Republicans sell politics like selling cars
In one of the early scenes in the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film “Fargo,” car salesman (and central figure) Jerry Lundegaard has an exchange with an irate customer and his wife about the unwanted installation of TruCoat on the car they ordered. Here’s part of the exchange, the video for which is linked above:
CUSTOMER
We sat here right in this room and went over this and over this!
JERRY
Yah, but that TruCoat –
CUSTOMER
I sat right here and said I didn’t want no TruCoat!
JERRY
Yah, but I’m sayin’, that TruCoat, you don’t get it and you get oxidization problems. It’ll cost you a heck of lot more’n five hunnert –
CUSTOMER
You’re sittin’ here, you’re talkin’ in circles! You’re talkin’ like we didn’t go over this already!
JERRY
Yah, but this TruCoat –
Not surprisingly, as the scene ends, the salesman has worn down the customer by sticking to and repeating his agenda, and the customer grudgingly pays for something he did not want. This sales tactic is very similar to the Republican Party’s successful use of repetition in the political arena to get what they want, even when most of us do not agree with it.
Our second Messaging Maxim (essentially, tips for good political messaging) is “Rinse and Repeat.” This refers to the idea that, like good salesmanship, effective political communication involves repetition of a simple message. In the case of the “Fargo” scene, it’s that, regardless of the deal the salesman previously had struck with the customer, “that TruCoat” is a great product that the customer needs.
Republicans are experts at using repetition in their political arguments. In previous years, they hammered home phrases like “government-run health care,” “pro-life,” and “death tax” to achieve political success beyond their own numbers or the actual popularity of their ideas. In recent weeks, Republicans have been doing the same thing to attack President Joe Biden and the Democrats on “inflation” and “supply chain” problems in our economy, even though these issues are largely a result of Donald Trump‘s inaction and subsequent economic recession during the COVID pandemic. Next week, the Republicans will probably pick another couple of issues just as Democrats try to respond to the previous ones (notice that the GOP typically limits itself to repeating just one or two topics at a time — they know their audience).
Republican repetition works, just like it worked for Jerry Lundegaard selling his car with the unwanted TruCoat. And in both cases, the statements made are often untrue. It doesn’t matter. As Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Donald Trump and others have known throughout history, “a lie told often enough becomes the truth.” This is especially the case in our current media environment, when many mainstream media news outlets seemingly have given up on serious investigation and reporting, and instead rely on spoon-feeding. The Republicans’ simple, often dumb, statements are much easier for the media to digest than Democratic communications, which are often too many in number, too long in length, too full of factual analysis (though correct), too nuanced, and too complex.
What can Democrats do? Well, as we indicated in the Messaging Maxim, Democrats can use repetition just like Republicans do. And there are some signs of this use. For example, the Democrats are trying to pass their big spending legislation entitled “Build Back Better,” which also happens to be the main theme of President Biden’s first term. To that end, here’s Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff on Twitter yesterday:
Building Back Better isn't just a slogan.
It's a promise.
A promise of expanded, affordable health care.
A promise of climate action and green jobs.
A promise of paid leave and child care.A promise of a brighter future – for everyone.
We must make good on that promise.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) November 18, 2021
This is an example of what Democrats can, and must, do more. What we indicated a week ago applies here: (1) Pick a limited number of subjects, (2) Hammer these subjects with the media (that’s where repetition comes in), and (3) (another Messaging Maxim) Keep it Stupidly Simple.
Photo by John Lloyd, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/ZGznFl
