I love this exchange between Joy Reid and CNU Professor Rachel Bitecofer, on yesterday’s AM Joy, because I think it really nails a lot of what goes on with Democrats, cycle after cycle. Also, I feel like I’ve been saying a lot of this for years. Check it out.
Joy Reid: “Is it a matter of messaging that is helping Democrats be in such a better position or is it just a matter of just people’s plain outrage about the whole thing that he is doing?”
CNU Professor Rachel Bitecofer: “Yeah, no, it’s absolutely connected and I’m so glad that you gave me an opportunity to interject here, because I know exactly what’s wrong with Democrats and it ties back into my data analysis…This is what’s going on. You were citing the cycle of, you know, you have these crises, people elect Democrats because we have these turnout urges which is what my data suggests…Democrats get get fired up, they come out, they rise to the occasion, they seize power, they fix things, but then they pull back. And the reason is because Democrats absolutely suck at messaging. They don’t tap into emotion. They want to have these cerebral conversations with voters that don’t exist. Because, you know, we we are not typical people and we want to talk to ourselves. And you know, you have to tap into emotion the way that the GOP does. Not, I would argue, in such a negative way, but in a way that gets people to connect their day-to-day lives with the political process. And if you can keep those turnout rollbacks from happening and maintain power, then you can make some gains. But you’re right, as long as you’re always rushing in on a surge-and-decline cleanup crew, you’re never gonna make progress.”
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