Last week, I explained a big reason why so many Democratic campaigns are devoid of ideas and inspiration: We’ve confused “message” with meaning and don’t spend enough time coming up with a coherent world view that can grab Americans and compete with MAGA in the marketplace of ideas.
A lot of this stems from how the polling process — often rushed and frequently superficial — dictates what most Democratic candidates say to voters.
Instead, polling should first be informed by ideas that actually captivate and motivate voters.
Here are six ideas to get us started…
Be big and bold. Instead of tiny proposals that are marginally more persuasive than all the other tiny proposals we test in a poll, let’s actually put our necks on the line with a bold vision that will propel America forward. For example, come up with an aggressive and specific plan to make it cheaper for all Americans to buy a house and then be loud and proud about it — even when it encounters backlash. We’ve been playing small ball for a very long time and in the words of Bill Paxton in Aliens, “maybe you haven’t been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal!
Piss somebody off. Instead of arguing whether we should be more “moderate” or more “progressive,” the real question we need to answer first is whether we have the courage to advance an agenda that some people aren’t gonna like. Yeah, I know that Republicans don’t agree with us on abortion, but how about staking out aggressive positions on other issues that resonate with the voters we need to connect with? Similarly, at a time when many voters’ world views don’t follow outdated notions of “liberal” and “conservative,” it’s foolish for those who seek to lead them to do so. Winning elections and improving the lives of people should be our goal — not ideological purity in an era where that purity appeals to an ever-shrinking segment of the American people.
Make idea generation a part of the campaign day-to-day. Currently, consideration of ideas is a very low-priority objective of all but the largest and most well-funded of campaigns, falling far below fundraising, polling, and many other areas seen as more important to a candidate’s success. A better model would be integrating idea generation from a campaign’s earliest days, encouraging communication between candidates, staffers, and idea shops that bring a wealth of options to solving the nation’s most pressing challenges.
Stop relying on consultants to set the policy agenda. As it’s practiced today, Democratic politics virtually guarantees that only the most superficial proposals will make it into the campaign discourse. Changing this will require that we consider ideas that are generated by people who have knowledge and experience in housing, crime, and other issues to drive the conversation — rather than relying on consultants like me putting stuff in polls.
Listen to people and places outside the Beltway. There are smart people working in colleges, non profits, social services agencies, and many other places throughout this great nation of ours. We need to be much more aggressive courting the untapped experts working in Appalachian mobile hospitals and teaching in Midwestern colleges who see the unintended consequences of policy every day. Let’s bring them into the fold and listen to what they have to say. Outside-the-Beltway idea generation would also make it more likely that the ideas proposed by our new idea shops wouldn’t have to pass through the DC Lens that dilutes, diminishes, and destroys every promising idea long before the public gets the chance to weigh in.
Move away from the “rich guy pet project” model. Many of the so-called Democratic “think tanks” are, in fact, pet projects of a few wealthy donors and push the views of said donors. A better model would be for Democratic idea generators to look for new funders instead of relying on a select few. I get about 527 fundraising emails a week from everyone from the U.S. Senate candidate in a state I don’t care about to a former Congressional leader trying to remain relevant, but I’ve never received a fundraising email from an idea shop.
Basing Democratic campaigns on inspiring ideas will require a sea change in how Democratic political professionals think about and do our jobs. It will mean valuing what we talk about as much as how we talk about it through TV, direct mail, and other media.
But it’s clear we have no choice.
With a few exceptions, Democratic campaigns confront the worries that consume voters — immigration, affordability, health care, and all the rest — with simplistic tactics and strategy designed to win short term advantage instead of providing voters with a comprehensive vision of a prosperous and secure future that we can all aspire toward.
As a result, we’re led by a lunatic who shits on everything that is good and wholesome about this country, leaving even those who supported him falling further and further behind.
The midterms won’t save us.
But a few good ideas and a coherent world view might.