive crimes to HEAL the country and move forward when Republicans constantly "crime away" without worrying about healing anything? I understand the premise of moving forward but it disgusts me to hear people say just like Nixon we should forgive and move on. REALLY???? I think Democrats need to stop being doormats in that regard.
"It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS" Leslie Moonves, 2016, about Trump's candidacy.
Yes, Dems should ignore Trump. But will the MSM? Will he remain irresistible story for every news outlet? Yes, we can focus on McConnell, but will it generate news that will trump Trump in the news cycle? I doubt it.
He'll launch some media enterprise. NY and NJ investigations. He'll do campaign rallies through the 2022 election cycle. He (and Jr) will tease about 2024 and tweet about potential contenders. All will generate stories. McConnell is dull, dull, dull. No contest.
He will get attention on his own and we can't control that, but we can influence what Dems (ourselves) included focus on in the coming months and years. Focusing on Trump didn't help us against anyone other than Trump in 2020 and I worry the same result could happen in 2022
Yes, and watch as he has a massive rally of MAGA on January 20th as he announces his candidacy for 2024 at the same time as Joe Biden is placing his hand on the Bible to be sworn in as the 46th President of the US. The only way we can be shed of this horrible example of a 'human' being is thru either 1. his death or 2. New York State takes the matter in hand.
You nailed it "Leslie Moonves" and it never stops...and never will. trump is a bigger carnival statesman than Colonel Parker who 'managed' Elvis Presley...another historic grifter.
In the long run Trump's ego and ability to say outrageous things may be good for us. I'd be interested in what Dan has to say as I believe that the one (and only) meme that worked for us in the presidential election was, "Trump."
The more he sucks up media attention, the more he obstructs 2024 (fellow cray, cray) presidential candidates, and will stir up internecine conflicts within the Republican party for 2022 elections, where we will need all the help we can get.
IMHO we need to clean up our own house first. There are factions within the Democratic Party that feel that their policies are the only right policies. The leaders of these groups also have the ability to grab up the media spotlight and the Republican war room weaponizes everything they say and uses it against all of our candidates, even if they don't support their policies.
These people do not play well with others and IMHO sacrifice the whole for the egos of the few.
While the GOP is a mostly demographically and ideologically homogenous group, Dems are by necessity a bigger tent and will therefore have a more cacophonous caucus. I am not sure we can change that (or should), but I think we can do a few things to mitigate the concerns you raise. 1. Is being better at weaponizing the comments on the other side so that we are not on defense as much 2. Have a broader narrative about what it means to be a Dem that encompasses more points of view. Having the WH will help a lot, bc the President defines the brand and has the bull pulpit to promote it
What about Democrats that are outrageous to garner significant media time. Joe hasn't been sworn in and our own people are attacking him, much to the media's and Republican's delight.
E.g. AOC decries Joe's cabinet picks as being too erudite but appears on the cover of the very erudite Vanity Fair in a $1,000 pant suit.
One media seeking politician (or pundit) can spoil the barrel for us all.
We love Eric. If I may vent, Bernie announced his opposition to the bipartisan coronavirus relief package. I'm sure that will be very consoling to people out of work and about to lose their homes. And his point is...
Do you feel that Booker would have been a better candidate from the get-go? As soon as Amy launched and made very unfortunate remarks about perhaps supporting Kavanaugh at the hearings, my mind went 'uh-oh'..
Booker was an incredibly talented candidate that might have done a better job of putting McConnell back on his heels, but I am not sure any Democrat was defeating McConnell in Kentucky in a presidential year. You need one in four Trump voters to win and that is neigh on to impossible
hahahaha Dan...just as I predicted below, grifter-in-chief will pull a stunt right before Biden's inauguration and have a massive rally at the same time as the swearing in....the only bright thought I had was this: this is idiot's way of conceding. And I don't want him ANYWHERE NEAR BIDEN anyway. So predictable...now let's see if the press can stop themselves from breathless coverage of this.
Great as usual Dan...now if ONLY I could get Rahm Emanuel out of my mind (sending vibes to Joe and Kamala...'no Rahm, no Rahm, no Rahm'). I'm very Transition focused, obviously. And the media? I don't know HOW you could stand it!!! Esp people like Matt Viser (WaPo).
