21 Comments

Well, first, stop arguing Republican talking points. You'll never change anyone's mind on abortion or immigration or trans sexuals. When Republicans bring up their hot button issues, say "How is that going to help people who live paycheck to paycheck." Make them fight on our turf.

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I like that response a lot.

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We always need to make them fight on our turf. Never repeat their arguments, even to refute them. We've got to change the frame entirely, as Jim does here.

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I think Heather Cox Richardson had it exactly right today. This is a message that should break through: “Still, the sudden attempt of the Republicans to rewrite history cannot erase the fact that every Republican in the House of Representatives voted against impeaching Trump when he withheld $391 million in aid for Ukraine that Congress had appropriated, offering to release it only on the condition that President Zelensky announced an investigation into Hunter Biden. That is, they were willing to look the other way as Trump weakened Ukraine in an attempt to rig the 2020 election by creating a scandal he hoped would sink his chief opponent.”

Democrats supported impeachment, though, and the case went to the Senate to be tried. And there, every single Republican senator except Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who voted to convict him for abuse of power, acquitted Trump of the charges stemming from his attempt to hamstring Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

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How to fit that on a bumper sticker though?

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Why not use the putin strategy? Predict the GOP reaction in one sentence and then talk about the Dem action in 10.

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Note from my pair of boots on the ground... Re: how people see the economy, what working class NAVs see and feel isn't recovery. The increase in jobs isn't very meaningful to them because they already have jobs, often more than one, and they are feeling rising costs pretty acutely. And, the visual impact of homelessness in their community is really powerful. So a candidate or canvasser promoting "the Biden boom" sounds unhinged in that sphere of daily experience. All to say, when Dems do make ourselves visible, we'd better be equipped to speak to the people we want to hear us, not just talk at them.

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Great article, Dan!

It’s frustrating seeing all these warning signs and flashing lights telling the Democrats to turn around to avoid driving off the cliff, yet we keep going towards them, but it’s really not their fault

One of the problems that the party is facing is that there are just too many plates spinning. We need to pick out a few areas and own them and become synonymous with them. When people think of Republicans, they automatically associate them with two or three topics.

Democrats, first and foremost, in my personal opinion, need to be synonymous with fair wages and jobs. I am a social worker and see the systemic problems related to poverty. When people have the opportunity to earn more income and better their lives, it “raises all boats.” Poverty is an issue that trickles into other aspects of life that affect equity and equality.

One question, though, Dan, and I know you cannot really answer this with any degree of certainty, but how long do Democrats have to change the narrative before the midterms? It seems we have till the end of summer and early fall to get “good vibes” going.

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I’d say end of June at the latest.

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Like it or not this is the sandbox we’re playing in. We need to pick one message (MAGA anyone?) and fan out and repeat it a thousand times a day. It’s the only way to make any progress. I don’t know the message, but we’re running out of time.

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Back on Track?

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Who came up with the idea of asking Heather Cox Richardson to interview Biden? Brilliant. Easy to put that video all over social media. My brother watched it and wrote, "The more I see of Biden the more impressed I am." Maybe someone in the WH is listening to you Dan? :)

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Dan, you and others have written ad nauseum about what concerns are troubling Americans. The answer is "everything" depending on who you ask and how the questions are phrased. So, today your message, backed by polling, gives us the answer about what needs to be done...get the message out about Biden's accomplishments. Easier said than done.

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When Democrats come up with a coherent, consistent, cohesive, and unifying strategy, then we can talk about messaging tactics. When there are strategically challenged Congressional voices still chanting "Defund the Police", perhaps it's not such a bad thing that the word isn't getting out.

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No one is “chanting” that. It’s a Republican talking point that they have made popular by repetition, with hardly any pushback from Democrats. There’s no need to waste time denying it, the best strategy would be to figure out a bumper sticker way to accuse Republicans of defunding the police, which has the advantage of being true.

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I may have been hyperbolic, but Cori Bush was reported to still planning to use it in her campaign. You don’t need too many candidates who get the attention that she does for others to leverage it to their advantage.

Besides, that’s just one example that gets national attention. There are local examples that may not make it above national radar but have an impact locally.

Today the Boston Globe ran an op ed column about proposed changes to the U Mass Boston mission statement. Look it up if you choose to see how many on the left go out of their way to do damage to to the necessary relationship between them and the center.

Again, the issue is strategy, and Democrats don’t have one.

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I can see why. It plays really well with African Americans. For good reason.

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I had a BLM sign in my yard until organization made its asinine statement re: Cuba.

Can you see why that was a blunder? How that would cost votes, and not just from centrist and right wing whites?

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I'm an Anglo-Saxon, father of three, grandfather of five, Army veteran who voted Republican until 2000. I have an appreciation for the past history and current frustration our minority citizens have with white America and our role in restricting their progress, but I believe "seeing and hearing is believing." Democrats provide the raw material for Republican ads. Comments about defunding the police by anyone, especially by an African-American, is music to conservative ears. And so it is for kneeling for the national anthem, or calling for reparations...the list goes on and many of these issues are felt deeply by not just many Black folks. I do hear the cries of many Black activists about waiting no longer, but from my perspective with gerrymandering, and the Electoral College in play we need to win one or two more national elections in order to push the changes you demand and deserve. Patience being a virtue, please be aware how many millions of Americans want the changes under-served Americans do, but cranking up the fear level in the American South and Mid-West will only serve to hold us back at election time.

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Tax the Rich, Bring American Jobs Home

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AMEN! A thousand "amens".

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