Democrats need to get on the same page in order to defeat Republicans next year. But let’s face it: That’s never been the party’s strong suit.
But as Rick notes, the GOP knows how to line up behind one message and beat it to death. It might be amoral to push their anti-trans message hard, but as we saw in 2024, it was effective. Those ads reinforced the idea that Democrats not focused on you, as Brian Tyler Cohen notes — they’re focused on people who have nothing to do with you.
Republicans spend money on what works. Democrats need to start to have that level of discipline if they want to win. It’s not adopting Republican values, it’s fighting back against Trump’s evil in the most effective way possible.
So what should Democrats focus on? Brian and Rick agree that corruption is a strong message that elicits emotion by making America “look cheap and weak.” After all, the GOP has weaponized that issue against Dems in the past. Trump’s crypto scam and $400 million Qatari jet are in-your-face examples that Trump is there to “help his buddies, and fuck everyone else,” as Rick puts it.
Thank you Wendy E, Jason Dyer, Roseann Duchon, Dee, Fran Gibson, and many others for tuning into our live video with Brian Tyler Cohen!
