Staying Focused

Staying on Message, and having a great message, is more important than ever in these crazy times

The environment that Donald Trump is creating is so juicy, so mesmerizing, that it is all too easy to focus on his antics, and not on winning back the House in 2018.  The Democratic National Committee  seems to have fallen into that trap.  Their website today reads:  JOIN RESISTANCE SUMMER.

The U.S. Senate Democrats recently released their A BETTER DEAL slogan and program.  I like that slogan more than the DNC's, but it still misses the mark, I believe. 

The other day I read about a study of Obama-Trump voters that was conducted by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group.  I found some interesting and telling observation on this group of people in an August 17, 2017 New York Times article by Nate Cohn.

First:  "The Obama-Trump voters generally support Mr. Trump's key campaign pledges on police, infrastructure spending, trade and the environment."  I'm not happy about their thinking; what I have found by talking to some of these voters is that they want fairness, especially regarding immigration.  They aren't especially upset with rich people or big corporations.  (The "Better Deal" program  pits "special interests and the very wealthy" against the "middle class".  I'm not sure how helpful that is.)

Second, a number of Democrats running  for office in 2016 either won a bigger share of white working class people without a college degree, or lost by a smaller margin than Clinton did.  Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, and Katie McGinty in Pennsylvania won their races.  John Kander lost his bid for the US Senate in Missouri by three points; Clinton lost by twenty.

The Democrats may not be able to get back all of these voters who flipped from Obama to Trump.   Democrats should not abandon their positions on the environment and police brutality.  They should, though, try to learn what Duckworth, Feingold, McGinty and Kander did to outperform Clinton in 2016.  And then they should use that information to craft a compelling program and message for 2018.

Grab a seat

This could take a while

If you consume lots of news from liberal sites as I do, and have participated in protests - some massive - it is easy to believe that this whole Trump presidency will be dispatched quickly.  Especially given the flow of bad news for Trump and his team.

Not so fast.  Don't get sucked into believing that outrage by people you affiliate with is enough to end this particular presidency.  Especially not given the pathetic lack of direction from the Democratic party.

I found several laments from pundits and politicians today after a very quick surfing of the web.  

Tim Kaine, our almost Vice President, stated that Democrats need to talk to the middle class, and need to talk about economic growth.  (USA Today, 5/24/17).

From Matt Taibbi, in a 5/26/17 Rolling Stone article, I found this gem:  "'But Republicans are bad' isn't a message or a plan, which is why the Democrats have managed the near impossible:  losing ground overall during the singular catastrophe of the Trump presidency...  People need a reason to be excited by politics, and not just disgusted with the other side.  Until the Democrats figure that out, these improbable losses will keep piling up."

On a July 10, 2017 interview on Michigan Radio, Jan Eyer (senior V.P. at Vanguard Public Affairs) thinks the latest Democratic messaging attempts prove the party still doesn't "get it".  For example, one of the slogans prepared by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reads:  "Democrats 2018:  I mean, have you seen the other guys?"  (I have not actually seen this slogan anywhere but from this source.)

I end with my friends, and their website:  the Democratic National Committee.  Their main content is:    

1. Hold Trump accountable

2. Take a stand

3. Make calls to Republicans

4. Give us money

5. Watch us "live"

6. Shop our merchandise

7. Learn about our new officers

I guess Tom Perez didn't read my letter, but put it in his circular file. 

Democrats obsess at their own peril

And risk any chance of taking the House in 2018

Trump keeps laying landmines, and Democrats keep viewing them as stepping stones to an inevitable landslide for Democrats in 2018.  It is a Republican "strategy" too delicious, too elegant, to have been cooked up consciously by anyone.

Yet a strategy it is - get the Democrats to focus on the shiny objects - the offensive tweets - and they will avoid the really difficult work of coming up with a compelling message to encourage people to vote for Democrats.

Democrats are doing the Republicans a big favor by obsessing about how awful Trump is.  They are ignoring the fact that a lot of people voted for Trump because of what they perceived as his positive message (much as that pains me to acknowledge).

I fear that until the Democratic party wakes up and develops a strong, affirmative message, the chances for Democrats are slimmer than they should be in 2018.

Depending on where you live, your vote may really NOT count

Political Gerrymandering

The Supreme Court will hear a case involving political gerrymandering in Wisconsin in the fall of 2017.  Racial gerrymandering, the practice of drawing congressional lines along racially concentrated areas, has been ruled unconstitutional in some cases.

Political gerrymandering, or the drawing of congressional districts in order to mute the impact of voters for the party out of power, has not been ruled on.  The problem the judiciary has with throwing out non-racial gerrymandering is that there is no "workable standard for deciding when partisan line-drawing crossed a constitutional line."  (Brent Kendall, 6/20/17 Wall St. Journal)

Republicans gained complete control of the Wisconsin government in 2010 - a re-districting year.  The redrawn map helped convert very close state contests into wins for the Republican party.  In 2012, Republicans won 48.6% of the statewide vote, but gained 60 of the state Assembly's 99 seats.  In 2014, 52% of the vote yielded 63 seats. (Adam Liptak, 6/20/17 New York Times)

Wisconsin is not alone in this practice.  A lawsuit is pending in Pennsylvania against the Republican Party.  Pennsylvania has the infamous "Goofy kicking Donald Duck" district, which traverses five counties, and at one point is so narrow that it only encompasses the width of a restaurant.

Democrats also use political gerrymandering to advance their party.  Maryland is being sued, accused of depriving voters of their first amendment rights.

