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Who Will Save Democrats? Who Owns Reality? [1]

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Date: 2025-03-31

Politcs is often described in violent terms such as struggle, battle, campaign, war chest, wins, defeats, decimation. Many of the references relate to war and sports. In my analysis, since trumps 1st successful campaign the politics have resembled neither war nor sports. Sports and War are real whereas Trump has woven a fake reality and brought it to life. The Trumpian campaigns have re-written the scripts to make politics more resemble Professional Wrestling, which is not a sport and follows mainly 1 rule which is Kayfabe(* see note below on kayfabe).

While Democrats have been “campaigning” according to the old rules, Trump has developed something that fits our times more closely. He has developed and is very good at coming across as authentic as perceived by enough voters to win. His voters buy into him so enthusiastically, with great passion and are described as belonging to a cult by us liberals. Unimpressed he instead he labels us as lunatics and radicals etc.etc and his followers go along with him. It’s a name calling script, not a real thing , so accuracy does not matter. The script matters and disinformation is carefully woven into the script which creates it’s own reality and own set of facts. No wonder democrats are lost, being reality based and all.

But right now Trump owns reality and it’s up to democrats to take back ownership. No wonder some voters who are suffering from real hardships like inflation, crime, disillusionment and fears or imagined fears of invasion by gangs, immigrants voting, poisonous vaccines, are susceptible to his scripting. Meanwhile, according to Ben Rhodes in the NYT democrats are sounding like paid consultants and are inauthentic.

In The New York Times, Michele Cottle and Ben Rhodes discuss “how to save the democrats” because Trump is now more popular than ever whiles democrats’ popularity as a party is plummeting. This is currently due to our leaders inability to figure out how to counter Trump effectively. The strategies range from letting Trump dig his own hole to holding rallies to tapping into the manospere to making tik tok videos and the list goes on.

www.nytimes.com/...

What jumps out to me is this discussion of authenticity.

Cottle: So you touched on the authenticity word, which I heard about when talking to Jason Crow and when I was talking to A.O.C. about where to go with the party.

Audio clip of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I think sometimes people fret over the words that we’re using and it’s so much more than words. This is about not just talking about it, it’s about being about it. And, um, people can just smell from a mile away if you’re one of them.

Cottle: So with the Democrats, my sense is that yes, you talk about issues, yes, you make clear what your core values are. But a lot of it comes down to the fact that they don’t know how to talk to normal people and not sound like they’re running some kind of freshman seminar at some pointy-headed college.

Rhodes goes on to say it is a style question. He says that Biden and Harris spoke with “consultant brains” . What does repeating “building a middle class from the bottom up and the middle out?” actually mean to people? He points out Donald Trump does not speak like a consultant and the contrast is GLARING.

BTW I believe Trump dabbled in Drama in his younger years. Watch and listen to him if you can stand to, and realize that his addresses ( can’t call them speeches really) are laden with emotion. When he criticizes Democrats it’s often in a sad and sorry tone, sometimes angry sometimes frustrated sometime resigned. You get the picture.

Second, Rhodes says, democrats debate about needing to go more on social media, but if you don’t know and understand the conversations (scripts) that are taking place don’t try it or you will come across as inauthentic. Donald Trump is tuned in to it. In my parlance he has read the scripts about the conspiracy theories and how Joe Rogan as a character, thinks and has adapted his script to those social media realities. He comes across as authentic. I believe that Gavin Newsome is making his forays into this arena.

Rhodes advises, choose your platform carefully so you will come across as authentic. Barak Obama, apparently, went on ESPN to talk basketball and had great success with that. He knew something about basketball. But Rhodes points out, don’t look backward for our leaders.

“Cottle: That suggests that they just need to also expand their stable to include people who can do these different things. So, like Crow, Pete Buttigieg, Carville — these guys go on conservative shows and they do a really good job.”

I personally agree that new leadership is massively important. But I recognize that we have many fantastic older politcal leaders who have so much to offer. Rhodes implores (older?) democrats to pick an issue such as what’s happening to the VA, or Social Security, or cuts to Food Safety. To me he’s saying create an authentic narrative, develop a script that sounds authentic, not wonky. Remember when wonky was good? Those times are gone.

Our leaders need scripts that sound personally authentic. I picture my own Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is unbelievably brilliant, yet unfortunately comes off as too technical and often critical for many.

I am amazed that all people think about her is the Pocahontas narrative that Trump developed to use against her. No one knows about the research by the Boston globe disproving the charges by Trump. https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-elizabeth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html

I think it’s important that politicians can and should get out there to focus on a few specific issues and I think go on tour, speaking in whatever way is AUTHENTIC to them. Especially if they are not well versed in the social medias. People across the US need to know all that Elizabeth Warren has done for them or attempted to do. She is very academically oriented. She can be a fiery speaker, but she needs to travel far and wide and talk with and connect with the American people.

As Obama said and I paraphrase, “there is more that connects us than divides us.” Elizabeth Warren has always been a fighter for what’s fair for the average American so call it The Fairness Tour. She is comfortable speaking to large groups. With the right consultants she can tell her story on a more personal level so people can know her through her own words and manner. At this point so many Trump voters are shocked by Trumps actions that they will listen to democratic voices with more open minds. The trumpian group think is cracking and there may be a finite window so it’s important for our leaders to get out there and travel ASAP and make their case to the people with authenticity.

Please think about whether your senator or congress person fits this profile. One who is maybe older and maybe not so good with social media. The default action then is to go on tour and show up at demonstartions. I imagine if this became a regular thing that citizens would look forward to whoever is next to speak in their town or city. This is a way to re-establish the old fashioned way of politics. Building alliances and networks in person.

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