Democrat messaging is bad. It has been bad pretty much my entire life. It will continue to be bad.
Why is it bad. I suspect it is tied to Democrat identity (just as GoP messaging is tied to GoP identity). The Democrats see themselves as the party of policy and solutions. The party of rationality. They are intrinsically …
Democrat messaging is bad. It has been bad pretty much my entire life. It will continue to be bad.
Why is it bad. I suspect it is tied to Democrat identity (just as GoP messaging is tied to GoP identity). The Democrats see themselves as the party of policy and solutions. The party of rationality. They are intrinsically incapable of "lowering" themselves to making the types of appeals and using the types of language that they need to use in order to effectively combat GoP messaging.
Not only do they tend to hold themselves to that standard, they are also held to that standard by the media.
When they try to use the type of rhetoric they need to use, they then turn around and walk it back--either because the membership objects to it or the media objects to it (or both). They then apologize for it all over the place. This makes them look weak and inconstant. Milquetoasts.
HC was bold enough to call some people deplorable. You would have thought the world was coming to an end. Especially from the screaming from the people who regularly think of and talk about the Democrats essentially being the spawn of Satan.
Part (maybe even a large part) of what we are seeing can be attributed to the mechanism of schismogenesis (self-conscious differentiation). This occurs when you have adjacent cultures/systems that are continually defining and redefining themselves in opposition to each other. We are not X.
I am a professional rhetorician. I have a pretty good idea of the advice that another professional rhetorician would give them. They apparently aren't listening to it--because, in essence, they are unable or unwilling to follow it.
The GoP got in early and staked out their ground in religion and common-sensical notions. They wrapped themselves up in biblical language and morality (particularly and specifically Old Testament tropes) and as the defenders of Holy tradition.
This, of course, ignores a lot of New Testament morality that is better espoused by the Democrats--but Americans have always preferred fire and brimestone over love thy neighbor.
So because the GoP got in first and because the Democrats are adverse to being identified with a specific religious tradition, this ground is closed off to them.
Long story short, the Democrats do not have a lot of effective rhetorical ground that they are actually willing/capable to use. Being a diverse coalition just serves to limit options further.
The Democrats are not capable of solving their message problem.
Someone has to solve it for them, somebody who ISN'T a Democrat. There are people in the center who are well positioned to do this. There are people in the media who are well positioned to do this.
They don't see it as their problem and/or they see it as not making them money. So they don't really do it.
If, at some point, they don't do it--well, then. we ARE screwed.
Democratic messaging is FINE. They want to do their jobs, and they try hard to do the right thing every single day. What Democrats are BAD AT? Is Fighting Against the #Republicans who are a bunch of Right Wing Extremists who want to destroy America. THAT is what is wrong with Democrats .They're not street fighters!
Here is what I see:
Democrat messaging is bad. It has been bad pretty much my entire life. It will continue to be bad.
Why is it bad. I suspect it is tied to Democrat identity (just as GoP messaging is tied to GoP identity). The Democrats see themselves as the party of policy and solutions. The party of rationality. They are intrinsically incapable of "lowering" themselves to making the types of appeals and using the types of language that they need to use in order to effectively combat GoP messaging.
Not only do they tend to hold themselves to that standard, they are also held to that standard by the media.
When they try to use the type of rhetoric they need to use, they then turn around and walk it back--either because the membership objects to it or the media objects to it (or both). They then apologize for it all over the place. This makes them look weak and inconstant. Milquetoasts.
HC was bold enough to call some people deplorable. You would have thought the world was coming to an end. Especially from the screaming from the people who regularly think of and talk about the Democrats essentially being the spawn of Satan.
Part (maybe even a large part) of what we are seeing can be attributed to the mechanism of schismogenesis (self-conscious differentiation). This occurs when you have adjacent cultures/systems that are continually defining and redefining themselves in opposition to each other. We are not X.
I am a professional rhetorician. I have a pretty good idea of the advice that another professional rhetorician would give them. They apparently aren't listening to it--because, in essence, they are unable or unwilling to follow it.
The GoP got in early and staked out their ground in religion and common-sensical notions. They wrapped themselves up in biblical language and morality (particularly and specifically Old Testament tropes) and as the defenders of Holy tradition.
This, of course, ignores a lot of New Testament morality that is better espoused by the Democrats--but Americans have always preferred fire and brimestone over love thy neighbor.
So because the GoP got in first and because the Democrats are adverse to being identified with a specific religious tradition, this ground is closed off to them.
Long story short, the Democrats do not have a lot of effective rhetorical ground that they are actually willing/capable to use. Being a diverse coalition just serves to limit options further.
The Democrats are not capable of solving their message problem.
Someone has to solve it for them, somebody who ISN'T a Democrat. There are people in the center who are well positioned to do this. There are people in the media who are well positioned to do this.
They don't see it as their problem and/or they see it as not making them money. So they don't really do it.
If, at some point, they don't do it--well, then. we ARE screwed.
Democratic messaging is FINE. They want to do their jobs, and they try hard to do the right thing every single day. What Democrats are BAD AT? Is Fighting Against the #Republicans who are a bunch of Right Wing Extremists who want to destroy America. THAT is what is wrong with Democrats .They're not street fighters!