Plan B for Dems: Stop Whining & Find Your Message

Posted by Damozel | At The Washington Post, E.J. Dionne has written an op-ed that brilliantly encapsulates both the reasons for the Dems' repeated failures in the face of Republican resistance and the reasons why the public blames the Dems, even though they're the victims.   It's because they're the victims.   "Republicans chortle as they block Democratic initiatives -- and accuse the majority of being unable to govern. Rank-and-filers are furious that their leaders can't end the Iraq war. President Bush sits back and vetoes at will."(Washington Post)  As Dionne points out, they need a plan B.  And they also need to stop whining and pointing fingers.  They need to find their outside voices.

D Cupples always rolls her eyes at the phrase "Democratically-controlled Congress."  The Dems control the House.  They don't control the Senate in any meaningful sense.   But one thing they do control is their response to Republican spin and propaganda.  I wouldn't mind so much when they get shut down if they were getting the message out.  But they're not.

Time and again I find myself shrieking in frustration, "You dipsticks, why didn't you say this instead of that?"  The Republicans know how to frame issues so they hit Americans where they live:  right in the center of their self-interest.  They talk about taxes while the Dems talk about....everything else.  The Dems consistently miss their chance to reframe altruism in terms of [enlightened] self-interest. 

For example,  in the Graeme Frost debacle, it was the conservatives who chortlingly revealed all the ways in which the Frost family appeared to be middle class (i.e., not in need of government help).   It should have been the Democrats who pointed this out.  The Democrats missed (as usual) the message they should have been sending: 

"Middle-class Americans!  You don't have sufficient personal wealth to avoid this same outcome if the same thing happens to you!  If your child is ever severely injured, this is you!"

Instead they tried, as they always seem to be doing, to interest the public in the plight of another.  This never reaches the sort of person who votes Republican.  That sort of person is principally interested in his or her own plight.

The Democrats should have reframed the message.  What, after all, should middle class Americans learn from the Frost family?  "This is you.  Put yourself here."  They should have asked voters if the savings of a few dollars (for most people, very few) in taxes is worth it to them in light of the potential financial devastation that a child's serious injury or accident could cause if the parent lost his or her job and didn't have medical insurance.   

In other words, what's in S-CHIP for them?  How does it make them better off?  With all the criticism that the Frost family endured, the fact remains that the average middle-class American doesn't want to have to choose between medical care for a child and selling the family home or yanking the children out of the school they've been attending.  Why didn't the Dems make the message about those people? 

I laughed a month ago when I read an article saying that some memo from a Democratic insider who was urging fellow Dems to learn how to frame their messages had leaked. (BN-Politics)   I laughed principally because the person who wrote the memo used the dread phrase "focus group."  (BN-Politics)  I invoked Duane Delacourt. (BN-Politics) But after thinking about it further, I've come to the conclusion that Dave Helfert was probably right. Helfert wrote:

“Republicans have been kicking our rhetorical butt since about 1995." (The Hill)

And Nancy Pelosi and I just rolled our eyes.  In fact, I got quoted in The New Times' Caucus as "raising [my] digital eyebrow" in disdain at Dave Helfert's suggestion.   I'm so sorry, Dave Helfert!   

In the meantime, while the Democrats fail pathetically in getting their message out there, they are also failing in getting much credit even for trying.  As D Cupples has pointed out and as Dionne points out, they have the comfort of knowing they're not nearly as disliked as Republicans, by at least an eight-point margin.  That's what is known as "cold comfort."

As to why they can't get legislation passed, that's a separate issue. That really isn't their fault, though---sadly for them---Americans don't know jack about civics and don't understand how it is happening.  This is how it's happening, by the way.

In an ideal world, Democrats would pass a lot of legislation that Bush would either have to sign or veto. The president would have to take responsibility for his choices. The House has passed many bills, but the Republican minority has enormous power in the Senate to keep the legislation from getting to the president's desk. This creates the impression that action is being stalled through some vague and nefarious congressional "process."

Not only can a minority block action in the Senate, but the Democrats' nominal one-vote majority is frequently not a majority at all. A few maverick Democrats often defect, and the party runs short-handed when Sens. Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama are off running for president.

And Bush is learning that even when bills reach his desk, he can veto them with near impunity. (Washington Post)

But even failures such as S-CHIP could be an opportunity if the Dems could see this.  It's an opportunity to slam home that message that isn't getting across:  "Republicans don't give a damn about you, the average American who is just a few paychecks away from bankruptcy and potential homelessness. " 

Seeing Dems consistently miss---even after one of their own told them why they consistently miss---brings back the clenched-jaw-teeth-grinding-nails-cutting-into-my-own-palms feeling of the days of John Kerry and the swift boaters. 

We certainly don't want to hear Democrats blame one another; that just makes everything worse.  As Dionne says, they need to stop whining and they need to make the arguments about "the Do-Nothing Republicans." (Washington Post)

Maybe--though Dionne doesn't say this---it's time for a change in party leadership.  (Dionne says: "The party's congressional leaders need to do whatever they have to do to put this year behind them.") (Washington Post)  Or maybe all it would take is for the Dems to learn how to fight back.

Related BN-Politics Posts:

Something's Amiss at Gallup: Approval Ratings & Mid-East Peace Talks

Why Democrats Beat Republicans in Gallup Poll

Polling Data Inadequately Reported

CNN Poll: Bad News for Dems, No News for Republicans?

New Poll: Record Low Approval of Bush & More

Approval Ratings: What do the Numbers Mean?

Hoping for More Careful Polling Analysis

Poll: Republicans Bombed re: War, Healthcare, Economy, Terrorism....

Democrats:  As Gullible as the Opposition?

Brit Perspective:  How a 12-Year Old Injured Child Became 'Fair Game' for America's So-Called 'Right'

LINKED

Plan B For Pelosi And Reid (Washington Post)

Comments

[Dave Helfert]

I accept your gracious apology. And in the spirit of the holidays and the continuing discussions about political message:

How the Grinch Stole S-CHIP

Everyone in the country liked S-CHIP a lot…
But the Grinch, who lived in the White House, did not!
The Grinch had decided — for that’s what he does—
insurance for children was wasteful because
it took federal dollars that were needed, in fact,
for missiles and bombers and war in Iraq.

Non-defense spending made him edgy and mad.
But bleeding heart giveaways? Especially bad!
The Grinch hated S-CHIP! “Bah! Humbug!,” he snarled.
“A few coughs and sneezes aren’t the end of the world.”
Each time Congress passed it, he’d take out his pen
And scrawl VETO!! across it again and again.

“S-CHIP is for losers and slackers and such.
These toddlers and infants are asking too much.”
He’d made a decision— for that’s what he does—
sacrifice was needed! It’s called for because,
we can’t let the measles or chickenpox or pain
slow corporate expansion and capital gain.

Now, please don't ask how. No one understands why
such a privileged beginning; such a self-centered guy.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May be his compassion was two sizes too small.

Cheers,
Dave Helfert