Towards A New Playbook for the Democratic Party
The Party needs bold action and brand differentiation, not moderation and bland symbolic gestures.
Democratic voters are, to put it mildly, f*cking pissed at the Party. It seems currently incapable of writing a coherent playbook, so I did it for them in 15 quick-and-dirty points.
Saying that Democratic voters are frustrated with their Party is an understatement. Polls show that approval of the Democratic Party has hit record lows, at 27%.
The party seems to be playing a completely different game than their Republican rivals; if Democrats are playing checkers, then Republicans are playing Risk. And winning.
This, because Democrats are relying on strategies which no longer make sense in today’s world. The media environment has changed drastically, but their media strategies have not. The electorate has reconfigured itself right under their noses, in part due to their neglect. They let themselves fall into the trap of attacking each other on issues the majority of the electorate cares little about rather than presenting a united front against their Republican rivals. They stood on politeness and decorum in their debate postures while their rivals leaned deep into outrageous lies; they tried to write gigantic, sprawling, everything-bagel bills to please all possible demographics and constituencies all at once and in the process wrote policy which was functionally impossible to actualize.
In short, the Democrats have shot themselves in the foot time and again, and their base has taken notice.
This has to change. Unfortunately, party leaders seem completely stunned or totally cowed. So, since they can’t get up off their asses and reorient themselves, I’ve decided to do it for them. You may disagree (and if so, let’s talk about it!), but maybe it will at least start some conversation about what voters really want to see from the Democratic Party right now.
A DEMOCRATIC PLAYBOOK FOR MAD TIMES
DON’T LET REPUBLICANS STEER THE DISCUSSION
Do not respond to Republican attacks or talking points; relentlessly launch your own. Stop letting them define you; define yourselves, and define them. Talk first, change the subject constantly.
When they try to set the talking points, just ignore them and lean hard on messaging which appeals to broad swaths of the country. Center it on common core interests and values.
Deal with niche issues once you are actually in power, not before. Think about your various audiences, and phrase things to appeal broadly. Be proactive, not just reactive.
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELVES AND THE PARTY.
Now of all times, you should not be moderating messages. Democrats should be focused on appearing different from the Republicans in meaningful ways. We’re not in the 1990s anymore, and none of y’all are Bill Clinton.
Nobody’s gonna vote for Diet Coke if they already decided they want Coke Classic. Be Doctor Pepper. Hell, be Bud Light. Be anything else at all.
Don’t worry about moderating; let Republican voters shift back to sanity on their own as they realize how disastrous Trump 2.0 has been for them.
PUT BIG THINKERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Chuck Schumer and the rest of the timid moderates need to step out of the sptolight. Put AOC, Bernie, and others who at least make it look like you’re doing something front-and-center. And they should be presenting big ideas in simple language everyone can understand, not just performing #resistance.
RUN SMART, CHARISMATIC NEWCOMERS, NOT STODGY OLD CAREERISTS
The American people have an anti-establishment appetite right now. Feed it. We need to identify and run a fresh new crop of young people in primaries, and money needs to flow to them so they are competitive.
GO TO WHERE THE AUDIENCES ARE NOW, NOT WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO BE.
Sorry, but everyone who watches MSNBC, reads The New York Times, or listens to Vox podcasts already agrees with you. You need to break into other media spheres, especially those in which younger voters, and especially young male voters, hang out. And you need to do so with natives of those demographics. No Nancy Pelosi talking to teen boys, please.
DISRUPT THE RIGHT-WING MEDIA MACHINE
They are flooding the zone with shit. You need to flood it with truth and light. Do anything you can to break into the manosphere echo chambers and right-wing filters bubbles and dilute their information environments, but not with sanctimoniousness. Nobody likes it when you talk down to them (I’m looking at you, Obama).
DIVIDE AND CONQUER YOUR OPPONENTS, NOT EACH OTHER.
Look, I’m all for racial justice, gender equality, etc. etc. But we are all sick of watching the petty, identity-driven infighting amongst Democrats. Focus on material ways to improve the lives of all working Americans through positive messaging that pulls people together, not stuff that wrenches them apart.
Reframe the battle so that Republicans have to do the infighting, not you.
Oh, and the Democrats who voted with Republicans to censure Al Green: cut that shit out. Stand by your partymates; the Republicans present a united front, you need to do the same.
FOCUS ON ROOT CAUSES OF MARGINALIZATION, NOT BAND-AIDS OR SYMBOLISM
Yes, we should help minorities—but do that after you win. And do it in material ways, not symbolic ones. DEI isn’t dead, but it needs to be rebranded and approached seriously next time: no more neoliberal white shaming sessions—people want real opportunitites and the base conditions which create equality, not alienating self-flagellation exercises. End the victimization Olympics, it’s counterproductive.