Any hope of finding gerrymandering unconstitutional may hinge on the concept of an  an "efficiency gap" - a measure of votes considered wasted in districts designed not to be close.  Two states where this gap occurs are Ohio and Massachusetts.

Some states are getting rid of political gerrymandering by using independent commissions to draw congressional maps.  Most states will not voluntarily give up biased districting until the judiciary tells them they must.

My letter to Tom Perez

I am sending a letter to Tom Perez, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and I am attaching it below:

June 22, 2017

Tom Perez

Chairman

Democratic National Committee

430 South Capital St. Southwest

Washington, DC 20003

Dear Chairman Perez:

I am a voter who is very concerned about the state of the Democratic party.  I believe that if the party continues on its current path, Democrats will not make strong electoral gains in 2018.

The Democratic party does not have a strong message.  Looking at the DNC website (as I have been doing since mid January), I am struck by the lack of a message beyond RESIST and DONATE.    Looking further into the website, I went to a section that included the 2016 party platform.  There I found the un-inspiring “Stronger together”.  What exactly does that mean?  Did that move anybody to vote for Hillary in November?  Why is that the message now?

Before the inauguration the Senate moved to start repealing the ACA.  I looked at the vote count, and said to myself “all we needed were two more Democratic senators and this wouldn’t have happened.”  I immediately went to the DNC website to see how I could help.  

What I found was sickening.  The website had not been updated since before the election.

I then decided to start a blog, which I have been posting to weekly since mid-January (you can find it at thinkandparticipate.blogspot.com.  

As part of my blog, I have been talking, and listening to people - most of them Trump supporters.  I have asked them if they think that the country is headed in the right direction.  The resounding answer is “NO”.    Then, almost all of them volunteer that things are not fair in the country (they are usually referring to illegal immigration.)  

It seems to me that the Democrats could use fairness in a strong, compelling message.  

Resist may work with the base; I don’t think it will work with people who voted for Trump in 2016 (and who may very well have voted for Obama in 2012).

Sincerely,

Joan Savitt, 2 Woodlawn Ave., Wellesley, MA

*******************************************************************

I am not especially hopeful that I will get a response, but I am going to continue to write to him, and try to contact others in the Democratic Party, who might be interested in what I have to say.


I CHANGED THE LETTER - THE ABOVE LETTER HAS THE WRONG ADDRESS - IT SHOULD BE: 430 S. CAPITAL ST. SOUTHEAST, NOT  SOUTHWEST.

Testing ... Testing

Trump's base is still devoted to him.

Have you ever wondered why Republicans in Congress still support Donald Trump?  People keep asking "how can Republicans support a man who loves Vladimir Putin, who doesn't want to get to the bottom of the Russia hacking/meddling scandal???"

If you watch as many news shows as I do, you have probably heard that "Republicans were so much braver during Watergate ... those were people with deep conviction and integrity."

Recently  a pundit/historian ( maybe Michael Beschloss) said on TV (maybe the Rachel Maddow show - I did try to find out)  that Republicans only got the courage to confront Richard Nixon when  they perceived that his supporters in their districts were becoming disillusioned with him. 

So, who knows, maybe Republicans will grow some courage ... when their constituents have told them they have had enough with the Donald Trump administration.

Scoring the communications of Democrats and the president

There is some hope

I was hoping that the Democrats would have understood by now the need to have a clear, concise message about why to vote for Democrats.  The record is mixed.  A saving grace is that the president's messaging, exacerbated by his lack of discipline, is completely chaotic.

In addition to talking and listening  to people  I am researching  how the Democratic parties in OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, MICHIGAN and WISCONSIN are forming and communicating  their message .

I am most disappointed with the Democratic party in Ohio.  I am from Ohio and have actually interviewed David Pepper, the Ohio Democratic party chairman.  Nowhere on the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) website, especially not on the home page, is there a headline of purpose.  The closest they get is to state:  "Stand up for all Americans.  Join Ohio Democrats".  What does that mean, and is it supposed to motivate anybody to do anything?

The ODP website discusses redistricting reform - gerrymandering is a huge problem in the Buckeye state.  This effort is called "Resistance Summer", and is a fine, worthy, and needed thing to do.  It is not, however, a call and a reason to vote for Democrats in Ohio.

The Ohio website includes details about the 1618 PLAN, which is designed to help Democrats run for office in 2018.  Buried in a paragraph about this plan is a sentence about how the Ohio Democratic Party needs to improve its messaging about why it is important to be a Democrat.  So true!  PUT THAT MESSAGE FRONT AND CENTER ON YOUR HOMEPAGE!

The websites for the Michigan and Pennsylvania Democratic parties have a better, more clearly communicated message than does Ohio's.  They aren't great, though.  

Michigan's website has a statement  that reads "Our focus is on putting Michigan issues first, fighting for families, seniors, students and veterans...".  A good message - they still need a compelling headline.

At least Pennsylvania has a headline on its website's homepage:  "Continue the fight for what's right".

It is a headline, it is an active statement.  It doesn't however, "paint a picture", as marketing wordsmiths would say,  about what is "right", and why that matters to the ordinary voter.

Wisconsin is the clear winner.  Their headline reads "Fighting for Fairness and Opportunity", and it    achieves a few strategic goals.  First, it appeals to the average voter.  Everybody has a sense of what fairness and opportunity means to them.  Second, it is what I hear when I listen to people talk  about whether they think America is headed in the right direction.  Third, it can cover a lot of topics, from healthcare to tax reform to school funding.

It has the visceral impact of the odious "make America great again" without the  awful  dog whistles.  I hope that more state Democratic parties do what Wisconsin has done - devise a clear and compelling message, and communicate it forcefully.