I have to say I was a bit confused after reading this story about an internal Democrat memo that faults their party's message for not winning the hearts of voters.
Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.I would argue the opposite. Democrats may be wrong on the issues, but they've got a good handle on rhetoric.“Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics,” wrote Dave Helfert, a former Appropriations spokesman who now works for Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). “Why are we defending [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program] instead of advocating a ‘Healthy Kids’ plan?”
Helfert sent the memo this week to an e-mail list of all Democratic press secretaries and communications directors after staffers met on Monday to discuss rolling out the Democrats’ latest message.He said the meeting left him cold because it focused on what polling shows voters want rather than how to present persuasive messages. Republicans have done a better job by developing poll data into focus group-tested messages like “culture of life” and “defending marriage,” along with attacks like “cut and run” and “plan for surrender” in Iraq, he argued.
In particular, Helfert points to Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who helped develop the 1994 “Contract with America” and is credited with helping Republicans come up with terms for polices like “Healthy Forests” and “Death Tax.”
“Republicans have been kicking our rhetorical butt since about 1995,” Helfert wrote.
For instance, their attacks over the SCHIP veto... They've made their attacks against Republicans a debate about denying health coverage for kids. They try to make the issue over gay marriage an issue about "equality." They've attacked Bush's tax cuts (the same ones that have strengthened our economy and brought unemployment significantly down) as tax cuts for the rich. And somehow, they've managed to keep a huge majority of the African-American vote despite the fact they were the party that opposed civil rights.
No, Democrats are not suffering from a deficit of rhetoric. They're suffering from being wrong on the issues and being out of the mainstream. The fact they won in 2006 was a result of carefully fine-tuned rhetoric about the war in Iraq and the so-called Republican "culture of corruption." They know they lose on the issues, which is why they've failed to have a significant list of accomplishments since January. They couldn't get the minimum wage increase they wanted on its own, so they had to stick it in a war supplemental. Their so-called lobbying reform was a joke.
Despite their victory last year, the Democratic Party is in trouble. If they think it's because of rhetoric and message and not about issues then they are in more trouble they realize.
