In my view Democratic politicians do not talk to their base. Biden did not talk to us at all. Harris only talked to us during the 100 day campaign. The House doesn’t talk to us and neither does the Senate. And saying that they don’t have right wing media groups is a cop out. All they do is ask for money by obscene numbers of texts and emails which is a turnoff. There is an internet. We won’t see them on it until a few months b4 the midterms asking for money. The money grab needs to be seriously addressed. Trump went out every day of his presidency and lied to his base. He talks non stop and guess what he has figured out what they want to hear and they turned out. Democratic politicians need to get in front of cameras as much as Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gaetz do. This is the age of celebrity. Trump won’t end that and generic Democrats will keep getting beat. People don’t care about policy they care about emotion.
At its most basic, the problem is that too many people believe too many things that are not true. They take that faulty knowledge and form opinions reinforced by social media (their own and others), biased or lazy news coverage (mostly opinion camouflaged as fact), and a woefully late and incompetent Democratic Party effort to address those deficiencies in sufficient ways to change their minds. As Mary said below, they wait a few months before asking for money, but I'll take it one step further. They wait until the election year to start making arguments against their opponents.
I can count on one hand how many times the DNC chair was on TV in the three years following Biden's swearing-in. It is the same for state party chairs, county party chairs, Congressional, and state legislative campaign committee leaders. They were wholesale MIA--for years. That's where the problem originates and that's where the solution should begin.
In the meantime, their counterparts were all over Fox, Sunday talks shows, radio, podcasts, everywhere. Even while Biden's policies were being criticized by the media daily, the Democratic party organizations and leaders left the defense to the White House, who, BTW, did a fairly good job during Biden's term. But they were on their own, fighting an onslaught of constant ridicule and lies. And you wonder why people believe things that are false? Because no one the public might listen to was telling them it was false. "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on" is no longer just an anecdote; it is a law of modern politics.
So it's easy to complain about Harris' message, or she started too late, or she didn't talk to enough podcasts, or she didn't visit more of the states, or she didn't defend herself enough against a 34x convicted felon, insurrection leader, sexual abuser, serial cheater, secret document thief, etc. The truth is she and Biden had no help for three years. Not from their party. Not from the news media. Not from people who knew better. Not from people who could do so. That has to stop.
My suggestions are:
1. Study Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and understand the two lowest levels. That's where the GOP lives.
2. Accountability begins the day after the winners of the previous one are announced. Every day you wait is another day you're behind.
3. Publish a daily accounting of what elected officials do. Call it: "What did they do for/to you today?" Be relentless.
4. There are no "both sides" to facts. There is no alternative to the truth that doesn't include lies, distortion, or vagueries.
5. Finally, it's not a fight if you don't throw a punch.
It was a great discussion until "Morning Joe" started at the end. That's why I can't watch his program. He takes over the discussion and doesn't really listen to anyone. I'm sorry because I always love to hear what you have to say and get a very deep discussion going. Please continue to send clips when you are on.
I agree, Susan. I watch Morning Joe, but after this election, all Joe has talked about is what has been wrong with Democrats for decades. Sorry, but Dems did pretty well during those decades (note Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi). I love Anand and always perk up when he's on the show. Joe, you need to rethink your approach to your audience. They agree with Anand more than they agree with you.
To meet them where they live….? You mean on Fox News. This is all they really hear. I know this cause all my midwestern relatives I tried to talk to and encourage to listen to more news when they parroted some misinformation about Obama replied: “Oh we do! We have Fox on ALL DAY!” The one dem who goes on Fox is Pete Buttigieg. Unless more Dems can reach out to these folks consistently “where they live”…nothing will change.
We are surrounded by existential reminders at every moment.
2) "Woke" got too far out of hand. Once a rigorously-amplified-and-enforced dogma gets imposed on others, anger is the inevitable result. I was once a student at UC Berkeley in the heyday of 'deconstruction' and actually knew Michel Foucault. 'Deconstruction' led to 'woke,' basically. While it's crucial to recognize our differences, the whole pronoun thing is a turnoff. etc.
3) I'm a hypereducated coastal elitist, but I got into school and stayed there by waiting tables to survive, so I really identify with OAC.
3) Bernie was, and remains right. Trump, seeing an opportunity in the spurning of Bernie by the DNC, took Bernie's message and twisted it.
4) and as you say, this is a biopsy. We are traumatized.
and yes, people need a home, where they feel accepted and love where they are.
I was thinking that someone or some group needs to follow Robert Kennedy's example when he went to communities from Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta listening and learning. /What a surprise when he found out the programs and the money didn't get to the local level. I suspect that when they find out that most of the middle class are really poor they will be surprised.. And maybe they will figure out that what they are calling a class system is really a cast system.
Anand, Thank you for helping me stay sane. Thank you for your deep insights, and for your ability to teach me, what I cannot understand, myself, including what the other generations think. I have followed you since 2018.
