The Latest from the Prospect
 â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â
Â
View this email in your browser
**AUGUST 5, 2022**
Kuttner on TAP
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
****
**** Democrats Stepping on Their Own Message
The proliferation of PACs only worsens the cacophony.
I got an email from Nancy Pelosi yesterday. "Dear Robert," she began, "I
know we're all completely shocked and revolted by the January 6th
attacks." (This is news?)
"But, Robert," she continued, "I need you to understand how much worse
it's about to get: Because people like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers
you watched ransack our Capitol-they're now running for office all
across our country."
And then the Speaker asked me to "rush $15 because the fate of our
democracy hangs in the balance."
This was, of course, a fundraising pitch, and a clumsy one at that. It
turns out to be from Pelosi's PAC. I get these from "Pelosi" at the rate
of about three a week. I even got one during Pelosi's trip to Taiwan. It
began, "Robert, this is the most important ask I have ever made of you."
(Half of these pitches say something similar.) "Trump just vowed to run
for President again if Republicans unseat our House Majority." (Stop the
presses.)
Many commentators and countless ordinary voters express exasperation and
bewilderment at the Democrats' inept "messaging." There are many
elements of this problem, but one is surely the tendency of fundraising
pitches to make Democrats look like dopes.
In Pelosi's case, the language is dreadful and the pitch hysterical.
It's hard to believe Pelosi authorizes these messages. She just
authorizes the PAC and they hire people to write copy who should do
something else for a living. This kind of drivel also cheapens the
brand-both Pelosi's personal brand and the Democrats' brand.
Yesterday, I also got an email from Laura Kelly, the Democratic governor
of Kansas, expressing pride in her state's vote to uphold abortion
rights. Kelly is running for re-election this year. "The dark money
groups who tried to buy the August 2nd vote are now refocusing their
efforts on my election," she wrote. "As the most vulnerable governor on
the ballot this year, I'm asking for your help to make sure they
can't take us back in time."
This pitch was at least more artfully done and consistent with broad
Democratic messaging. Except it didn't really come from Laura Kelly.
It came from a PAC in Virginia, which sends similar fundraising appeals
on behalf of other Democratic candidates all over the country, some
good, some lame.
The PAC is called Common Good Virginia, and it was created in 2014 by
Terry McAuliffe.
Former Gov. McAuliffe is no longer active in electoral politics, having
lost a dismal re-election campaign in 2021. But does anyone ever shut
down a PAC?
I have no idea what the split is between Common Good Virginia and the
candidates in whose names it raises money. Disclosures
reveal that the
PAC has received about $14.5 million since 2014, of which about $3
million went to its own staff and consultants.
The messaging problem is real. Biden is not great at it, and despite
pleas of commentators, there is no central committee of Democrats to
coordinate message. The opportunistic proliferation of PACs only makes
the problem worse. Maybe there could at least be some kind of
Democrats' summit conference to set some ground rules, and a little
self-discipline on the part of leaders like Pelosi who should know
better.
~ ROBERT KUTTNER
To receive this newsletter directly in your inbox, click here to
subscribe.Â
Follow Robert Kuttner on Twitter
[link removed]
Becoming the Workers' Party Again
With their new and overdue embrace of industrial policy, the Democrats
can now deliver to working-class voters who've understandably felt
betrayed. BY SHERROD BROWN
Vinnie, L.A., and Me
Point of personal privilege: Vin Scully (1927-2022) and the romance of
words BY HAROLD MEYERSON
Altercation: It's Not Wokeism That Threatens Our Democracy
So how come editors so often boost it into a threat to the cosmic order?
BY ERIC ALTERMAN
Interview With a Straw Woman
She's had 63 and a half abortions-will she now change her ways? BY
FRANCESCA FIORENTINI
[link removed]
Â
Click to Share this Newsletter
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
Â
[link removed]
A MESSAGE FROM A PROSPECT PARTNER
Today, corporate narratives dominate our media.
Want an alternative?
Welcome to OptOut, a free news aggregation app for independent media
you can trust. Read, listen, and watch content about democracy, climate,
justice, labor, and other topics that matter from voices that the
corporate media overlooks. On OptOut, you can find Prospect stories
alongside your other favorite outlets. Download the iOS app today
and sign up
for OptOut's free newsletter .
Â
[link removed]
YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM
The American Prospect, Inc.
1225 I Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC xxxxxx
United States
Copyright (c) 2022 The American Prospect. All rights reserved.
To opt out of American Prospect membership messaging, click here
.
To manage your newsletter preferences, click here
.
To unsubscribe from all American Prospect emails, including newsletters,
click here
.
