10 Reasons the Dems Are Already Losing the 2018 Elections
The Democrats have never had a better chance to barrel forward, win an election, and save our democracy. But with only a year to go before they could turn around the blood-redness of Congress, Democrats are already weakening their own platform by not having a strong, cohesive message.
And now Hillary’s come out with her own divisive rant, carving battle lines within the party between by ostracizing the very thing she said brought her down: Bernie supporters. Not Russia or illegal hacking or Facebook ads funded by Russian oligarchs and fueled by trolls or vicious conservative wailers with large radio audiences. Bernie supporters.
It’s Bernie’s fault for luring away millions of millennials who see how the world could be a better place and want policies that truly further that instead of maintain the status quo. It’s Bernie’s fault for energizing hope. It’s Bernie’s fault for understanding that it’s time for populist policies not Wall St. giveaways.
C’mon Hillary — I voted for you and don’t believe a word of your argument.
Let’s put that rant aside. Now is the time for the Dems to push their agenda and even more, their vocabulary.
And George Lakoff has all the reasons why—if they want to win in 2018—Democrats need to use consistent vocabulary as well as co-opt Republican talking points, starting right now[1]:
1. The more a brain circuit is activated, the stronger its synapses get.
Republicans know this and invest ginormous amounts of money in drumming their phraseology, and the moral concepts it promotes, into the everyday conversation.
2. The stronger its synapses get, the more likely it is to fire and the stronger the firing is.
Voters vote from emotions, not logic. Every time the words “tax burden” or “compassionate conservatism” or “welfare mom” are spoken, the deeper the synaptic groove in the brain, and the more ready conservatives are to believe they’re just helping folks out by taking away funding for social programs so those weak, dependent people can get stronger by having to struggle.
3. When two [opposing] circuits inhibit each other, the stronger one circuit gets, the weaker the other gets.
This is where Dems are truly blowing it. A large portion of the electorate has a blend of progressive & conservative values — they’re “biconceptuals”. They’re the “undecided” voters every politician drools over. Dems should already be repeating, repeating, repeating their message and phraseology to deepen the progressive moral brain synapses in the minds of these voters so the competing conservative circuits weaken.
4. Suppose two mutually inhibitory circuits apply to different issues. As one gets stronger and the other gets weaker, the more likely it is the stronger one will start applying to more issues and the weaker one to fewer issues.
Once a voter shifts their thinking more heavily to one side of the argument for a certain issue, the more easily they are to shift on other issues. Dems need to right now imprint their phraseology and moral appeal into the everyday media conversations so that when January rolls around and campaigning gets rabid, biconceptual voters are already leaning their way. 45 and Pence have already begun this for their 2020 presidential run.
5. Language changes the strength of those circuits. Conservative language activates circuitry for the conservative worldview; progressive language activates circuitry for the progressive worldview.
Why aren’t Dems already hammering home the message that Republicans are “mean”? After all, it was obvious to any voter during the healthcare reform fiasco. Why are Dems so unwilling to state the obvious and repeat, repeat, repeat right now?
6. Imagery fitting one worldview or the other matters as much or more.
This is the moment to show and show again the name and photographs of those GOP who voted to abandon and ignore 23 million or 30 million or whatever tens of millions of voters who would have lost their healthcare. And this is the moment to repeat, repeat, repeat that Dems stood united and strong and unwavering for all those tens of millions of Americans. Why aren’t Dems hiring all those Bernie supporters to create witty or poignant infographics, videos, and ads to keep this victory (and its associated righteousness) foremost in voters’ minds and eyes?
7. Frequency of language use and imagery matters. The more frequent the language use or imagery, the more strengthening occurs.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. The Republicans do this ceaselessly — why aren’t the Dems, right now, blanketing the media with their phraseology and refusing to use Republican slogans? Every time an interviewer asks about “tax burdens” why aren’t Dems refusing to use that pat phrase and instead beginning their answer with “tax contributions” or even “tax contributions that make America great”?
8. Journalists are trained to use the most frequent language in public discourse.
By refusing to use conservative tropes in their conversations and campaigns, Dems give journalists a reason to repeat progressive language. Democrats should have a nationwide team of youthful, witty millennials spreading the progressive message online and on the airways.
9. The conservative turn in America has come from the constant use of conservative language in public discourse. So much so that progressives have often adopted conservative language, thus helping the conservative cause.
Republicans get a ton of free promotion because everyone takes on their phraseology, which reinforces brain circuits for conservative ideology that dominates the conversation. Hence, the brilliant title of Lakoff’s book: Don’t Think of an Elephant. If I say that to you, what do you immediately do? Think of an elephant, of course. If Dems continue to say, “The Republicans aren’t compassionate conservatives,” that only strengthens the brain’s link between compassion and conservatism.
10. Because of the effect of language and imagery on the brain, the constant use of one ideology’s language over the other’s has an enormous effect on our politics.
And the GOP knows this — that’s why they invest boatloads of money in creating, supporting, and training conservative mouthpieces and thinkers. With all the current destruction of our programs and institutions, it shouldn’t be difficult for Dems to constantly say, “Republican policies are mean — all they do is hurt people,” and then address whatever the point is of the conversation or question just asked.
As much as the Republicans are responsible for all that’s being destroyed daily by the current administration, Democrats are helping them by not being a strong solution. They’d rather side with Hillary’s claim than acknowledge they need to change — significantly. And right now, if not yesterday.
Our democracy is being shredded and Democrats are in an excellent position to change hearts and minds, but are they doing it? Nope. They’re sticking with their old and ineffective methods and are going to guarantee we have virtually no democracy left on November 10, 2018.
[1] Lakoff, George. Don’t Think of An Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate (White River Junction, VT. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2014), 54.
