Exactly, and that's what I see Democratic candidates do the vast majority of the time. It's about calling out the unnecessary extremist targeting, and making a point that all these people want is the same as you and I want. However calling out bigotry in any way is going to be viewed as "woke" and if you say nothing you are "woke" so you might as well call them out, and move on. The American right isn't stopping themselves to let you define yourself in a real nuanced way. If you aren't on their team, you are going to be described as the most extreme person in the world and they don't give a damn about lying. You have to call them out, pivot to your message, and hope that does enough for those in the middle to get them re-directed back to the real conversation.
I'm not arguing with you. I'm just making a statement that this would be the closest to a centrist view.
Right, but I think there are different ways calling it out. You could say GOP are bigots and bad people. That won't win. But if you show people that have been adversely affected by the bigotry and humanize the victims, it will garner voter sympathy. Then focus on that and show how proposed legislation affects humans. That works better than blanket statements of GOP are bigots.
Dumbocrats paint all us like that. Just like we are supposedly all Trump supporters. Dumbest party ever
He was selected out of 17 GOP candidates in 2015. He was the GOP presidential candidate. He represents a significant portion of the GOP base.
I know you are. I'm just saying if a Trumper tries to trap you with a question like that to not get caught trying to thread the needle.
Some thoughtful suggestions and can agree with some but I think it simplifies some of the issues. 1. Democrats Must Move to the Center on Cultural Issues ... The sad fact is that the cultural left in and around the Democratic party has managed to associate the party with a series of views on crime, immigration, policing, free speech and of course race and gender that are quite far from those of the median voter. These unpopular views are further amplified by Democratic-leaning media and nonprofits, as well as within the Democratic party infrastructure itself, all of which are thoroughly dominated by the cultural left. In an era when a party’s national brand increasingly defines state and even local electoral contests, Democratic candidates have a very hard time shaking these cultural left associations. ... There’s a signal there if Democrats care to receive it. Perhaps their embrace of “a purer version of liberalism…especially on social issues” has not been a particularly good idea. If they ever hope to overcome their structural obstacles to electoral and governance success, there really is no choice but to move to the center on cultural issues. It’s a prerequisite for everything else they want to accomplish.[/quote] Part of the problem here is that it's less Democrats are pushing these type of issues but that they have been definined by the Right and often are just reacting to hyperbolic and symbolic issues. No Democrat that I'm aware of has pushed CRT or transgender issues in classrooms yet they are made as to defend every incident of it even though most people can't even define what CRT is. So while yes there are certainly groups that are on the Left pushing things like Drag Queen Story hour it's definitely not something that the Democratic party as a whole is pushing. On an issue like immigration this is one that I will address more on liberal nationalism but I'm not sure this is a losing issue for Democrats. Most Americans appear to support things like DACA, are against building a wall (not even the Republican Congress under Trump was willing to fund The Wall), and believe that immigration is a net positive for the US. Where Democrats could gain ground is likely following Obama's strategy of emphasizing border security and deporting violent immigrants while looking for solutions for Dreamers. Democrats are winning the abortion issue. On crime this is the one that I think Democrats and the Left need the most work on. As someone who witnessed this first hand following George Floyd the inability of many on the Left to outrightly condemn the violence and looting was a problem. That so many liberals just posted 'riot is the languange of the unheard" or talk about "normative" actions and such just muddied the issue. "Defund the Police" was always going to be a problem for Democrats when many pushing it weren't even clear of what it meant and many of those it was meant to be for (inner city black neighborhoods) were against it. While yes many can agree there is racism in LE and that LE need to be held accountable they still don't like see crime rates rise and neighborhoods burning. The message should always have been we want accountability for LEO and that is happening in the prosecution of Derek Chauvin and other LEO but categorically condemn rioting and looting with no qualifiers. I think Democrats are already pushing this as much of the rhetoric around the infrastructure bills was about economic development and greener technology. There is a fundamental problem though is non stop increase in abundance is unsustainable and leads to many other problems. We can't have the whole world living like billionaires. That doesn't mean that improving living standards of most people isn't out of reach along with developing renewable energy and more efficient energy usage. In this case I will say again it's not just about pushing infrastructure for infrastructure sake but pointing out how poor infrasructure is actually harmful and hampers economic development. Unreliable power grids and undrinkable water aren't going to lead to abundance but the opposite. cont.
