One of the problems that contributed to the defeat of Democrats in Virginia and an almost loss in New Jersey is that Democrats were slow to pick up on the GOP's tactics. Democrats were flat-footed and deaf. Democrats were still fighting the last war with Donald Trump when swing voters and suburban women had other issues, some concocted by the GOP and "cultural", and all were feeling it at the pump and the grocery store. Acknowledging their attacks, showing how the BBB and other Biden initiatives counter them, and contrasting that with their opponents who are"just saying no". That is a better way than ignoring the GOP attacks as silly or racist or ignorant or unfactual while just stating your position and hoping voters can deduce the contrast with an opponent on their own. Ignoring them did not work in Virginia and certainly will not work in 2022 in local races. If the BBB is passed, and with the signing of the roads and bridges infrastructure law, there is an opportunity to tie the suburban women and swing voters' concerns to how these two laws and other Biden actions will address them. Democrats on the stump for 2022 can make the connection between what the Biden administration is doing and counter the GOP cultural and economic attacks in the same or a few sentences.
For candidates on the stump in suburbia and swing areas, where Donald Trump is not on the ballot and the GOP candidate talks and looks like the Republicans of old. here are some possible approaches. Call them out if he/she still runs an underground Trump appealing campaign. First, say where you stand and why. ; Second, show how Biden/Democrats help you locally; third, contrast that with the GOP opponent's own words and deeds and how they just said, or say. no and did not. or does not, care about you, the suburbanite individual. Do it in simple, sentences free of jargon and slogans. Put it in terms of how it helps individual people and their kids, not how it helps workforce development, gets mom back to work, or society in general. Suburbanites are motivated by what helps them and their families, not what helps the poor or society
Some examples: I support parents having a say in their kids' education.. Parents' voices need to be heard about what is taught in their schools. That is the beauty of democracy. It can be done peacefully without threats or acts of violence. Keep on letting your school boards know what you want. Here is where I stand. CRT is not being taught and will not be, but what actually happened during slavery needs to be taught factually and accurately.
Even more important is to help your kids succeed in school. So let's talk about education and who cares about your kids succeeding in school..I supported free preschool. the child tax credit, child care support. Pre-school education is tied to better graduation chances. When it comes to helping kids succeed in school, my opponent just says no,
To get an education after high school, the Biden administration is increasing funding for pell grants to finance community colleges for those who otherwise could not afford it. They can learn a high-paying trade or boost their chances to get the remainder of four-year college education,
The best solution to school masks and mandates is to end the pandemic and that is what the Biden administration is doing..in getting the adult 80 percent of the adult population vaccinated, even those who were reluctant, which is something to crow about. Giving parents the ability to get their kids vaccinated is even more to crow about. Contrast that with what my opponent has done: deriding vaccines and catering to unfounded fears in the name of "freedom" that lets the unvaccinated keep on spreading COVID to others, making it harder to get rid of the pandemic. The sooner we finish this task of getting even the reluctant vaccinated, the sooner the pandemic will go away.
We have a problem: the cost of prescription drugs is the highest in the world and the BBB we are proposing requires competition to lower the cost while protecting drug companies' innovation and development of cutting-edge treatments. My opponent voted against that.
Helping our elders stay at home as long as they can needs to be made more affordable and the BBB is tackling another problem. The BBB makes home health care more affordable. My opponent voted against that. My opponent really does not care; he just says no.
What about gas prices and inflation at the grocery store? The US for years has been at the mercy of OPEC, the oil cartel that controls 50% of the supply even now after we cranked up our own oil production. They are now restricting their production to limit supply to get more profits for themselves. We need to free ourselves from OPEC and fossil fuels beginning now and for years in the future. The BBB and the bi-partisan infrastructure bill is a major downpayment on switching to solar and electricity as the way to rid ourselves of OPEC and keep earth habitable. Contrast that with the GOP (my opponent) who denies we even have a problem looks with scorn at going "green" and opposes how we want to free our dependence on polluting energy. We have the ability and technology to make this affordable and accessible. My opponent voted against that.
(It is critical the cost of these Biden programs does not get blamed for inflation, and the CBO score compliance is important. However, other forces are at work and it is an open question of whether these pressures are temporary. Stay tuned on this and hope the day-to-day cost increases are as temporary as the experts say. The BBB helps those with kids and families in lower-income levels, but inflation hits many more than those targeted groups. )
Defunding police? I never supported this. In fact, I support giving police more help so they can do their jobs even better. Stop lying about my position and instead let's work together to get this done right.
A very thoughtful opinion piece on policing that cites how Denver voters depoliticized police review boards on Nov. 2,2022 appeared in a recent Newsweek column.
The appointment to the police review commission was taken out of the hands of the mayor . https://www.newsweek.com/voters-verdict-policing-mend-it-dont-end-it-opinion-1647563?utm_source=PushnamiMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=automatic&UTM=1636547138622&subscriberId=60f87406e39e7cee356b5cf2
He who laughs last laughs best: The 13 members of the House GOP who voted for the infrastructure bill will get the last laugh when they remind voters that the rest of their caucus put priorities to keeping in Trumps good graces over the interests of their own constituents. https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-republicans-backed-infrastructure-bill-125747643.html
https://theweek.com/republicans/1006958/the-13-house-republicans-who-voted-for-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-are
An pollster after the Virginia governors race also confirmed my suspicions: A Pollster's Warning to Democrats: 'We Have a Problem' (yahoo.com)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrats-messaging-problem-124516408.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/red-america-now-dying-covid-121640335.html
If you have a subscription to the Washington Post, this is an excellent analysis of the 2022 races and how the GOP can take back Congress....https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/WhctKKXHCWXDrMwLpPHfLMblcNQqdpSpVFFpHBSrkrhHqSnhgdWzFDjKThMVcNtGbjQKPzQ
A local issue of concern to those who live in the West. The same approach can work in 2022 regarding votes on infrastructure, including $1billion for Colorado. Every GOP representative from Colorado voted against the bill...They just said no...and they voted against Colorado.. :
https://www.skyhinews.com/news/wildfire-drought-provisions-in-infrastructure-bill-bring-new-funding-to-old-ideas-on-western-slope/
https://www.cpr.org/2021/11/08/colorado-transportation-projects-infrastructure-bill-funding/
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2426335129329/colorado-s-democratic-delegation-cheers-passage-of-infrastructure-bill-amid-gop-scowls The Colorado Republican congresspeople all voted no on this as well. More fodder in 2022 for Democrats
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