Why Can't Democrats Make GOP Extremism a Campaign Issue?

[brooklynite]

New Republic

Republicans are stacking state legislatures and secretary of state offices with people who are obsessed with investigating the 2020 presidential election. They are actively fighting the select committee charged with finding out how the January 6 mob attack on the Capitol came about. They are continuing to push increasingly restrictive voting rights laws. And Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert say and do things that would have been unthinkable for a member of the House of Representatives to say or do a generation ago.

Through it all, Democrats have been sounding the alarm, arguing that more than just the fringiest bits of the Republican Party constitute a threat to democracy. The Democratic base agrees. But is the “threat to democracy” theme a plausible midterm strategy?

Probably not. Interviews with a half-dozen pollsters and strategists reveal a level of doubt that those calls actually activate swing voters during a time of economic restlessness and as the world struggles to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s somewhat counterintuitive to think American democracy being in trouble wouldn’t be a pressing concern for every American. But it’s hard for a lot of people to wrap their heads around something that hasn’t happened yet, argued Democratic pollster Pete Brodnitz. “Well, the first thing is, it’s always hard for people to imagine the worst. But the second is, in people’s daily lives they have more pressing things that they’re focused on,” Brodnitz said. “I’ve done work in places where democracy really has been at risk, and I’ve worked in places where there have been coups and then where there has been a discussion about restoring democracy.… Even in places like that, you’re going to have a strong sense that economic issues are paramount.”

“If you see Democrats running ads on this stuff, like Republicans being a danger to democracy, my guess is it’s probably mostly going to be fundraising stuff online, like digital banners, social media ads to try to get people to click through and donate to them,” said David de la Fuente, a senior policy analyst at the Third Way think tank, who tracks political and electoral trends. “Because I think ‘the Republicans are sliding toward anti-democracy police’ is something that definitely plays really well with the Democratic base.”

[jimfields33]

1. They can and will

Once Christmas break is over, the 2022 election campaign will go into full gear. Next month at this time, the focus will be election daily in and out.

[Scrivener7]

4. They can. Whether they will remains to be seen. Here is New Republic telling people not to.

[TheRealNorth]

2. Show clips from the 1960's, apartheid south africa

And then show Proud Boys, 3%s, and shit talking about how they want to deal with POC when they take over.

If that doesn't motivate POC to vote, I don't know what will.

[BlueJac]

3. We are all doomed!

Let's give Mike Flynn a pass today so he can make more plans for the demise of this country!

[Alexander Of Assyria]

5. Say the F word. Say it from the WH Oval Office, with appropriate solemnity.

[ibegurpard]

6. Because no ever bothered

To invest in media and community building infrastructure to get a message out. Everyone keeps talking about how our messaging sucks but we don't have the same pipelines the fascists do even when it's good.

[Mad_Machine76]

7. So basically

We pretty much have to wait until things get so bad that it's too late? And then maybe even living under a dictatorship won't be too bad for most swing voters- as long as the trains run on time. Well, that sucks.

I guess we'll have to see what happens when a state overturns its first election, giving it to the clear loser?

[senseandsensibility]

8. That is a good, simple message

that would be easy to repeat and pound on every day. Just keep repeating "The American people don't want this extreme rightwing agenda." Give poll numbers and examples. Keep it simple.