And why Democrats need to embrace them.
Listening to the presidential address on immigration last night, I realized that every time he utters a phrase like "It’s also not who we are as Americans", or "My fellow Americans, it strikes a nerve in the Republican amygdala; waves, in Mitchell's words, "a red flag.". It invokes a visceral response because when Republicans say, in pompous, stentorian tones, "The American People", they surely are not talking about people of the President's ilk. They have a highly refined sense of who an "American" is. Every time President Obama invokes the proprietary pronouns, we, our, us, etc. it is a dagger to the heart of those who view him as an usurper.
I would suggest that we Democrats do a small bit of reframing and adopt the phrase "We Americans" and say it as frequently as possible. Our elected officials should speak in terms of 'we Americans' in front of a backdrop of diverse citizens and posit our case in that rhetoric. The Republicans have cast their lot with the one percent. We Americans should stand together, declaring our solidarity and embracing all the threads which weave the tapestry of our culture. It clearly is us versus them and if 'We Americans' don't declare our common cause, we will deserve the oligarchy we've allowed to supplant our democracy.