Agree and we need to start with the Georgia senate races. A friend who lives within the Atlanta viewing area told me all the ads (on both sides) are attack ads. We agreed that both Ds should talk about how McConnell blocks action and with a Democratic Majority Leader legislation that would actually help Americans (higher minimum wage, extended unemployment benefits, access to child care services, college loan relief, small business subsidies to keep them alive until the vaccines are available --i.e. real pocketbook issues --would be brought to the floor for debate. Right now McConnell won't even bring issues he disagrees with to the floor even if a majority of senators from both sides would support it. We would even talk directly about the major issue the Rs fear with a Democratic senate, the Supreme Court and Roe v Wade. That ship has sailed for the immediate future but Covid and the economy are NOW but still tied to the dock.
Great piece as always. Made better by the use of the word “dreck”.
Good Shabbos :)
To me the focus should be on the pain that people who are not college-educated, and now losing or have lost jobs, and who think, as one of them said to me today: we think they are all stupid. Some are nuts, but many are not; many are just suffering and do not trust they belong. Yes focus on Mitch, he is a clear and present danger. But there is a divide in this country that has to do with identity pure and simple. We have to address it without rage or contempt. With real results and real respect. Not just for the sake of principle. First step: win GA. Bc Biden and team have got to get some real results for this country.
Hello to Dan and followers! If you, like me, are a bit confused about how to help win the Georgia Senate runoffs, read on...
Swing Left SF is joining a coalition of GEORGIA grassroots organizations that have identified a set of infrequent voters to create a plan to vote!
We are looking for 200 volunteers who will be assigned 100 Georgia voters each. Swing Left volunteers will support their voters in creating and implementing their voting plans. It may be re-applying for an absentee ballot, locating an early voting site, or identifying their January 5th polling location.
Before starting to call, volunteers will be trained and then assigned voters. We estimate,our volunteers will need to spend 12 hours over the next two weeks.
Please sign up TODAY to join Swing Left SF and our Georgia partners for this in-depth voter engagement program. We call it Virtual Canvassing! In supporting Georgia grassroots organizations, we will personally connect with voters, to increase turnout for the Senatorial special election. It is so very important!
Please share this opportunity with your friends and family so we can work together to get our country back on track!
SIGN UP HERE TO VOLUNTEER. https://signup.gosociafy.com/GoSociafy/SignUp1277
Thank you for joining this final push!
Swing Left San Francisco
Agree - would only add that the added dimension has to be to go more aggressively after corporate grifters/corruption. This was was largely absent from 2020 and is critical for getting back sections of the priority states.
I agree this is one of the things that needs to be looked in an after-action report. I saw a lot of polling before the election about how that message was relatively ineffective when used on Trump
How that guy creates such a vortex of opposite-world around himself and dodges the truest criticisms is mind-boggling...if only we could harness it for the power of good 😂
Love this line, "He is a millionaire corporatist political hack with the charisma of the Ebola virus." Good piece. I hope Dems listen.
I agree it's a great line but we need simple slogans to win. Republicans seem to be the master of it, Socialist, take away your doctor, defund the police, ANTIFA.
We need, in the age of the low information, uneducated voter, be able to neutralize these slogans and create ones of our own.
Our messaging sure was poor; I agree. And in this day and age, MOST people, educated or not, do not read beyond the first sentence...and then there are those that get their news from FB (palm smacks forehead emoji).
I agree. When Trump was first elected I said the best thing we could do would be to starve him from the attention he so desperately craves. McConnell on the other hand prefers to do his evil quietly and so focusing on him would be very uncomfortable for him. We need to focus on the Grim Reaper moving forward for sure. This has the added benefit of being able to relate to folks who aren't getting what they want by highlighting the obstruction/corruption from Mitch and gang that stop progress on things regular people actually want.
On a separate personal rant WHY is it always Democrats who have to forgive crimes to HEAL the country and move forward when Republicans constantly "crime away" without worrying about healing anything? I understand the premise of moving forward but it disgusts me to hear people say just like Nixon we should forgive and move on. REALLY???? I think Democrats need to stop being doormats in that regard.
"It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS" Leslie Moonves, 2016, about Trump's candidacy.
Yes, Dems should ignore Trump. But will the MSM? Will he remain irresistible story for every news outlet? Yes, we can focus on McConnell, but will it generate news that will trump Trump in the news cycle? I doubt it.
He'll launch some media enterprise. NY and NJ investigations. He'll do campaign rallies through the 2022 election cycle. He (and Jr) will tease about 2024 and tweet about potential contenders. All will generate stories. McConnell is dull, dull, dull. No contest.
He will get attention on his own and we can't control that, but we can influence what Dems (ourselves) included focus on in the coming months and years. Focusing on Trump didn't help us against anyone other than Trump in 2020 and I worry the same result could happen in 2022
Yes, and watch as he has a massive rally of MAGA on January 20th as he announces his candidacy for 2024 at the same time as Joe Biden is placing his hand on the Bible to be sworn in as the 46th President of the US. The only way we can be shed of this horrible example of a 'human' being is thru either 1. his death or 2. New York State takes the matter in hand.
