What James Brown would tell Democrats
What James Brown would tell Democrats
Anand's “Morning Joe” discussion about the rebuilding years ahead for the Democratic Party
Anand was on “Morning Joe” today to talk through the task ahead for the Democratic Party — turning its focus from simply broadcasting its inclusive platform to actually engaging with people to build an inclusive party. It’s the thing we’ve been talking about all week, and we encourage you to listen to the full conversation.
This is far more than a messaging challenge, and pulling it off means more than tweaking policy, moving a tad to the left or right to capture passing interest, or slicing and dicing performance among demographic groups in the loose but fractured coalition of voters that Democrats has depended on so far. And it doesn’t mean arguing against Trump’s worst attributes or diagnosing or debunking the worst proposals the Republicans have had to offer. None of that worked.
It does mean throwing out all the preconceptions and priors Democrats have been working with, and maybe rethinking the structure of the party itself. It means moving to a full understanding of what voters want and the stark reality of traumas they’ve endured over the previous decade, from inflation to loneliness to the opioid epidemic to the colossal impact of the Covid pandemic, in a real way. And it means an utterly revamped understanding of what media means today and how people make meaning from it.
It’s not that the Democrats don’t have good policy ideas. And it doesn’t matter that the economy is “good” in the aggregate. That’s all an abstraction. As Rev. Al Sharpton told Anand this morning (and he heard it from James Brown), “People feel you before they hear you.” And nobody felt the Democratic message, however solid its arguments, however well-intentioned it may have been.
The Democratic Party has failed to engage with people on a visceral level, to meet them where they live. The Republicans have. Now that the Democrats are in the wilderness, it’s time to set out on that path.
We hope The Ink will be essential to the thinking and reimagining and reckoning and doing that all lie ahead. We want to thank you for being a part of what we are and what we do, and we promise you that this community is going to find every way possible to be there for you in the times that lie ahead and be there for this country and for what it can be still.
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.