Let’s ask ourselves why Elizabeth Warren got a sustained and surprising standing ovation from the crowd at the Democratic convention? Her first virtue is as an excellent communicator. Secondly, once elected she used her expertise and power to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency—and fought tooth and nail for it. Republicans made sure she would not be made its executive but the CFPB has survived and sent millions back into ordinary American’s pockets. I rarely hear dem politicians utter a word about an achievement they should have been bragging about. Third, she has managed to keep the TRUST of the American people by TAKING THEIR SIDE against a financial sector that is destroying us by its greed, corruption and rapacious appetite for monopolies .Hence the ovation. The dems need to improve their ways of communicating from a grade of F to an A. Same for being a presence in every community.
I watched this when it originally aired and spent the day savoring Anand's insights, then watched it twice again, wishing there were more in public life like him. The youtube comments are unbelievable, his dimbulb voters, they really don't understand what the the government does, and what they voted for, which makes trolling them imperative. Like his base, I don't have a college degree either, but educated myself at the public library, and Google is at their fingertips. "Social safety net" takes a second to type into the computer and one night of voting to dismantle. God defend us.
Thank you, Anand, for your clear, consistent wisdom in leading us to build and keep building a Pro-Democracy movement in the world . . . not just in the Democratic Party . . . not just in the U.S.
In regards to the statement "The Democratic Party has failed to engage with people on a visceral level, to meet them where they live", then what are you saying bout the ( PEOPLE) 70,268,561 votes? If I just woke up from a coma and listened to the noise, I would think VP Harris didn't get any people voting for her, a Democrat... Help me understand the noise - does 70,268,561 votes mean anything?
If the "Democratic Party has failed to engage with people on a visceral level, to meet them where they live, then what are you trying to say about the 70,268,509 votes VP Harris received?
To say nobody got the message isn't true. Millions of people voted for Harris. But I agree: We need a strong, singular voice that breaks through the noise of the Right. And we need to hear this voice every day. Many voters don't even know that Biden had a plan for the border on day one. Or that Dems supported the Langford Senate bill, but it never made it to the floor of the House because of Trump. Why weren't we talking about this on every talk show, every podcast, in every interview? Yes, Todd (below) is right. All Democrats at all levels of government need to reinforce our message. To paraphrase James Brown, They need to feel us. With a voice that is unmistakable.
In my view Democratic politicians do not talk to their base. Biden did not talk to us at all. Harris only talked to us during the 100 day campaign. The House doesn’t talk to us and neither does the Senate. And saying that they don’t have right wing media groups is a cop out. All they do is ask for money by obscene numbers of texts and emails which is a turnoff. There is an internet. We won’t see them on it until a few months b4 the midterms asking for money. The money grab needs to be seriously addressed. Trump went out every day of his presidency and lied to his base. He talks non stop and guess what he has figured out what they want to hear and they turned out. Democratic politicians need to get in front of cameras as much as Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gaetz do. This is the age of celebrity. Trump won’t end that and generic Democrats will keep getting beat. People don’t care about policy they care about emotion.
Msnbc didn't do us any favors either. Corporate media and billionaires....I blame them
At its most basic, the problem is that too many people believe too many things that are not true. They take that faulty knowledge and form opinions reinforced by social media (their own and others), biased or lazy news coverage (mostly opinion camouflaged as fact), and a woefully late and incompetent Democratic Party effort to address those deficiencies in sufficient ways to change their minds. As Mary said below, they wait a few months before asking for money, but I'll take it one step further. They wait until the election year to start making arguments against their opponents.
I can count on one hand how many times the DNC chair was on TV in the three years following Biden's swearing-in. It is the same for state party chairs, county party chairs, Congressional, and state legislative campaign committee leaders. They were wholesale MIA--for years. That's where the problem originates and that's where the solution should begin.
In the meantime, their counterparts were all over Fox, Sunday talks shows, radio, podcasts, everywhere. Even while Biden's policies were being criticized by the media daily, the Democratic party organizations and leaders left the defense to the White House, who, BTW, did a fairly good job during Biden's term. But they were on their own, fighting an onslaught of constant ridicule and lies. And you wonder why people believe things that are false? Because no one the public might listen to was telling them it was false. "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on" is no longer just an anecdote; it is a law of modern politics.
So it's easy to complain about Harris' message, or she started too late, or she didn't talk to enough podcasts, or she didn't visit more of the states, or she didn't defend herself enough against a 34x convicted felon, insurrection leader, sexual abuser, serial cheater, secret document thief, etc. The truth is she and Biden had no help for three years. Not from their party. Not from the news media. Not from people who knew better. Not from people who could do so. That has to stop.
My suggestions are:
1. Study Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and understand the two lowest levels. That's where the GOP lives.
2. Accountability begins the day after the winners of the previous one are announced. Every day you wait is another day you're behind.
3. Publish a daily accounting of what elected officials do. Call it: "What did they do for/to you today?" Be relentless.
4. There are no "both sides" to facts. There is no alternative to the truth that doesn't include lies, distortion, or vagueries.
5. Finally, it's not a fight if you don't throw a punch.
It was a great discussion until "Morning Joe" started at the end. That's why I can't watch his program. He takes over the discussion and doesn't really listen to anyone. I'm sorry because I always love to hear what you have to say and get a very deep discussion going. Please continue to send clips when you are on.
