Every time I warned about Republicans poised to make a comeback many said I was either a pessimist, a person unable to read the real sentiment of the country, or I was creating disagreement among Democrats. No. I feared that Democrats thought they were going to coast to victory. I knew that unseen to most, the dollars of the plutocracy was at work distributing false narratives directly to Americans while circumventing the noise on cable news.
These guys operate in churches, community events, and many other local venues. I see it first-hand here in my very Conservative community, Kingwood, Texas. So while the Democratic Party Establishment continue to operate like a closed cabal unable to change with the times, a party, the Republican Party, with terrible policies can continue to construct wins.
I wrote the piece “Democrats: Pulling defeat out of a sure win. No Blue Wave unless …”
If Democrats are to revive the possibility of a Blue Wave, the time is running out as Republicans are framing a better message even if built on lies. They are even out messaging Democrats on the current shutdown of a government that they control totally.
I got a lot of flak for that piece. I followed it up with “Are Democrats once again pulling defeat from what should be a sure victory?” I pointed out that,
The Right Wing is in control of this country not because they support values most Americans want but because of the semblance of what Americans think they need, a semblance of strength.
It does not take a lot of money to get a message and the proper narrative to the masses. So that isn’t the problem. It takes vision. Democrats should leverage independent media, alternative media, social media, and other avenues to reach people. But they don’t. They are stuck with the same high price consultants that have lost elections state by state and federally.
Anyone watching network TV likely saw ads promoting the successes of the tax cut scam. They likely saw ads of Trump’s economic successes even though they pale next to Obama’s. Active engagement and repetition of these narratives are seeds and fertilizer that blossom at election time. And we are living with one side who is a much better political farmer than the other.
Well, one of the leading Democratic Super PACs is sounding the alarm. McClatchy reports the following.
A leading Democratic group — Priorities USA — is warning party leaders they could squander a strong political climate in 2018 if they don’t start to emphasize pocketbook issues over loose and unfocused critiques of Donald Trump. According to internal polling by the super PAC, President Trump’s approval rating climbed to 44 percent in the first week of February, compared to 53 percent who disapprove. That mirrors Trump’s improving position in public polls.
In November, the same survey found his approval rating at 40 percent, with 54 percent disapproving. The group’s survey also showed the Democratic Party’s generic ballot advantage had shrunk, with 46 percent preferring Democrats to 42 percent for Republicans.
The memo says that a broad range of metrics show the political climate is still favorable for Democrats. But it also makes an unambiguous diagnosis for Trump’s recent rise: Democrats this year have stopped focusing on economic and health care issues, topics that demonstrably hurt his approval during his first year in office.
Priorities’ polling found that while people in November readily mentioned Trump’s health care and tax reform measures, by February they were instead more cognizant of his tweets. Democrats, the memo said, must “not allow themselves to be sidetracked and distracted by Trump’s latest tweets.”
“While still on track for a successful November, the extent of Democratic gains will be blunted if Democrats do not reengage more aggressively in speaking to the economic and health care priorities of voters,” it said.
There is still time to win back Americans to ensure a blue wave. It will require dumping the Democratic way of doing business and learning how to effect benign political guerrilla tactics. Check out my post titled “Two CNN stories that show how the 2018 blue wave could turn into a ripple.”