OK. Trump is bad. Is that enough to vote for Democrats?

[DemocracyMouse]

We won't win votes by just yelling "GOTV."

A Daily Kos editorial is pleading with Democrats: Start rallying FOR Dem causes, not just AGAINST the president.

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1752975

A blue wave requires that Democrats tell the American people precisely how they will make their lives better. They must inform Americans that they will solve the health care issue once and for all by instituting a single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system. They must tell their constituents that they will finally create a subsidized child care system that makes working possible for all those who want (or need) to do so. They need to show Americans that they will solve the overbearing student loan/debt crisis. They need to tell the segment of the population decimated by the justice system that they will orchestrate necessary reforms. They must be proactive on many other progressive issues that most Americans want, as well.

[DemocracyMouse]

1. Please think about this. PLEASE.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. It would be enough for me to vote for Democrats, but for the low-information

working-class American who works two or three jobs at or near minimum-wage pay and who has never had the time to study how/why tax cuts for the wealthy hurt him/her when all they manage to hear about is the government being unable to stay within their budget?

These folks, who, as I said, are too busy working those 2 or 3 jobs might want to hear more Dem candidates get on board the "Raise the Minimum Wage" train...

Dem candidates should get adept at fielding questions about how raising the minimum will help the economy, working Americans and be ready to refute the republican LIE that raising the minimum wage will make ALL consumer goods and services un-affordable!

[img][/img]

[DemocracyMouse]

3. I like the concreteness in "Raise the minimum wage to $15/hr."

Can we add that Democrats:

"Support strong unions."

"Want a national health plan for all Americans as good as what congress gets."

"Want clean air and clean water and won't lie to you that it doesn't matter."

[TheDebbieDee]

9. If Dem candidates could organize and put

Even one of those points on a bumper sticker or on a t-shirt would go over BIG! And might take away the republican talking point that Dems are only anti-Trump and pro-Impeachment!

[DemocracyMouse]

13. Yes! Thank you! Democratic wordsmiths unite!

[CrispyQ]

30. They need several bumper sticker soundbites, that work together as a theme to cover the issues.

I've always wondered why they didn't use the Joe Conservative essay as a sort of blue print of the high points to hit.

Tax cuts don't matter if you don't have a job. -I had that one during the Bush years.

Let's cut down all the trees and name streets after them. -I had that one too.


NY Times asked readers to submit their suggestions for a dem slogan after the "A Better Deal" came out. Here are some of the responses.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/opinion/a-new-democratic-slogan-your-choices.html

We’re With You: We’re Democrats
For the People
The Real Deal
Make America America Again
Make America Work Again!
The Party of Yes
You Deserve Better
Make America Great Again -lol - turn the table on Trump
Make Reading the Newspaper Relaxing Again
We’re By Your Side
For the Many, Not the Few
The New American Dream
Better Together
Draw the Circle Wide
Justice, Compassion and Jobs!
Restore Our Dignity!
An America That Works
Integrity. Opportunity. Prosperity.
Together, Wherever We Go!
We’re Listening Now
By the People and For the People
America’s Party
We are on your side.
Hope and Change


Most of these are much better than A Better Deal. Why didn't the party think to ask the voters, like the NYT did? They don't think messaging counts.

[yurbud]

11. It has to be more concrete and simple than that:

A constitution amendment allowing the right to unionize (or at least card check elections)

Medicare for all (or at least Medicare buy-in option for all)

Three strikes and you're out of business for polluters

and so on.

If there is any wiggle room, centrists will wiggle out of doing it, and too many voters already know it. Further, they have to have stuff ready to vote on day one, and ideally, already have presented it, and had Republicans vote it down to underline why they need a majority.

[George II]

16. I believe all of those are in the Democratic National Committee's 2016 platform.

[Wwcd]

27. Why yes, George, they are! Who could have missed it in 2016?

Big old eyeroll everytime I hear someone stating the 2016 Dem Platform as tho its now a new concept.

Is someone hijacking the 2016 Dem Platform in prep for 2018/2020?

Appears that way somedays.

There's a whole bunch of hijacking going on lately.
Photo ops, platform pieces already written by the greats of our Party.

Makes you wonder what's behind it.

[Sophia4]

4. Thank you, DemocracyMouse. You are so right.

[murielm99]

5. I don't care why they vote for Democrats

long as they do so.

You can tell voters any truthful thing you want. The Faux News folks won't listen. Their lives need to become demonstrably worse before they stop being sheep.

I will continue my face-to-face activism. I will tailor my message to the people I am addressing. But if they want to vote against the president, that is fine with me.

[RainCaster]

6. It's not just 45- the whole GOP is corrupt

How many have been run out of office already?

[democratisphere]

7. Dems can't rest on the drumpf affect. We need to start yelling about people

causes to attract voters to our side. November is less than 8 months away and we need every vote possible!

[Squinch]

8. We will not win by yelling, "GOTV." We WILL win by DOING "GOTV." This is being proven in

very unlikely places like Alabama.

Yes, I am of the opinion that we are not in the same league as republicans at messaging - we are up against Russia and Facebook and God knows what else - and we can do better with a unified message from our spokespeople. Yes, we must do this.

But the REAL answer is GOTV. That requires touching individual people so they know exactly how we benefit them. It works and it is the answer.

