This isn’t working. We have to change the entire game right now.
Many of you say you don’t even know what the messaging is coming from Biden and the Democrats. That’s why you should all be following Biden press secretary Jen Psaki and DNC Chair Jamie Harrison on Twitter or Facebook or whatever platform you spend your time on. Whenever you agree with something they say, amplify it – not only online, but also to your political friends in real world conversations.
As a liberal activist, you’re not obligated to automatically regurgitate every single thing the Democrats say. In fact if you disagree with a specific thing they say, you should not amplify it. But you do have a responsibility to listen to the Democrats’ messaging every day, and to amplify it every time you agree with it. That’s how we win elections.
You will generally NOT hear the Democratic Party’s messaging by watching MSNBC or CNN, which are too busy chasing ratings narratives to care about giving the Democrats a fair shake on their messaging. You will also NOT hear the Democratic Party’s messaging from most liberal political pundits on the internet, because their brand is usually built around trying to make themselves sound smart and important by bashing the democrats.
So you have to make a point of going directly to the source – the Democrats themselves. Best way to do that is to follow them online. Follow Psaki, Harrison, House and Senate Democrats, you name it. Follow them all. Then retweet and amplify everything they say that you agree with.
A lot of liberal pundits will dismiss you as a “cheerleader” if you do this. But it’s not cheerleading if you agree with what you’re amplifying. It’s real activism. When a Democrat says something you agree with and think is important, why wouldn’t you amplify it?
Imagine how much more someone like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could accomplish if you’d all spend your time amplifying his messaging and thus empowering him, instead of spending your time bashing and thus sabotaging him.
Political leaders, no matter their job title, are only as powerful as their supporters make them. You can’t bash Schumer and then turn around accuse him of not being powerful enough. Your constant bashing is precisely why he’s not as powerful as you’d like. You’re supposed to be working with him, daily, on messaging. You’re not hearing Schumer’s messaging? That’s because you’re not following him. Again, you’re not going to hear the Democratic leadership’s messaging by just watching MSNBC or following Twitter pundits.
We have to end this harmful notion that any liberal activist who dares to praise or amplify a Democratic leader is being some kind of “cheerleader.” As a liberal activist, it’s literally your job to help Democratic leaders get their messaging heard. Also, when you’re actually helping Democratic leaders amplify their messaging, it puts you in a position to influence their messaging and agenda. It works both ways. If you’re refusing to amplify the Democrats, and just bash them instead, why would they listen to you on anything? Instead they’ll go listen to some other activist who’s not trying to sabotage them.
You really want to make a difference in politics? You want to influence the direction and decision making of the Democratic Party? Stop whining from the cheap seats, and get in the game. Amplify, and thus influence, the Democrats’ messaging. It’s Activism 101. It’s what we have to start doing, now, if we want to win in 2022 and save this country.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report