Cont. Agree with this 100%. I don't believe that most Democrats hate America but the problem is that Democrats and those on the Left get frequently defined by the actions of some and misdefined such as in the case of kneeling NFL players. The problem with the anthem protests is that it actually has little to do with the anthem itself and nothign to do with veterans but it isn't directly relatable to the cause of police brutality. As such it became very easy for the Right to redefine it as a protest against the anthem and veterans. Further that so many on the Left rallied around Kaepernick, who himself wasn't really that good in articulating what his protest was about. Just led to more exploitation of Left as not being Patriotic. This goes back to that yes we can and should acknowledge the many faults of this country but also still say that this is a great country that has done great things and has great potential to do more. That the founding ideas of this country and ideals are something that every American should be proud of and is a beacon to the rest of the World. If anything the current MAGA Right are the one's that are unpatriotic. Much of their rhetoric is laced with fear and shame of this country. That it's "American Carnage" doomed to failure and division. The solution they've advocated isn't the ideals of the country but a retrenchment to narrow sectarian views where might makes right. The message from Liberals should be that the strength of this country is diversity and immigration. That it's succeeding generations of immigrants that make America great again. So while this country has stumbled it's enslaved and discriminated against people just because of their skin color, it has feared tried to keep out those from other countries that so many Americans, whether the descendents of slaves, to those who fled famines, and wars who have made America great. It was just coincidence that I started a thread about how the diversity of the Astros is their strength and the strength of Houston.
No I don't think you call the GOP bigots, but you do quickly call out the tactic for what it is. A distraction, and Red Herring meant to divert away from what they don't want to be talking about. My company teaches front line leadership conflict skills, and the first thing they teach managers is to divert an argument away from the person, and towards to tactical situation to get accomplished. It's the same in politics. Whats the real thing everyone wants to get accomplished. Focus on the situation not the person. You call out the distraction direct, and fast, and move onto the area that matters. The whole "we need a centrist position" is nonsense. People want you to be direct, and objective focused.
I think this is a good argument. One of the things I brought up in the thread about "Obama telling Democrats not to be Buzzkills" was that the Democrats needed better messaging. The Republicans especially MAGA people have been able to make a cohesive argument that is easy for their supporters to understand. It ties together things like election denial, border security, wokeness into a unified message that they are being oppressed by a liberal and cultural elite lookign to replace them. Leaving aside the veracity of that argument and other inherent problems with it it does show how Republicans message better. The challenge of Democrats to find a cohesive message that ties together many of their isuses in way that is easilty communicatied. "Inclusive prosperity" sounds promissing.
In the 2020 Dem primary I did see some of those candidates try to be that type of candidate, but I really don't see it all that much anymore. Even Tim Ryan who ran to the middle still felt it was necessary for him to be direct, and stand by his convictions. My takeaway this election cycle is the Dems are actually fielding some good candidates, and have good messaging... but have a limited megaphone, and challenges with our media. Where I see this more than anywhere is in the corporate media with people like Chuck Todd, Dana Bash, etc. who try to play this "Moderate" character and they often come off as comically stupid. What the Democratic Party really needs more than anything is big investments in Spanish speaking AM radio in Texas, Florida, AZ, and Nevada. They also need an investment in left leaning streaming news stations that can rival OAN, and the other networks that are capturing audiences on the free streaming news channels that I think more and more people are using for local, and quick hit news. Right now all I see is The Young Turks which is moving nobody in the swing category. An investment of less than a billion dollars can get you on the air in these states to move these CONSEQUENTIAL Latino voters, and also chip away at older voters who need to be informed about how Republicans are coming after their Social Security. You aren't going to win over the majority of those voters, but you have to stop the bleeding. Keep fielding good candidates, good messaging on simple core rights-based issues, and having a much much much better media strategy.
Eh GOP's narratives work because it's the same idea with social media algorithms... Outrage content has shown to generate the most engagement. So if you truly want to follow the GOP narrative model, create outrage.
I'm not sure you speak for all Leftist. Beto O'Rourke is pretty Left and he is very dogmatic about firearms. Also last night I was at an election party put on by a group by called Take Action Minnesota. This group is die hard Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison supporters and much further Left of most MN Democrats. They started off the party with a land acknowledgement and had name tags that also told people what their pronouns are. Also I've found many Leftists with very little intellectual curiousity. I find when challenged many just recite slogans or sayings and are dismissive of counter arguments rather than try to understand. For example citing the MLK quote regarding White Moderates when even though he might've been frustrated he fully understood the need to work with White moderates including LBJ who was the master of compromise and insider dealing.
Beto O'Rourke isn't a leftist lol. He's a liberal. He has the exact same views as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The "left" in America is very small and weak.
And there is a reason why Obama was one of the most successful and admired Democrats in recent history.
Yes outrage and fear sells. It's why messages that Republicans will make Handmaid's tale a reality works on the Democrat side. That said Reagan and Obama were also able to get pretty far on selling hope too.
