Who are the smartest readers? Who are the prettiest readers? Why, Daily Kos readers of course!
Now that I have buttered you up a little bit (totally sincere), I am hoping to leverage your brain power for something that has been stuck in my mind for, well, a very long time. But it has become more urgent since the Jan 6th insurrection. How do we counter-program members of the MAGA cult?
I’m grew up in and still spend a lot of time in a 70/30 Trump county here in purple Pennsylvania, a county that Trump visited multiple times. It is filled with exactly the kind of people you would expect, hard-working rural folks, retirees, people struggling paycheck to paycheck, and a rich, entitled upper crust that dominates the local thinking, from the pulpit, from the press and entrenched in civic life.
And sadly, the good folks have been and are continuing to be filled with the lies of the MAGA cult. A local state legislator even helped organize a bus down to DC for the insurr… um, I mean the “rally” on Jan 6th. The loudest, most vocal idiots in the village are the bullies with the money, the big trucks, the boats, and they browbeat their neighbors into buying their ideology.
What’s missing is any sort of counter-programming to the MAGA message. Democrats will likely never invest here. The state party doesn’t bother until presidential years. The local Dems are outspent and often demoralized, struggling to find a message that can break through the FOX lies and Facebook propaganda. That’s what I need your help with… crafting short, pithy messages that can fit on a billboard or bumper sticker that either create cognitive dissonance or undermine the MAGA messaging monolith.
Why? For several reasons. Pennsylvania has critical statewide races coming up, and the republican strategy is always to drive up the turnout in rural and small town PA to counter the urban centers. This worked in 2016, and failed in 2020 because those rural Dems were engaged and the city folks showed up bigtime. But it’s 2021 and now they have been all but abandoned, and they are surrounded by people who are threatening and terroristic towards them. Democrats work a table at the county fair? Not a chance. They can’t get volunteers to put up with that abuse, or risk their own safety, people coming up and just screaming in their faces. Even a Biden bumper sticker might get your tires slashed, or worse.
So, what phrases could be put on a bumper sticker or a billboard that might:
- Cause the mushy middle to question the bullying MAGA folks’ messages?
- Encourage and embolden those on the side of Democrats and democracy to get or stay involved?
- Weaken the resolve of the MAGA crowd so they are less secure in their own stridency?
For some inspiration, here are a few things that need to be taken down a notch.
- “Patriots” is the moniker they have labeled themselves with. Make them question it. Make them ashamed of the murderous insurrection.
- Back the Blue — they sure didn’t on Jan 6th. They don’t deserve to wrap themselves in that any longer.
- Democracy — they don’t seem to know what it is or how it works.
- The big lie — they believe it, how do we counter-program against it (how many court cases were lost, emphasize popular vote loss)
- Trump — They still think he’s Rambo Jesus Mega Billionaire instead of corrupt, weak, broke, disgusting monster that he is.
That’s a tall order. The whole “go read a book” strategy is exactly what I’m NOT looking for. I’m looking for messages that resonate quickly for people who don’t have time to sit and read hours of news and blogs, common sense folksy phrases that cut quickly and deeply.
There’s a diary up today about the strength of the word “corruption” and how it has been used to take down other regimes around the world. Highly recommended. So that could play into it for sure.
So, the task dear friends: Someone gave you money to buy a dozen billboards throughout this region. What messages would you send these voters? Remember, billboard messages should be SHORT, because people drive fast. Try to keep it 8 words max. Bumper stickers are even more limited. Are there any 3 word phrases you can think of? Some ill-formed ideas I have noodled over are:
- “Patriot or Patsies” or “Lawbreakers and disorder” — over top of an image of the insurrection
- “Liar”, “He thinks you’re dumb”, “Compromised” — over top of an image of Trump screaming
- “When they make you angry, you’re easier to control” — over image of FOX logo
Hopefully that’s enough inspiration to get your juices flowing. I should really be at work, so won’t be checking back much on this. But please, go to town with whatever brainstorming you can do on this messaging exercize. Thanks!