On Dem messaging, Lawrence O'Donnell, and even Heather Cox Richardson and the like...
(I rarely post on DU anymore even though I had my 20-year anniversary in August. I do read, however. I feel strongly enough about this to try to keep making the point that Dems need a much better messaging strategy, and I'm obviously not the first nor alone in that suggestion. It is a longstanding problem.)
Anticipating a lot of posts expressing frustration about Sunday night's deal, with the nearly automatic responses saying "What do you want them to DO? They aren't in power," I wrote an OP yesterday offering my suggestion of what I would like to see the Dems do.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20790893
In various threads over the last day I've seen wonderful DUers offer proof that Dems are trying to get their message out but the media ignores them. I've also seen suggestions to watch this person or listen to that person because they explain what REALLY happened Sunday night and the optimistic implications that should ease any frustrations we may feel.
(I want to add that I think the timing of the deal adds to the frustration. Regardless of any logical reasons behind it, what feels like a concession came directly on the heels of a Dem blowout. For me, it was deflating.)
Like it or not, optics matter. Especially in today's world.
It's very easy to be in a bubble nowadays, often without realizing it. I may be wrong and no doubt many will disagree, but I feel very strongly that the old ways of communication won't work. Democrats need a cohesive, simplified, CONSISTENT, daily presser/briefing/whateveryouwannacallit done by our best communicators. The various other pressers are fragmented and often ignored. They are a traditional approach, we need something fresh.
And it needs to be done NOT to attract traditional media attention - because, really, fuck them at this point and they are always going to shit on Dems - but to reach voters directly. ETA: If it gains traction, traditional media will eventually cover it. That's more often than not how it happens nowadays, it seems.
Social media is powerful. It can and is certainly misused and abused. But there are savvy people who know how to use it: Newsome's social media team, AOC, Crockett and others. When done right, that can gain a lot of attention, with voters getting the info daily, reliably, from people who can convey the reality of what is going on and what their plan is. Many of us obviously feel that, at the very least as communicators, current leadership isn't it. With daily, reliable, coherent content provided by excellent, non-egghead communicators who are engaging and can reach many demographics, it can be shared and amplified across every platform. That's how we can start to gain control of the narrative. (ETA: Heck, it could even be in the form of a live Zoom, with an elected Dem representative, senator and governor -- cover all bases.)
The former journalists many of us followed and respect who were fired from MSM have major audiences on YouTube and substack, with that content shared across other platforms. They are perhaps more successful now, with even more eyeballs than when they were on MSM. Some people can keep trying to get MSM to change but, personally, I'm ignoring them and have for the last year and don't anticipate that changing until something major shifts in the zeitgeist.
Watching Lawrence and others is great; watching and reading Heather Cox Richardson is great. There are many other pundits and experts on this policy or that policy and history who are great. All of that is helpful to be part of our daily diet.
HOWEVER. More and more of us want to hear directly from those we elect in a coordinated, cohesive manner. Instead of Lawrence and Heather and others explaining the likely strategy behind Sunday's decision, let good Dem communicators do it via a briefing. And make such a briefing daily. (I realize there is currently a bit of fracturing and that may be hard at this very moment, but we need them to figure out how to communicate what has and is happening to us and not rely on media to explain. Because, no matter what expertise they have, most of the people we tend to follow are simply offering their educated opinion.)
There are myriad wise media people to follow. Many, perhaps most now, of our Dems have their own social media accounts.
I am an avid consumer of political content and it is even becoming like white noise to me!!! And if it feels that way to me, the average person is surely tuning it all out.
Suggesting that people watch this person or watch the various pressers on C-Span which you know very few people are watching isn't going to help the problem with Democratic messaging and the need for us to CONTROL THE NARRATIVE.
I'm thinking way beyond the DU bubble. We all should be, most definitely elected Democrats and their advisers.
We need much, much more at this point. We need to have clarity from the Dems themselves, conveyed with the entire electorate in mind, and our job is then to amplify that messaging.
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When the school called us in because our kid was misbehaving, our immediate response was "oh yeah? What about our neighbor's kid? He is much worse!"
He is genuine and smart. He doesn't just recite platitudinal formulaic talking points. He engages.
He is genuine - not just a politician.
