The public impeachment hearings are an opportunity for Democrats to tell voters about major legislation they’ve passed. Will they have the courage to use this opportunity?

HOUSE DEMS SHOULD WALK TOGETHER TO McCONNELL’S OFFICE TO DEMAND VOTES ON THEIR BILLS.

kraig peck
Nov 7 · 4 min read

THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THE PUBLIC WILL LEARN ABOUT THEIR POPULAR LEGISLATION.

The House Democratic strategy of passing oodles of popular bills with the hope that the public will reward them in 2020 is fizzling. The media has barely reported on these bills, despite their significance. Life-changing and popular legislation to get big money out of politics, voting rights, to lower drug prices, and a $15 minimum wage have largely been ignored by a public focused on Trump’s outrages and the Democratic primary.

Unless they come up with a better strategy, their hopes are about to be dashed. Once the impeachment hearings began, Nancy Pelosi’s worst nightmare began to play out. Democrats are being defined completely by their efforts to impeach. The admirable bills they’ve passed or will pass are becoming meaningless in terms of voter persuasion. Trump and the GOP are doing their best to ensure this, attacking them as “Do-Nothing Democrats”. And the media will surely continue to ignore what it considers mundane and instead focus on the daily dramas.

What’s the best way to tell the story of Democrats passing life-changing bills that the GOP Senate refuses to put to a vote?

The impeachment hearings offer the possibility of highlighting the House Democrats’ achievements —if they use the opportunity. The cameras will be there. The public’s attention on Congress is certain.

Each time the House passes a significant piece of legislation, the entire House Democratic Caucus should march to Mitch McConnell’s office to demand a vote. Bill sponsors — or even better, voters affected by the bill — could give a succinct pitch about it, and ask why the GOP won’t put it to a vote. Cameras would roll.

Action images are the best way to show the public that House Democrats are fighting to improve their lives.

The most powerful way to shape public opinion are images that tell a story. The best images are of action, not “talking heads”. The action tells the story. These are the images that TV news producers crave, and that get the most clicks and eyeballs on social media.

The story is not only about the bill’s merits. The action, each march (not a press conference or the same old talking heads), would visually show the continued determination of Democrats to fight for the public. Each march would show the courage of their convictions. This isn’t a small thing. Much of the public has no idea what Democrats stand for. They believe that Congress “bickers” and “can’t get anything done”. The GOP is counting on the impeachment hearings to cement a definition of Democrats as partisan do-nothings.

House members could march on days without impeachment hearings. Or the hearings could adjourn for a few hours for House votes and subsequent marches to McConnell’s office. Additionally, once the House impeachment process ends, marches could immediately follow while the Senate deliberates and the public is watching. Democratic Senators might choose to participate as well. Chants and signs would add even more drama and generate better coverage.

Some House members may object. That’s ok. They don’t need to participate. It doesn’t require the entire caucus. It simply requires the courage of a large number of House members to do things differently, a courage that has not been lacking in the GOP. Trump and the GOP may be crazy, but they know how to reach the public through dramatic visuals.

NO DRAMA MEANS NO EYEBALLS.

As shocking as it may be to those who eat politics every meal, millions of Americans don’t care about politics. The largest bloc of Americans aren’t Democrats or Republicans; they’re non-voters. Less than a third of voting age Americans can even name the three branches of government. Without dramatic visual images that tell this story, it’ll be unseen and overshadowed by the compelling dramas of impeachment and Primary competition.

Additionally, as a result of the impeachment hearings and trial, millions of people will learn, for the first time, that there are two distinct parts to this Congress — a Democratic House and a GOP Senate. This is the opportunity to show how this difference matters on kitchen table issues, not just on Trump.

Courage and determination inspire.

People respond to courage and determination. It connects. The courage and determination of House members walking together, again and again, could inspire millions of people. It could lead many who are uncertain, or who sit out elections, to walk to their polling place with their heads held high to vote for Democrats.

If elected Democrats want to win in 2020 — to sweep the House, the Senate, and win the White House — it’ll take the courage to change how they do things in order to reach the public where they’re at. Creating visual drama that tells the story of their determination to improve the public’s lives will have to be part of a winning fight.

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Kraig Peck was a community organizer and union negotiator, organizer, and political director for over forty years, in the Seattle area and the Midwest.

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