Create policies which focus on root causes instead of symptoms, and make bold material moves to actually correct inequalities once you’re in power. Sorry about affirmative action, but a couple more Yale graduates per year does not substitute for real racial/gender/class uplift.
Don’t virtue signal in ways which only put the people you’re trying to help in the crosshairs. Nobody wants to see white woke rich straight congresspeople virtue signaling to this or that small activist block of a minority group. It might be correct, but it often comes off as cringe and insincere.
Stop trying to translate academese into popular parlance (“LatinX” is fine in academic journals, not in elections or social media). It just dilutes its meaning and confuses the uninitiated, and nobody likes the speech police.
WHEN THEY GO LOW, SMASH THE FLOOR OUT FROM UNDER THEM.
Don’t stand on decency, decorum, and protocol if you really think democracy is on the line. Republicans have proven time and time again that they won’t repay the favor. Fight to win; appear righteous, bold and right, not polite.
STOP WITH WEAK-WRISTED SYMBOLS AND FIGHT BACK
Put those stupid table tennis paddles away. Go out there and move mountains. Use the legal system. Go on offense, not just defense; go for the jugular of Republican Party institutions, just as they are doing. But don’t just use the legal system. Go put your bodies on the line and get yourselves arrested if that’s what it takes. Make a spectacle of their cruelty, and advertise it everywhere.
FIGHT ON LOCAL AND STATE STAGES, NOT JUST THE NATIONAL STAGE.
Politics is far too nationalized, and people are sick of it. Go to where voters are on issues that are local to them, and work relentlessly to show them how you’re going to improve their towns, counties, and states. Win in the statehouses, and use the “States’ rights” arguments against Republican encroachments on the Federal Level.
OBSTRUCT THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA AT EVERY TURN.
Democratic voters are thirsty for a fight; they want to see you take the gloves off. Practice scorched-earth politics; do not give an inch to bipartisanship until the other side caves. When (and if) you ever get back into power, don’t start playing nice again; avoid high-profile lawsuits or things which can be spun against you with simple narratives (this was the mistake with Trump, I’d wager), but use any boring procedures and bureaucratic levers which are unlikely to interest the broad public much to give the Republicans a taste of their own medicine. Make sure they understand that you’re not going to roll over and expose your belly to them again, until they understand that they need to learn to play nice.
OFFER REAL, HEROIC REFORMS; DELIVER ON THEM, AND THEN PUBLICIZE THE GAINS CLEARLY
The Trump/Musk voters have one thing right: it’s too damn hard to do get things done in America. We need housing and public transportation but we can’t build it because of too many layers and redundancies in regulation. We need industrial policy but money can’t even get out the door because of all the superfluous quality checks. University is functionally unaffordable. We need more competition amongst businesses but it’s too hard to start up anything other than a tech company (because those have too little regulation, and the goal anyway seems to be to get snatched up by the Metas and Amazons anyway). Offer clear solutions for simplifying the red-tape, reforming institutions, adopt sensible anti-trust regulation, and above all deliver on them fast. Once you’re in power, there will be an opportunity to actually “build back better” this time: show people that government works instead of just saying it does. But once you’ve done it announce it unabashedly with a bullhorn.
POSITION YOURSELVES AS ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT RENEGADES
Let’s be real; the Republicans won by popularizing deep state rhetoric and pretending to be rebels, even though they work in the interests of those who have already monopolized power and wealth. The truth is that the tech oligarchs and other new robber barons are the real establishment of our time; and they’ve even done you the favor of posing for a photo opp to prove it.
Liberalism used to be associated with subversive rebels and envelope-pushers. People are thirsty for that. Trump is treating the Democratic Party as outlaws; embrace that image, it’s sexy.
Make the Democratic Party Subversive Again!
LAUNCH YOUR ATTACKS AT POLITICIANS, NOT THEIR VOTERS
This is important. Respect the basic dignity of normal, everyday republican voters; these people feel ignored and marginalized by the Democratic Party, and there is some truth to that. You need to put the Republican Party in its place, but you also need to win back their voters. That means showing them the one thing they want more than anything: some recognition, some respect, and some proof that you hear them. Make sure you are critiquing Party politicians, not calling normal people names, Hillary. If they say times are tough for them, don’t just tell them they are wrong, Joe.
Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. This is just a vague first draft, and I’m sure people disagree. If you have other ideas, let’s be constructive; drop them in the comments! Or better, drop them under the nose of your congressional representative.
Stay strong out there, everyone!
This is absolutely awesome! 👏🏻