I agree, Susan. I watch Morning Joe, but after this election, all Joe has talked about is what has been wrong with Democrats for decades. Sorry, but Dems did pretty well during those decades (note Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi). I love Anand and always perk up when he's on the show. Joe, you need to rethink your approach to your audience. They agree with Anand more than they agree with you.
To meet them where they live….? You mean on Fox News. This is all they really hear. I know this cause all my midwestern relatives I tried to talk to and encourage to listen to more news when they parroted some misinformation about Obama replied: “Oh we do! We have Fox on ALL DAY!” The one dem who goes on Fox is Pete Buttigieg. Unless more Dems can reach out to these folks consistently “where they live”…nothing will change.
Anand, you are so great.
I love the way you read culture. Here are a few things to add:
1) When people feel existentially frightened, they lean dark and hard toward authoritarians. I helped write a book about this ("Worm at the Core.") See this: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/23/secret-trump-success-existential-dread-populist-death
We are surrounded by existential reminders at every moment.
2) "Woke" got too far out of hand. Once a rigorously-amplified-and-enforced dogma gets imposed on others, anger is the inevitable result. I was once a student at UC Berkeley in the heyday of 'deconstruction' and actually knew Michel Foucault. 'Deconstruction' led to 'woke,' basically. While it's crucial to recognize our differences, the whole pronoun thing is a turnoff. etc.
3) I'm a hypereducated coastal elitist, but I got into school and stayed there by waiting tables to survive, so I really identify with OAC.
3) Bernie was, and remains right. Trump, seeing an opportunity in the spurning of Bernie by the DNC, took Bernie's message and twisted it.
4) and as you say, this is a biopsy. We are traumatized.
and yes, people need a home, where they feel accepted and love where they are.
so here we sit, clusterfkkkd.
I was thinking that someone or some group needs to follow Robert Kennedy's example when he went to communities from Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta listening and learning. /What a surprise when he found out the programs and the money didn't get to the local level. I suspect that when they find out that most of the middle class are really poor they will be surprised.. And maybe they will figure out that what they are calling a class system is really a cast system.
Anand, Thank you for helping me stay sane. Thank you for your deep insights, and for your ability to teach me, what I cannot understand, myself, including what the other generations think. I have followed you since 2018.
Your point was pitch perfect Anand.
This piece is actually frustrating....why are we saying that dems should work on including everyone?
Just read Sirota's recent piece and inclusive doesn't make as much sense as actually stand for something which should be the working class....
Biden at least tried to change the last 50 some years of the neoliberal agenda but....Harris didn't defend it or back it up.
Also how about all of the misinformation out there...
https://www.levernews.com/handbook-for-the-politically-deceased/?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-article
Let’s ask ourselves why Elizabeth Warren got a sustained and surprising standing ovation from the crowd at the Democratic convention? Her first virtue is as an excellent communicator. Secondly, once elected she used her expertise and power to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency—and fought tooth and nail for it. Republicans made sure she would not be made its executive but the CFPB has survived and sent millions back into ordinary American’s pockets. I rarely hear dem politicians utter a word about an achievement they should have been bragging about. Third, she has managed to keep the TRUST of the American people by TAKING THEIR SIDE against a financial sector that is destroying us by its greed, corruption and rapacious appetite for monopolies .Hence the ovation. The dems need to improve their ways of communicating from a grade of F to an A. Same for being a presence in every community.
I watched this when it originally aired and spent the day savoring Anand's insights, then watched it twice again, wishing there were more in public life like him. The youtube comments are unbelievable, his dimbulb voters, they really don't understand what the the government does, and what they voted for, which makes trolling them imperative. Like his base, I don't have a college degree either, but educated myself at the public library, and Google is at their fingertips. "Social safety net" takes a second to type into the computer and one night of voting to dismantle. God defend us.
Thank you, Anand, for your clear, consistent wisdom in leading us to build and keep building a Pro-Democracy movement in the world . . . not just in the Democratic Party . . . not just in the U.S.
Why aren't we also talking about the dems billionaire problem?
https://www.levernews.com/election-2024-how-billionaire-avengers-destroyed-democracy/?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-article
In regards to the statement "The Democratic Party has failed to engage with people on a visceral level, to meet them where they live", then what are you saying bout the ( PEOPLE) 70,268,561 votes? If I just woke up from a coma and listened to the noise, I would think VP Harris didn't get any people voting for her, a Democrat... Help me understand the noise - does 70,268,561 votes mean anything?
If the "Democratic Party has failed to engage with people on a visceral level, to meet them where they live, then what are you trying to say about the 70,268,509 votes VP Harris received?
To say nobody got the message isn't true. Millions of people voted for Harris. But I agree: We need a strong, singular voice that breaks through the noise of the Right. And we need to hear this voice every day. Many voters don't even know that Biden had a plan for the border on day one. Or that Dems supported the Langford Senate bill, but it never made it to the floor of the House because of Trump. Why weren't we talking about this on every talk show, every podcast, in every interview? Yes, Todd (below) is right. All Democrats at all levels of government need to reinforce our message. To paraphrase James Brown, They need to feel us. With a voice that is unmistakable.