If Democrats don't snatch the mantle of 'fighting for the working class'

[tman]

with great ferocity and extreme urgency, Trump will win in 2020.

I know many here don't want to hear it and believe that if they just point to all of Trumps crimes through an orderly process of impeachment hearings, it will be enough. It won't.

That he is incompetent and corrupt will matter not if enough people feel that Trump is at least fighting for them, no matter his motive. So far Trump is winning that race and going largely unchecked as he frames this narrative on his terms. His cult will be with him until the end and they'll come out in droves, as will Democrats. This fight will be won in the middle, like always.

Let tonights election in the UK be a warning sign.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. I do believe that mantra is very important for the Democratic Party. nt

[stopdiggin]

2. are we talking policy? or are we talking bumper stickers and slogans?

health care, minimum wage and education (particularly college debt) are all important issues to the middle/working class .. and yet Trump has sh*t all over each of these. So I have to ask, what exactly does "fighting for the working class" mean in 2020? Is deregulation and "bringing back jobs to coal" the definition we're looking for?

(Sorry for the snark .. but if middle class America thinks that Trump is fighting for them .. then I can't see where there's a great deal to be done about that. "Stupid is as stupid does" after all.)

[tman]

4. We're talking about being able to convey 'all of the above'

in a credible and relatable way while convincing enough voters that Trump is a fake populist who has betrayed working class America. If we can't do both, 2020 will be lost.

"If America can't see" is a very fast way to lose an election. It will be the job of Democrats and all defenders of democracy to ensure that they can see Trump is not only not fighting for them, but is fighting against them.

So far, I see no such battle really being waged. Let's hope it changes fast.

[stopdiggin]

11. strong and effective messaging is certainly essential

but I think I'm going to have to stick with .. if you're working class Joe, and after 3 years of Donnie, you still think he's "working for the little guy" .. I honestly don't know if you're reachable. (and perhaps you don't want to be reached?)

We have some great candidates, and I think all of them have good messages and are very capable of delivering them in strong and accessible fashion .. but in the end you have to be willing to hear (and if you haven't gotten the message on this administration yet ...)

[Poiuyt]

3. Say what you will about Donny Deutsch, but he came up with a brilliant strategy for Democrats

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/30/1882483/--Donny-Deutsch-has-marketing-advice-that-could-win-it-all-for-the-Democrats

Donny Deutsch is suggesting that Democrats tag every Republican with the "ASSAULT" moniker. As the party that is a protector of the ability to have assault weapons while not protecting healthcare and other life-saving social efforts, it is a pejorative that fits the bill.

Unlike Republicans making the word "LIBERAL" a pejorative that does not live up to the hype, "ASSAULT" does because one lives and sees the effects of their assaults in blood, flesh, tears, and pain.

Donny Deutsch suggests a campaign built with the following bullet points. It is simple, easily understood, and does not require a lot of processing. People can see every point in their own lives or the lives of their families and friends.

[tman]

5. The contrast is pretty effective.

Concise and to the point.

[uponit7771]

6. Duetsch is right in that dems have to label republicans as a threat as a party

[MFGsunny]

10. + 1000 n/t

[Recursion]

7. The problem is that nobody ever defines "working class"

Take two hypothetical people: Bob and Inez.

Bob is a white high school graduate in Bumblefuck, Iowa. He works as a roofing contractor and makes $50K. His wife works part time in an office and makes $25K. Between them they make $75K, and I want to stress this, which is the median household income for white two-earner households with no college.

Inez is a LatinX 2nd-generation immigrant single mother with an associate's degree living outside Philadelphia. She works as a home health aid making about $19K.

When politicians say "working class", they mean Bob, not Inez, even though Inez is a better representative of what the actual working class looks like.

Inez and her kids are on Medicaid and like it. They're also on SNAP. She'd like to see SNAP expanded. She'd also like more regular and reliable bus service, a higher minimum wage, and cheaper child care. She doesn't really care about college tuition because she got and her kids will get need based aid cancelling it; she had to drop out not because of tuition costs but because she couldn't afford to forego income for 2 more years.

Bob is self-employed and so winds up with a frustratingly high tax bill every year (if you've never been self-employed, trust me on this: you have to pay both sides of your own payroll tax). He has decent private insurance that he likes through his wife's job. He wants to pay less in taxes, and he worries about affording college tuition for his kids. He doesn't think a home health care aid should make as much as his wife does, and he definitely doesn't want to pay $15/hour for a home health aid for his own mom.

The votes we struggle with are the Bobs of the country, not the Inezes. Bob was Trump's sweet spot: slightly richer-than-average white Americans. We call this "the working class" out of habit, but the important thing to remember is that they are doing better than most of the country. They just never, ever want to be reminded of that.

[fescuerescue]

8. They are both working class

Trying to pick which one is "better" is the way to lose.

[stopdiggin]

9. but trying to lump them together

doesn't necessarily "work" either. Because, as the post points out, they are really looking for different things from a political system. How do you reconcile Bob's "lower taxes, and no minimum wage" views with policies that serve Inez?

Agree that pitting them against one another is a mistake -- but pretending all want the same thing is also a misjudgment.