After watching The Daily Show last night (if an editor could get the video to embed, that would be awesome [happy to oblige! -ed.]), I’m convinced that the whole messaging thing isn’t that hard. If their writers can give the lines to Jordan Klepper, why can’t someone give them to Democratic candidates?
Jordan Klepper: Last night, at approximately 11:27pm Eastern Time, the Republicans gained control of the US Senate, and results were almost immediate! The economy – now growing at a robust 3.5%. Gas this morning? Under three bucks a gallon. Look: Stock market at record levels; deficits cut in half; ten million more Americans have health insurance; and unemployment sub-6% for the first time since we elected “Chairman Obama”.
Jon Stewart: Well, wait! Hang on a second Jordan, because the things that you’re describing…
JK: And even Ebola, Jon, think about this, which was on the verge of destroying this country under Obama’s feckless leadership is suddenly only a problem now for one guy. It’s Morning In America, Jon!
JS: Jordan, that is an incredibly impressive list you’ve ticked off, of things that happened under Obama and the Democratic Senate.
JK: Oh, please, Jon! If Democrats had accomplished all that, they would have been out there bragging about it for months! It would have been the central message of their campaign, instead of their actual message, which was, like, I’m quoting this here, “I’m sorry! Don’t be mad! We don’t like Obama either! We like guns too!”.
Done. Was it really that hard?
Sigh.
John Cleese is awesome.
Considering how much crap he got for ‘raising prices’ back in 2012, he should at least have had the balls to take credit for it now. It’s moronic and dishonest either way, but, we can’t change how voters perceive these things, so when the cycle goes your way-you run with it.
Pretty sure Bill Clinton didn’t personally create any jobs outside of the White House staff, but I would be damned if I haven’t heard him mention the ‘millions of jobs my administration created” in every speech he has ever given, ever. That is the difference. *drops mic*
The party out of power routinely accuses the party in power of manipulating gas prices just before an election. Truth is they tend to dip in the fall, even in non-election years. Don’t worry if you like high gas prices in principle – there’s always next Memorial Day:(
Being a politician used to require courage. Courage of conviction. Courage of ownership of affiliations and actions. Courage to stick your neck out. Courage to speak the truth, even when it’s inconvenient.
When did this stop? With some notable exceptions, the most effective politicians now — someone recently posted a list here that had Scott F’n Brown listed as one of the best–are shape-shifting, temperature-taking morphs who twist themselves into whatever form the political winds and the billionaires with their piggy little hands on the cash spigot want them to.
Even Baker …he went into the cities to defeat Coakley. Did he want to? Does he genuinely care about those voters (at least as much as he does the billionaires who he will really be working for)? Will his policies reflect the needs of those constituents? Hell no; it was a means to an end.
The Democrats need to wake up and remember what made them Democrats to begin with and distance themselves from big corporate money enough so they can tell the truth about that too. And it needs to happen like yesterday.
spoke expanding healthcare access to conservative medical students in Indiana. One of them asked where the money for the programs would come from. RFK was pissed off and didn’t hesitate:
They booed and he didn’t care. What politician would ever say such a thing today? Elizabeth Warren might come close, in a very polite way.
Thank you for that RFK quote. Such a gutsy man, especially considering the times. And that is absolutely the correct answer.
In many ways, the viral “we built that” video of EW early in her campaign is the same message, but more polite as you say. Her refrain of “we build these things together to build a future together that works for all of us” — it’s the same thing, minus the gutsy language re: face up to your own privilege and embrace your responsibility to your fellow citizens.
Just a sad reminder that that gutzy man was assassinated just after winning the California Democratic primary. In recent decades (after WWII), America has had a bad habit of killing or trying to kill the prophetic voices among us.
so who knows what would have resulted from that.
McGeorge Bundy once told me he thought RFK would have won the nomination in the end because he was dominating the primaries and the Kennedys knew how to play convention politics too. A lot of delegates loyal to Johnson would have been hostile though. In today’s system he would have won easily, even if Humphrey had entered the primaries. Humphrey was too saddled with the Johnson Administration’s record in Vietnam.
…RFK had a rally scheduled in Indianapolis that day. When he got up to speak he told the raucous mixed-race crowd to calm down and lower their signs as he had some serious news to report. His announcement of MLK’s death was the first many in attendance had heard the news. He then spoke eloquently and compassionately about the anger and confusion many of them must have been feeling. It must of worked – my understanding is that Indianapolis was about the only major US city that did not riot that night.
It must HAVE worked rather than it must OF worked.
because of James Brown. That is a great story.
I had hoped that (former SNL writer and MN senator) Al Franken would be on the Senate floor satirizing the Republicans but he has had to play it so straight. I guess he can’t risk being perceived as being anything but serious about the people of Minnesota.
in his daily fundraising emails, though. Blew Ed Markey out of the water in that department.
Al, time to turn some of that on the Republicans.
He tried once or twice, but it always blows up in his face. He asked good questions of Justice Sotamayor in her hearings, but the only coverage he got was for a quip about Perry Mason that made him look like a comedian rather than a Senator.
He just cruised to re-election, but the last thing he needs is for any MN voters to think he is less than serious– they remember Governor Ventura.
What he should do is feed lines to his colleagues.
…is the funny Senator from MN!