You nailed it "Leslie Moonves" and it never stops...and never will. trump is a bigger carnival statesman than Colonel Parker who 'managed' Elvis Presley...another historic grifter.
In the long run Trump's ego and ability to say outrageous things may be good for us. I'd be interested in what Dan has to say as I believe that the one (and only) meme that worked for us in the presidential election was, "Trump."
The more he sucks up media attention, the more he obstructs 2024 (fellow cray, cray) presidential candidates, and will stir up internecine conflicts within the Republican party for 2022 elections, where we will need all the help we can get.
Post-election I’ve been hearing less and less news about Trump and I’ve been loving it. We should keep it up!
Wonderful piece, Dan, you nailed it.
IMHO we need to clean up our own house first. There are factions within the Democratic Party that feel that their policies are the only right policies. The leaders of these groups also have the ability to grab up the media spotlight and the Republican war room weaponizes everything they say and uses it against all of our candidates, even if they don't support their policies.
These people do not play well with others and IMHO sacrifice the whole for the egos of the few.
Dan, your thoughts please.
While the GOP is a mostly demographically and ideologically homogenous group, Dems are by necessity a bigger tent and will therefore have a more cacophonous caucus. I am not sure we can change that (or should), but I think we can do a few things to mitigate the concerns you raise. 1. Is being better at weaponizing the comments on the other side so that we are not on defense as much 2. Have a broader narrative about what it means to be a Dem that encompasses more points of view. Having the WH will help a lot, bc the President defines the brand and has the bull pulpit to promote it
What about Democrats that are outrageous to garner significant media time. Joe hasn't been sworn in and our own people are attacking him, much to the media's and Republican's delight.
E.g. AOC decries Joe's cabinet picks as being too erudite but appears on the cover of the very erudite Vanity Fair in a $1,000 pant suit.
One media seeking politician (or pundit) can spoil the barrel for us all.
Agreed; people need to CHILL. We just WON this thing, and as @EricBoehlert says (Press Run is a great newsletter btw) and Dan as well...act like it!
We love Eric. If I may vent, Bernie announced his opposition to the bipartisan coronavirus relief package. I'm sure that will be very consoling to people out of work and about to lose their homes. And his point is...
Dan, what's your opinion on why McConnell keeps getting reelected despite his absolutely terrible approval ratings even in his own state?
Kentucky is perhaps the most Republican State. Trump won it by 26 points.
It reads like a hostage situation. "We hate him ...... but we must vote for him."
But they by and large don't hate him.
Because he does what for them? The poor people of Kentucky?
I am hardly defending them. But I disagree w your description. It is a problem that they do not hate him.
Do you feel that Booker would have been a better candidate from the get-go? As soon as Amy launched and made very unfortunate remarks about perhaps supporting Kavanaugh at the hearings, my mind went 'uh-oh'..
Booker was an incredibly talented candidate that might have done a better job of putting McConnell back on his heels, but I am not sure any Democrat was defeating McConnell in Kentucky in a presidential year. You need one in four Trump voters to win and that is neigh on to impossible
hahahaha Dan...just as I predicted below, grifter-in-chief will pull a stunt right before Biden's inauguration and have a massive rally at the same time as the swearing in....the only bright thought I had was this: this is idiot's way of conceding. And I don't want him ANYWHERE NEAR BIDEN anyway. So predictable...now let's see if the press can stop themselves from breathless coverage of this.
Great as usual Dan...now if ONLY I could get Rahm Emanuel out of my mind (sending vibes to Joe and Kamala...'no Rahm, no Rahm, no Rahm'). I'm very Transition focused, obviously. And the media? I don't know HOW you could stand it!!! Esp people like Matt Viser (WaPo).
Agree and we need to start with the Georgia senate races. A friend who lives within the Atlanta viewing area told me all the ads (on both sides) are attack ads. We agreed that both Ds should talk about how McConnell blocks action and with a Democratic Majority Leader legislation that would actually help Americans (higher minimum wage, extended unemployment benefits, access to child care services, college loan relief, small business subsidies to keep them alive until the vaccines are available --i.e. real pocketbook issues --would be brought to the floor for debate. Right now McConnell won't even bring issues he disagrees with to the floor even if a majority of senators from both sides would support it. We would even talk directly about the major issue the Rs fear with a Democratic senate, the Supreme Court and Roe v Wade. That ship has sailed for the immediate future but Covid and the economy are NOW but still tied to the dock.