Press: Fixing the Democratic message machine

[Klaralven]

Democrats are good at a lot of things. They have a lot of good ideas, like child care, universal pre-K, cheaper prescription drugs, and family and medical leave.

But here’s one thing they’re not good at: selling their own story.

The Democratic Party’s message machine sucks! Just look back at the last three months, ever since Aug. 10, when the Senate voted 69-30 to pass President Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, soon known as the “BIF.” Ever since then, every story’s been about the chaos among House Democrats.

Progressives refused to vote for the so-called hard infrastructure bill unless they could vote on the companion “soft” infrastructure measure at the same time. Moderate Democrats insisted on voting for the physical infrastructure bill before even considering the human infrastructure bill. And, of course, the media loved nothing more than fanning the flames of a civil war among Democrats – ignoring the fact that Republicans had simply checked out, refusing to support any infrastructure bill, no matter what was in it nor how much it cost.

Meanwhile, nobody was talking about content. Democrats were so busy fighting over how to deliver the product, they spent no time selling the product itself. When the BIF finally passed the House 228-206, with the help of 13 Republicans, only a small percentage of Americans knew what was actually in the bill: what it meant to them or how it would help their state or community. And yet it will reach every corner of the country and totally transform the American economy.

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/580578-press-fixing-the-democratic-message-machine

[Scrivener7]

1. Oh, but we are told they did a media blitz. It turned out to be some local press conferences and

a projection of something onto a wall of a building in Baltimore.

This article is dead on. Democrats rule at governing.

We suck at messaging. We really need a good PR firm. It isn't rocket science. And frankly, republiQans have given us a roadmap in how we can put OUR message into the zeitgeist.

[betsuni]

2. Americans never know what's going on. Don't blame Democrats.

[kacekwl]

4. So true.

Then you have those who inhale RW radio and tv all day who think they do.

[texasfiddler]

3. Right wing business and money created A.M. radio and Fox Entertainment Propaganda

Left leaning billionaires have not made such investments. I am not sure that a political party can do what day in day out radio/TV/internet propaganda can do.

[JHB]

5. Once again, the discussion of Democratic "messaging" problems avoids the elephant in the room...

The fact that the Right has poured billions into creating their own overlapping, complimentary media systems and the center-Liberal-Left has not. Local wingnuts can take an activist slogan (like, say, "defund the police" ) and pass it around and up the chain that has a specific mission to bash Democrats. Within days, that slogan is touted nationwide as being the Democratic Party's central organizing principle, and Mainstream Media will take its cue from the Right

What do we have our our side? Where to our opinions get repeated and amplified? Beyond forums like this?

Right wing outlets often have sugar-daddies supplying seed money, keeping them going for years before they turn a profit, if ever. The Washington Times lost between 1 and 2 billion dollars (~$100 million/year) before it had a profitable year decades after it was founded. It spent that time circulating right-wing talking points to congresspeople and Washington media, so it was worth the investment. Meanwhile, on our side, "Air America was a disaster" because a good idea was organized by a grifter, and then a couple of amateurs tried to salvage it and failed. So despite people who'd been on it becoming more prominent in political analysis and commentary (Rachel Maddow, Al Franken), the take-away for people who can fund things was that dedicated liberal media is a doomed venture.

People like to bash RT, and have damn good reasons for doing so, but how many as why it was a thing on the left in the first place? Why was there no channel that could be home for liberal-lefty voices? So when the Vlad Channel popped up in the 2000s, it was a place where people could talk about domestic injustices and cover the Bush administration the way it deserved. After all, Vlad's fine with criticizing America, and the subject matter was something that needed criticizing. The obvious editorial choice was more and more criticism.

And since editorial policy rested ultimately in Vladimir Putin's hands (else you fall out a window), ramping up criticism, amplifying every bullshit claim about the Obama administration was only encouraged. Would the same have been true if it had been a domestic channel? Or, better to say, one of many domestic channels?

So yes, while we need to work on our megaphone skills, we need more than that in the face of the Right's F5 Tornado of Fantasy And Horseshit.

[gulliver]

6. "Democrats need to stop playing defense and start playing offense..."

"Stop explaining process and start talking product."

"Their message should be loud and clear. You elected us to end the Trump chaos and get big things done and we delivered: the biggest public works program ever. And we’ll soon add, in the “Build Back Better Bill,” the biggest boost for families ever and the strongest action ever taken to combat climate change."

Good post! I might argue Press buries the lede. The above paragraphs arrive at the end of the story.