I imagine my daughter’s attitude is pretty consistent throughout her age cohort (Gen Z) - she likes everything Biden has done, hates everything Trump and the right wing represents, will definitely vote for Biden, but isn’t enthused about voting for someone as old as her grandmother.
Again, she will absolutely vote for Biden - but if a pollster called her, she would not register much enthusiasm for Biden.
Trump is likely at or near his ceiling and months of courtroom drama aren’t going to change that. But Biden has room to grow and knows who to target with the right messages. Also we all need to spread positive messages about Biden, not just call out Trump. The voters we need to keep in the coalition know Trump sucks but need a reason to vote for Biden.
Biden is doing amazing things. Trouble is... that is the expectation. He is meeting the expectations and that does not make news. He ... rightly so... is not entering the culture wars and for that reason he is not able to break into the news cycle. Very few stories break out ... like negotiating RX prices. It's huge. But not newsworthy. And that is the sad state of our media consumption. But when push comes to shove... who is really going to think that Trump will do better? I get that his voters will never shake loose... but they are not the majority of that party anymore.
How impactful is it to stress that you’re voting for the team? At least anecdotally, voters in my life (young and old, of various backgrounds) who are less than ecstatic about President Biden AND Vice President Harris seem responsive to the notion that a vote for these two is a vote for the competence and compassion that surrounds them. That feels like more of an approach for us regular joes to take and the crux of the argument accepts the notion that this campaign is indeed a suboptimal political situation, but is there anything there for national messaging?
No use lamenting that the young are disengaged, mostly, from politics, consume media differently from their elders (anyone over 30), but is that any different from my own “Don’t trust anyone over 30” generation of the 60s and early 70s? Not much, I expect. The issues they’ll respond to are Roe, Healthcare, Housing costs, and—though this will get no traction with Biden—de-scheduling/legalizing marijuana.
Find messengers that can effectively make those points. Buttigieg and others.
I have read several comments about why young people might not be on board, and I have commented before about spending some time in a different media market when I visited my sister in Spokane - there is no touting of the good work Biden et al are doing there. The mayor of Spokane, Nadine Woodward, was recently praying on stage with Matt Shea, the former rep from the area, and a known far-right Christian Nationalist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Shea). So I would want to see local ads that show how the administration is benefiting the community. We are getting a ton of much-needed roadwork done in my area, and Spokane is too. Perhaps really promoting these improvements on a granular level in addition to online and nationally might help.
As someone who spends a great deal of time on Tiktok I can tell you exactly why Biden is losing young people: his decision la on both the Willow and Mountain Valley Pipeline projects. I can’t overstate the feelings of rage and betrayal I saw in my comments after those decisions, and they haven’t abated at all with time. I’ve told everyone I know with contacts at the White House, and I’ll say it here, too, if he wants the youth vote back he needs to reverse those decisions. Period.
What’s the media “ground” game for Biden and Dems? Are there people organizing a slow burn to massive in your face marketing on social media? I don’t want to see another Instagram ad asking me to donate money so I can meet President Biden and President Obama. I’m 44 years old, and that sounds awesome to me. But any 22 year old is going to scroll right past an ad like that. Certainly taking advantage of the viral pro-democracy celebrity videos that show up every once in a while is nice. But there needs to be a serious strategy utilizing social media to reach the voters who are less enthusiastic, and/or less likely to vote. I haven’t seen it yet. Maybe I’m too old to have it in my feed? But I hope someone has a plan. Early voting, turn out, and turn out. That’s the only way we win.
Always deferring to your research and analysis, I cannot share your on balance "positive" perspective. Any R victory in '24 will end governance, civil liberties, society, and well-being. Time to ex-pat, before we are prevented from doing so.
Appreciate Dan’s analysis, but also note that the indictments are Helping Trump because he’s in the news and talked about constantly, including here and on PSA. Just how he likes it! Would be more energizing if we could actually discuss message and strategy. Many of us are in the trenches talking to voters and we need help and support. For instance, how to effectively rebut the Age and Kamala Is Not Ready critiques? Personally I need to save my energy for doing the work.
Speaking as a member smack dab in the middle of the 30-44 crowd, does anyone think the 16% of us that are thinking third party or of not voting at all has anything to do with student loans? Biden made promises there that created this hope that we'd be lifted up from under some of that crushing debt and then changed the amounts after being elected. Yes, the courts have blocked some of his initiatives, but it doesn't seem to be a priority.
Incredible that we're in this position. Decades of work by our robber baron oligarchs, Rupert Murdoch, and Democrats' inability to play the long game brought us here. Along with unleashing K Street, crushing unions, gerrymandering, and Citizens United.