[DemocracyMouse]

12. Yes, touching individuals but with our SPECIFIC plans (not just Trump/Repubs suck)

We all assume the fickle voter we face at the door has inside their head what we've taken years to absorb. They don't necessarily know what Democrats stand for.

GOTV must be coupled with ROTP (roll out the platform). The more we can start shaping our message into bite-sized, comprehensible, and actionable nuggets the better.

Democratic wordsmiths unite!

[More_Cowbell]

15. We'll never match the GOP in messaging, because they're willing to lie

"Death taxes." "Death panels." "Moral majority." When you don't care about being caught in a lie, the world's your oyster as far as messaging.

[Squinch]

17. Which is why every damn one of us has to get involved in personally talking to people in

GOTV efforts.

ETA: Fabulous name!

[yurbud]

10. pick one or two issues where you are willing to give up some big donors to get big things done

"No one wins unless the team wins."

[BoneyardDem]

14. YES...it would be enough for many. Aversion is a proven motivator.

Personally, I think it's a proven strategy to vote against something since that clearly means that you are voting for a different outcome. If one wants to add in reasons to vote Dem, that is awesome but not a conclusive or sole winning method. Mostly in this particular Presidency, voting for Dem, pretty much mean voting against everything Trump has done and stands for. I think most Dems can work that out in their heads.

[radical noodle]

19. Absolutely

Not only that but all we have to do is talk about the party's 2016 platform, which is excellent. All these people running are in statewide or local elections and must choose for themselves what is the best thing for their area. They have to work with the demographic they have, not with the one they want.

[BoneyardDem]

21. SEE? This type of realistic thinking needs to be more widely understood

Candidates.....Represent your constituency!!!!

[radical noodle]

22. Indeed...

because those are the ones who will or will not elect them. That's what democracy is about. There are limits, however, and we cannot give up core beliefs. For example, we should never back racists.

[DemocracyMouse]

18. BUT...

A Daily Kos editorial is pleading with Democrats: Start rallying FOR Dem causes, not just AGAINST the president. It will INCREASE the number of votes. Why not reach for a frickin super majority??? Change the 2nd Amendnent! Throw out that idiotic Electoral "College"... Bring back the voting rights act! Blow away citizens united!

Friends, it's time to think big, not small. INSPIRE the nation!

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1752975

"A blue wave requires that Democrats tell the American people precisely how they will make their lives better. They must inform Americans that they will solve the health care issue once and for all by instituting a single-payer Medicare for All healthcare system. They must tell their constituents that they will finally create a subsidized child care system that makes working possible for all those who want (or need) to do so. They need to show Americans that they will solve the overbearing student loan/debt crisis. They need to tell the segment of the population decimated by the justice system that they will orchestrate necessary reforms. They must be proactive on many other progressive issues that most Americans want, as well."

[radical noodle]

20. Making one's life better differs

with who and where you are. If we're going to be truthful though, the first thing we're going to have to do is raise taxes. We can't pay for what we have now, and certainly none of this other stuff you're talking about.

Don't get me wrong, these are lofty goals but we should not promise things we clearly cannot do.

[DemocracyMouse]

23. Silly, of COURSE raise taxes.... on the rich! It's not the 90s!

The nation is FURIOUS! The young are champing at the bit. The old have forgotten the concept of RALLYING, so they either reclaim their vision of possibikity or politely get out of the way.

With love and no doubts,
Democracy Mouse

[radical noodle]

24. The young won't even come out to vote

The old have not forgotten the concept of rallying, but they have to believe in what they rally for.

People obviously wanted to hear about good jobs in 2016. Hillary had a plan for good green jobs but the media was so saturated with trump that no one heard it. We should talk about that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. Yes, it is. Because he is a uniquely corrupt and incompetent president. (nt)

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. Uh huh

[bronxiteforever]

28. Funny, the GOP have all 3 branches

Of government. I don’t remember their rallies in support of anything. I remember their hatred of President Obama though. For such a failed political model, they seem to control everything.

[CrispyQ]

29. The dems might want to throw a civics lesson in there, too. Something like -

If you don't have the votes in both chambers, you can't make change.

That's kind of sloppy, but hey, it's more than the party has put out. There's another one out there, Grab 'em by the midterms. That's great! But it doesn't appear that the dems are using it. I took a look at the democrats.org store & it's weak. They don't seem to value messaging. I just don't get it. It's marketing. In our society today, it matters.

https://store.democrats.org/collections/best-sellers ~yawn

[DemocracyMouse]

32. CrispyQ, you are so right about the messaging.

MY MESSAGE:
A people's government
...should build a people's infrastructure
...to support a people's economy.

[SharonClark]

31. Every Democratic candidate I know is doing exactly that.

Not 'rallying' for Dem causes but campaigning for Dem causes.
It's the peeps on DU that are running against Trump.
The candidates generally know what they have to do to win.

[DemocracyMouse]

33. So maybe we need to go to DU's editors, hat in hand, and ask that more emphasis be placed on...

...stories and theories about what works... and brainstorns like this about messaging.

I have a rallying song I'm working on which I would like to get feedback on. Can I count on this forum to give such an effort as much attention as, say, another gut-wrenching story about Trump and his corrupt cronies?

[JI7]

34. yes, that is enough to vote for democrats. but there are many reasons for those who support liberal

policies to support democrats.

but even in the case of conservatives who don't agree with democrats on many issues things like Trump being a traitor should be enough to vote for democrats who they may disagree with on issues but aren't selling out to a thug like putin.