Monday, July 15, 2024

Turning down the heat presents a challenge to Democrat's messaging

 Putting on my PR professional hat: If turning down the heated rhetoric, fascism, and other trigger words are avoided, it is still easy to make the points of what Trump's 2nd term would bring that would be a danger to ordinary Americans and make America weaker, not greater. One possibility would be to take on the Trump slogan of making America Great Again and put it in terms of making America Weak Again, ...asking how removing America's leadership in the world, letting our adversaries call the shots unopposed, taking away so many personal freedoms and rights of our own citizens, and giving us an economy that would raise inflation and causing a recession would make us greater.   (Historical reference for the educated voters could be 1930 pre-FDR. That is still a viable approach, but with appropriate audiences}.

Note the emphasis on "ordinary Americans" or, even better: "all Americans". or even "regular Americans".Calling for national unity is admirable, but it is a platitude if the appeal is only to a racial, religious, or cultural group.  Instead, Biden can switch it to mean "all" or "ordinary".or "regular people". Biden has always done it...saying he is president for all, not just a political group. It fits him and carries out his appeal...: partisan, pragmatic, do what works for all. 

If Trump calls for national unity, meaning to drop all prosecutions, civil and criminal already decided or in the process only benefits one person: Trump, and puts Trump in the posture of advocating complete immunity from any legal act against him, making a mockery of defining only immunity from crimes committed while conducting official acts and duties which is already problematic enough as we can see from Trump's attorneys demanding the end of all existing legal cases Trump is facing. .

Trump's personal toughness does not reveal better judgment or change his caring about others other than himself or ordinary or regular Americans, referring to danger to "all /ordinary Americans" instead of pitting one race and religious class against another or even democracy vs. autocracy. This is more appealing to swing voters.  Running against Project 2025 and the related RNC platform gives  Democrats that chance.  Trump will be put in a bind distancing himself on issues in risking ticking off the base who support the contents of either.  Trump cannot get away with distancing itself from such very unpopular positions.

 There is still rich material that points out the danger Trump represents regarding how it would harm ordinary people (avoiding classism terms) in a second term with what he proposes to do, whatever names you give it. Instead of name-calling, the focus should be shifted to what damaging deeds Trump is proposing to do and the danger he presents to ordinary people. Democrats can  still point out how people would be hurt regardless of race or religion (removing the racist atttack rhetoric), identifying which rights would be taken away, and the danger he presents to economic interests they consider important. Trump's recent cozying up to dictator Orban of Hungary again and again, abandoning Ukraine and NATO and women's rights to control their health, replacing civil servant employesss with a spoils system, plus a Trump history of condoning political violence are still major issues, all falling into the danger messages.  In that approach, the focus would return to Trump himself and the entire MAGA team,  of Biden's age or "acuity," it still gives contrast opportunities. 


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