I imagine my daughter’s attitude is pretty consistent throughout her age cohort (Gen Z) - she likes everything Biden has done, hates everything Trump and the right wing represents, will definitely vote for Biden, but isn’t enthused about voting for someone as old as her grandmother.
Again, she will absolutely vote for Biden - but if a pollster called her, she would not register much enthusiasm for Biden.
Trump is likely at or near his ceiling and months of courtroom drama aren’t going to change that. But Biden has room to grow and knows who to target with the right messages. Also we all need to spread positive messages about Biden, not just call out Trump. The voters we need to keep in the coalition know Trump sucks but need a reason to vote for Biden.
Biden is doing amazing things. Trouble is... that is the expectation. He is meeting the expectations and that does not make news. He ... rightly so... is not entering the culture wars and for that reason he is not able to break into the news cycle. Very few stories break out ... like negotiating RX prices. It's huge. But not newsworthy. And that is the sad state of our media consumption. But when push comes to shove... who is really going to think that Trump will do better? I get that his voters will never shake loose... but they are not the majority of that party anymore.
How impactful is it to stress that you’re voting for the team? At least anecdotally, voters in my life (young and old, of various backgrounds) who are less than ecstatic about President Biden AND Vice President Harris seem responsive to the notion that a vote for these two is a vote for the competence and compassion that surrounds them. That feels like more of an approach for us regular joes to take and the crux of the argument accepts the notion that this campaign is indeed a suboptimal political situation, but is there anything there for national messaging?
No use lamenting that the young are disengaged, mostly, from politics, consume media differently from their elders (anyone over 30), but is that any different from my own “Don’t trust anyone over 30” generation of the 60s and early 70s? Not much, I expect. The issues they’ll respond to are Roe, Healthcare, Housing costs, and—though this will get no traction with Biden—de-scheduling/legalizing marijuana.
Find messengers that can effectively make those points. Buttigieg and others.
I have read several comments about why young people might not be on board, and I have commented before about spending some time in a different media market when I visited my sister in Spokane - there is no touting of the good work Biden et al are doing there. The mayor of Spokane, Nadine Woodward, was recently praying on stage with Matt Shea, the former rep from the area, and a known far-right Christian Nationalist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Shea). So I would want to see local ads that show how the administration is benefiting the community. We are getting a ton of much-needed roadwork done in my area, and Spokane is too. Perhaps really promoting these improvements on a granular level in addition to online and nationally might help.
As someone who spends a great deal of time on Tiktok I can tell you exactly why Biden is losing young people: his decision la on both the Willow and Mountain Valley Pipeline projects. I can’t overstate the feelings of rage and betrayal I saw in my comments after those decisions, and they haven’t abated at all with time. I’ve told everyone I know with contacts at the White House, and I’ll say it here, too, if he wants the youth vote back he needs to reverse those decisions. Period.
What’s the media “ground” game for Biden and Dems? Are there people organizing a slow burn to massive in your face marketing on social media? I don’t want to see another Instagram ad asking me to donate money so I can meet President Biden and President Obama. I’m 44 years old, and that sounds awesome to me. But any 22 year old is going to scroll right past an ad like that. Certainly taking advantage of the viral pro-democracy celebrity videos that show up every once in a while is nice. But there needs to be a serious strategy utilizing social media to reach the voters who are less enthusiastic, and/or less likely to vote. I haven’t seen it yet. Maybe I’m too old to have it in my feed? But I hope someone has a plan. Early voting, turn out, and turn out. That’s the only way we win.
Always deferring to your research and analysis, I cannot share your on balance "positive" perspective. Any R victory in '24 will end governance, civil liberties, society, and well-being. Time to ex-pat, before we are prevented from doing so.
Appreciate Dan’s analysis, but also note that the indictments are Helping Trump because he’s in the news and talked about constantly, including here and on PSA. Just how he likes it! Would be more energizing if we could actually discuss message and strategy. Many of us are in the trenches talking to voters and we need help and support. For instance, how to effectively rebut the Age and Kamala Is Not Ready critiques? Personally I need to save my energy for doing the work.
Speaking as a member smack dab in the middle of the 30-44 crowd, does anyone think the 16% of us that are thinking third party or of not voting at all has anything to do with student loans? Biden made promises there that created this hope that we'd be lifted up from under some of that crushing debt and then changed the amounts after being elected. Yes, the courts have blocked some of his initiatives, but it doesn't seem to be a priority.
Incredible that we're in this position. Decades of work by our robber baron oligarchs, Rupert Murdoch, and Democrats' inability to play the long game brought us here. Along with unleashing K Street, crushing unions, gerrymandering, and Citizens United.