The Democratic Party’s messaging is a whole lot better than you think – you’re just not listening
This week we had to endure yet another round of prominent liberal pundits loudly insisting that the Democratic Party is terrible at messaging. We hear this notion so often, from media outlet after media outlet, pundit after pundit, that it starts to “sound” true. But here’s the thing: it’s not.
This weekend Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren came up with the perfect catchphrase that can be used against every House Republican in the midterms, when she called their leader Kevin McCarthy a “liar and a traitor.” This is precisely the kind of messaging you want from the Democrats. Of course this merely prompts some folks to complain that the overall Democratic Party should have Warren-like messaging. But again, here’s the thing: it does.
Over the weekend the official Democratic Party Twitter account said this: “Senate Republicans like Ron Johnson praised the 2022 GOP plan that calls for raising taxes on half of Americans and sunsetting Social Security and Medicare in 5 years.” Again, this is winning messaging. It appeals to suburban middle class voters. It appeals to seniors. It appeals to low income voters who expect to need Social Security and Medicare someday. It’s simply a winning message.
Want more? Here’s what Speaker Nancy Pelosi said over the weekend: “If Republicans were ‘good on the economy,’ the last 3 Democratic Presidents that followed one wouldn’t have had to: Drag us out of recession — Clinton. Enact emergency Recovery aid — Obama. Rescue our economy from freefall — Biden.”
Here’s the messaging that DNC Chair Jaime Harrison was sharing over the weekend: “Let me get this straight. Desantis’ Disney/Don’t Say Gay retaliation bill could increase a million Floridians’ property tax bill by 25%. But go ahead and keep telling us about ‘fiscal responsibility’ & your ‘business-friendly climate.'”
Not only is the Democratic Party delivering solid winning messaging, it’s offering precisely the same messaging that many of you keep demanding the party deliver. Unfortunately, too many of you are too distracted by clowns who try to bring attention to themselves by falsely claiming the Democrats have no messaging.
The Democratic Party isn’t the weak link here. We are. Not nearly enough politically active folks on our side even bother paying attention to the Democrats’ messaging, let alone bother amplifying it. But if you don’t amplify the Democrats’ messaging, no one else will. Most of the pundits on our side, from MSBBC to Twitter, have built their brands around pretending the Democratic Party weak on messaging, because they want to come off as savvier than the Democratic Party. So they’re not going to amplify the party’s messaging. That has to come from you.
Here’s how we fix this. Start following all the major Democratic Party accounts on Twitter or Facebook, whichever platform you prefer. Whenever the Democrats post something that you agree with, amplify it by sharing it or quoting it. And when you see someone claiming that the Democrats have no messaging, kindly point them toward the Democrats’ actual messaging.
We can’t afford to sit back these next eight months pretending our party has no messaging, and using it as a lazy excuse to not have to amplify anything. The midterms are too important. It’s time to start doing our jobs as activists, by paying attention to the party’s messaging, and amplifying and repeating it as warranted.
