Turns out it’s the Republicans who are really bad at messaging

| 12:01 pm EDT August 8, 2022
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

When you see the likes of Marco Rubio and Chuck Grassley trying to peg Senate Democrats as being devious, and instead they just come off as lazy whiners, it’s a reminder that Republicans are really bad at messaging in general. Like, astoundingly bad at messaging.

This isn’t anything new. The Republicans are consistently bad at messaging. It’s just that no matter how weak their messaging may be, right wing media and right wing activists always line up to repeat and amplify it – and that repetition helps overcome the inherent weakness of the messaging.

Keep this in mind the next time you hear someone accuse the Democratic Party of being bad at messaging. For the most part, it’s simply not true. The Democrats routinely churn out good to great messaging. But liberal-leaning media outlets and liberal-leaning political pundits nearly always ignore the Democratic Party’s messaging, and instead falsely bash the party for supposedly having no messaging, in a cynical effort to position themselves as being savvier than the Democratic Party.

In other words, the Republicans are terrible at this, but they get legions of reinforcement from their own side. The Democrats are actually quite good at messaging, but they get almost zero reinforcement from their own side, so they’re out there having to do it by themselves. Imagine what a difference it would make if those of you reading this started amplifying the Democrats’ messaging whenever they post something on social media that you agree with. The problem isn’t the quality of the messaging, it’s the lack of amplification – and that comes down to you.

Tweet of the day, from Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta: “Democrats: Largest climate investment in American history, lowering drug costs, fixing roads, bridges, and expanding broadband. Republicans: Book bans, criminalizing abortion even in cases of rape or incest, making it harder to vote. These two things are not the same.”

Tweet of the day #2, from Andrew Weinstein: “There would be no Inflation Reduction Act, no Infrastructure Law, no Safer Communities Act, and no Justice Jackson if we didn’t win both Georgia Senate seats in 2021. Now imagine what we can accomplish if we expand our majorities this November. 93 days to go. Let’s do this.”

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.