Framing Elections, Past & Future
As with nearly everyone else that’s politically aware, especially on the left; there’s been a keen interest in deconstructing “what went wrong” in 2016, but also in how to move forward and never allow it to happen again.
There are articles about what voters thought in 2016 and what they thing now. I think it’s somewhat important to keep an eye on these things. Then there are articles about the divisions within the Democratic party; especially Bernie (far left) vs Establishment (moderate left). I really don’t think this matters unless we add the Green Party, which is proving to be a valve for crazy thinking and an attempt to split the Democratic vote by right wing and foreign actors. I don’t really believe any of the Democratic stuff matters. People will vote in larger numbers. The only question is, will enough people vote to overcome the 10% GOP advantage from gerrymandering.
One of the things I don’t see in the media is any serious investment in polling people that sat out the 2016 election or identifying new voters. This is important because the disaffected are the ones that foreign actors target the most. Why? It’s the lowest hanging fruit. It’s nearly impossible to switch a voter’s persona. It’s much easier to convince a voter their persona doesn’t matter. The entire Cambridge Analytica fiasco centered their efforts on this very thing. Convincing key voters to stay home.
So how do you counter the efforts of the GOP? This includes gerrymandering, voter suppression efforts, deleting the registration of thousands of voters, forcing people to have an ID, prove citizenship, and misinforming people when and where to vote.
You need a great message and great candidates. Full stop.
I think the democrats are gathering great candidates. Women like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), and Stacey Abrams (AL Gubernatorial election) are proving that new blood can bring out new voters.
The next step is to have a message. And this is the message.
You are citizens of the United States of America. You are not the product of global corporations. You are not consumers. You are not a product. You are not talent. You are not takers. You are not patients. You are not students. Before any and all other aspects of your life, YOU ARE CITIZENS.
And as CITIZENS, you need to engage in the process of selecting representatives of our government. You need to become informed. You need to read what the candidates believe in that are in your town, district, state, and country. If you relinquish your responsibilities as a CITIZEN, then you are saying out loud, “I am just a consumer. I am just a product of global corporations. I am here to create profit for other people.”
This is what the Democratic Party needs to shout from the rooftops. We are CITIZENS!!! We will choose our government. We will have the representation that matches our beliefs as a country. We will not allow a third of our country dictate what democracy should be. We will show them what it can be.
WE WILL VOTE!
