Former President Barack Obama during the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States takes place inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building.
In your mind, turn the tables for a moment.
If Barack Obama had sent a murderous mob against the Capitol and they had beaten and pepper-sprayed Officer Brian Sicknick so badly he suffered two strokes and died the next day, how would Republicans refer to the so-called “J6 rioters”? Is there any doubt in your mind that they’d be calling them “Cop killers”? Every day, day after day, in every venue possible? And if Obama pardoned them, they’d be demanding impeachment right now?
If Bill Clinton had denied security to military or intelligence officers like Mark Milley or John Bolton who were under death threats from Iran, what would Republicans say? You know they’d be charging Clinton with attempted murder, saying he was no better than a mob boss who’d sanctioned a hit.
If Joe Biden had started shipping white supremacists convicted of criminal acts to Guantanamo, what would the GOP be claiming non-stop? We’d never hear the end about his sanctioning torture, murder, and how the entire offshore enterprise was unconstitutional and illegal. They’d call him Ayatollah Biden.
And that’s just scratching the tiniest surface of opportunities Democrats have blown in the past week to attack Trump and Republicans for very real violations of law, norms, and the Constitution.
Next week the DNC will have a new chair, who will hopefully provide solid and aggressive leadership. Because the key to Democratic success over the next two (and four) years is pretty simple: Messaging.
First, Democrats must frame the fight in simple, moral terms. From the Civil Rights era to the War in Vietnam, there was a time when my party knew how to do this; lately, it seems they’ve all fallen asleep (with a few rare exceptions).
Instead of saying, “We need to expand social safety net programs,” they should say, as Lyndon Johnson often did, “No child in America should go to bed hungry.” Their next sentence should add, “But childhood hunger is just fine with Republicans trying to protect tax cuts for their Mar-a-Lago billionaires.”
Second, Democrats should stop playing defense and instead seize the populist high ground. FDR knew how to do this and delighted in it. In one speech, referring to the morbidly rich of his day, he said, “They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.”
In today’s social media politics if you’re not fighting as if it’s war, you’re losing. Instead of arguing for “fair” taxation, say, “Trump wants to kill your healthcare and torch your kid’s school to pay for his billionaire tax cuts!”
Or, as Reagan once asked a group of schoolchildren in a moment of accidental candor, “Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver or less?” The kids all shouted, “More!”
Keep it simple.
Third, ruthlessly define the Republican opposition and the morbidly rich broligarchs who own them. Lyndon Johnson famously labeled Barry Goldwater as a dangerous war-monger with his “Daisy” ad; it was simple, emotional, and effective.
Instead of generalizations or abstractions, Democrats must characterize Republicans in stark, explicit terms. Instead of saying, “Trump’s policies are dangerous,” they should claim, “Trump is trying to be a dictator, and wants to destroy our democracy.”
Don’t be afraid to use fear, particularly when it’s justified. But always also include hope for a brighter future: Any marketing executive can tell you the best sales pitch involves both fear and hope. “Trump is tearing down our government so he can give its pieces to his rich Mar-a-Lago crowd, but we’re fighting to stop him so America can have a revival of the middle class.”
Fourth, tell stories instead of facts. Ronald Reagan wanted to fund his tax cuts for billionaires by cutting welfare payments, so he invented a Black “welfare queen” to convince Americans fraud was rampant. Democrats have the advantage that they don’t need to lie to tell stories that illustrate their arguments.
Instead of saying, “Healthcare should be a human right,” tell a personal story: “Sarah, a single mom in Ohio, works two jobs, but she can’t afford her son’s insulin. That’s wrong.”
Every woman victimized by Republican abortion laws should have her story spread far and wide, like GOP strategists did with Laken Riley, the woman killed by an undocumented criminal. Instead of noting that Harvard Medical School found that over 45,000 Americans die every year because insurance companies refuse to pay for procedures or treatments, pick two or three peoples’ horror stories and make them as famous as Republicans did with Ashli Babbit, Daniel Penny, and Kyle Rittenhouse.
Humans, after all, are story machines; it’s how we transmit culture and the rules of society (The little boy who cried “wolf,” The emperor’s new clothes, The ant and the grasshopper, etc.). Every bill, every campaign, every attack on Republicans should have a relatable human story attached to it.
Fifth, use repetition and slogans. Remember the old advertising bromide that people don’t recognize a message until they’ve seen or heard it at least seven times.
Donald Trump knows this one well; remember his “Build the wall” and “Fake news” slogans? He repeated them until every American who’s even half-conscious was repeating them in their sleep. Same with “Make America Great Again.”
Democrats must develop catchy, oft-repeated slogans and market the hell out of them through repetition by every member of the Party at every opportunity: “Democracy vs. Dictatorship,” “People over Profits,” “Freedom means healthcare, voting rights, and fair wages,” “MAGA is the new Klan.”
Sixth, appeal to patriotism and invoke American history and values. Lincoln framed the Civil War as a battle for the survival of democracy itself. FDR invoked the age-old battle of struggling working people against the selfish, tyrannical rich. Lyndon Johnson, talking about the strategy rich white conservatives had used to keep poor white people on their side for a century, famously said:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
Democrats must reclaim the language of patriotism. “The real America is one where every vote counts, every worker gets a fair wage, and every kid has a future.” “MAGA racism and sexism should have no place in our country.” “Our founders fought and died for freedom, not for tax breaks for Trump’s rich Mar-a- Lago friends.”
Seven, take a lesson from late-night television and weaponize humor: Use mockery against self-aggrandizing Republicans like Trump. On most issues, Republicans must lie to gain support (tax cuts trickle down, immigrants increase crime, Black voters cheat, etc.), so simply telling the truth with a cutting edge can be incredibly effective.
But don’t forget ridicule: When Marco Rubio pointed out the size of Trump’s tiny hands in 2016, he obsessed over it for more than a year. He hates having it pointed out to him that he’s bald and the plugs across the front of his hairline didn’t go right (as my wife, Louise, said to his face). Combover Don. The little-fingered dictator. Stormy’s little mushroom.
Instead of claiming, “Trump is unfit for office,” say, “America deserves a president who can spell.” Turn his absurdity into a joke.
Eight, inspire with a bold vision. Republicans have never been afraid to shoot for the moon, and there was a time when that was true of Democrats as well. Literally: in his inaugural address, President Kennedy set out the moon shot as a goal of his administration.
Brand that vision with a slogan (see 5) like JFK did with his “New Frontier” and Obama did with his “Yes, we can” catchphrase. Simplify relentlessly. As Trump said when he spoke at Davos, “Three days ago, I took the oath of office and we began the golden age of America.”
Instead of wonky crap like, “We need a more progressive tax system,” say, “Imagine an America where no one struggles just to survive. That future is possible.”
The bottom line is that Democrats and progressives win when they speak emotionally, define their enemies, tell human stories, and offer a vision worth fighting for. They lose when they sound like bureaucrats or assume that facts alone will persuade people.
As I lay out in my book on political messaging, Cracking the Code: How to Win Hearts, Change Minds, and Restore America’s Original Vision, Republicans understand the power of messaging and there have been several times in our history when Democrats did, too.
Hopefully, with the reboot of the Party this weekend, they can re-learn those simple lessons and begin to kick some Republican ass.
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