How are we going to win the battle for votes next year and beyond?
Most progressives do not have the sort of cash available to compete with the Kochs and Adelsons of the world for campaign spending. We lack a hugely influential 24-hour cable network dedicated to selling our candidates and policies. The electoral maps in many states have been drawn to limit our influence. We are demonstrably correct on many issues, and the majority of Americans agree with us on most critical issues. Effective strategies need to be used. I have a few ideas, after the orange beyond-infinity symbol.
1) It is still the economy, stupid. The case must be made that Democratic leadership has been superior in virtually every measure of economic success over many years. Compare the deficits run by Reagan, and the Bushes, to those of the Clinton and Obama years. Compare the job creation numbers of the same administrations. Compare the stock market returns. Not only do we look good, it is so obvious that no rational case can be made for the other side.
2) Get out the Vote. We say this all the time. It is time to go beyond that, make it a focus of our spending. The principle objective of gerrymandered redistricting is to collect large blocks of the opponents' voters into a few districts, where they will have large majorities, while creating many 55-45 and 60-40 districts on your own side. This strategy can bite back if the other side can turn out 12 or 20% more voters. Suddenly those narrow losses can be wins. We need to use legal and other resources to stop vote suppression, but we can win, even under their rules, if we commit to getting young, poor, minority, female, voters to register and vote. Register all we can for absentee votes. Pass vote-by-mail when we can, and motor-voter and even student-voter. Get people out to the polls or bring the polls to them. I believe money is better spent on getting out voters than on advertising. If every American who earns less than $100,000 annually voted in their own economic interest, the map would be blue. Everywhere. The 1%, the 10%, even the 20% cannot win an election if the rest show up and vote for their own interest.
3) Use their advertising against them. In these post-Citizens United days, the very rich and the corporations can and will dominate all forms of paid media and advertising. Democracy, the ability to elect – choose – our leaders and lawmakers is the only weakness in their ability to continue to enjoy their privileged position. Advertising and partisan media is their tactic for electoral success – they need average people to vote against their own economic interest. We need to plant and nurture one critical idea:Presume that the advertising you see the most is there to get you to vote against your own interest.
4) 50 state strategy. We need to provide a clear choice in every district. Not only will this help the top of the ticket, bringing out the vote helps candidates at all levels. To re-draw the maps, fairly, we need the state offices as well as the federal.
5) Run on issues people can connect with. Social issues are important for a just society but not the motivators that jobs, health care, education, and affordable retirement can be.
6) Contrast the results: Compare Minnesota and Wisconsin. California under Brown vs earlier. The jobs and deficits of GWB and Obama. we have a strong case. Make it.
What are your ideas?