| Messaging Matters

Watch what Trump and the Republicans do, not just what they say

Written on July 17, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch

Everyone is in a tizzy this week because Donald Trump wrote racist tweets. The story is all over every type of media, from TV news to Twitter to Facebook to news media websites, and more. However, this has to be one of the biggest non-news events of the year. Trump already has a well-known history of public racism dating back at least to the 1970s with housing discrimination, continuing through the 1980s and beyond with the Central Park Five case, and which was on full display in Trump’s 2015 presidential campaign announcement speech, where he came out of the gate attacking immigrants from Mexico and Central America.

If you’re still wondering why Trump deliberately creates distractions with shiny objects regarding immigration and race, here are a few things that Trump has been distracting us from while the whole country obsesses over his racist tweets:

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Tags: abortion, ACLU, Alex Acosta, asylum, Central Park Five, culture war, Democrats, Donald Trump, Facebook, immigration, Jeffrey Epstein, Mexico, Mitch McConnell, news, Planned Parenthood, racism, Republicans, Statue of Liberty, Twitter

On radio, the right wing is swamping progressives

Written on July 10, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Rush Limbaugh, part of the right wing’s talk radio dominance

Many people are aware of the generalization that there are many more right wing or conservative radio outlets than there are progressives or liberals on the radio. But what’s truly alarming is just how politically unbalanced the radio airwaves are.

For example, 10 out of the top 20 most popular radio shows by weekly listeners are conservative programs (listed below by popularity rank):

1. Rush Limbaugh
2. Sean Hannity
7. Mark Levin
8. Glenn Beck
9. Coast to Coast AM (George Noory, George Knapp)
10. Mike Gallagher
12. Hugh Hewitt
14. The Savage Nation (Michael Savage)
15. The Dana Show (Dana Loesch)
19. The Joe Pags Show (Joe Pagliarulo)

In contrast, only one of the top 20 radio programs, the Thom Hartmann Show, is a liberal political program. Others, such as NPR’s Fresh Air and All Things Considered, are more general interest, personal interest or news programs. Specialty programs such as Marketplace (financial) and Delilah (music) also round out the list, making the dominance of conservative talk shows even more striking.

Ivanka Trump ridiculed in devastating Twitter meme

Written on July 1, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch

Satirical image of Ivanka Trump and Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump went to the G20 international economic forum in Osaka, Japan last week, and took his daughter Ivanka along. The result was an absolute train wreck, wherein Ivanka repeatedly embarrassed herself and the United States of America, by photobombing and intruding into numerous meetings, conversations and photo ops. One especially cringeworthy moment was caught on video, as Ivanka tried to interrupt a serious conversation between leaders of France, Canada, England and the International Monetary Fund, and their reactions were priceless. Here’s the video, which was posted by the French government:

However, out of this Ivanka train wreck came one of the funniest and most devastating internet memes to come along in quite some time. Check out #unwantedIvanka hasthtag on Twitter and elsewhere, and you’ll see Ivanka Trump, like Woody Allen‘s movie character Zelig, inserting herself into all kinds of famous historical scenes. A sampling of some of the best #unwantedIvanka photo creations on Twitter can be found after the jump:

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Tags: Donald Trump, G20, India, Ivanka Trump, Japan, Osaka, Saudi, The Independent, Twitter, unwanted Ivanka, Zelig

What’s in a Republican’s email inbox?

Written on June 26, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, current enemy in Republican email inboxes

If you have a friend or family member of the opposite political party who is politically active, and you trust each other, here’s a fun experiment you can do: ask to take a look at their email inbox. You might be amazed at what you see.

Democrats

Chances are, the Democratic person in your duo has emails on the following subjects:

–Fighting climate change

–Fighting animal extinction

–Reducing gun violence

—Donald Trump‘s latest outrage, including the latest rape allegations against him

–Avoiding war with Iran or other countries

–Fair taxation, or, more specifically, raising taxes on the rich

–The latest lies of Kellyanne Conway

–The appalling conditions of immigrant kids locked in cages under Donald Trump’s family separation policy

–Extending voting rights and civil rights

–Protecting our election system against foreign interference

–Protecting the Affordable Care Act and its pre-existing conditions coverage against attacks by the Trump administration and Republican governors

–Calls for Donald Trump’s impeachment

The 2020 elections will be a war over inclusivity

Written on June 20, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Protest against Trump administration family separation policy

Sometimes, the difference between Democrats and Republicans can be distilled to one word. Right now, that word in “inclusivity.” Donald Trump set the tone for this war over inclusivity when he announced his candidacy for president four years ago. In that hate-filled announcement speech, Trump attacked immigrants who come to the U.S. across the Mexican border, saying, “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Since then, Trump instituted an anti-Muslim ban on foreign nationals entering the United States; instituted the inhumane family separation policy; hyped up false fears about a migrant “caravan” before the 2018 midterm elections; and even continues to try to build a Medieval-style wall on our southern border. This past Monday, Trump threatened to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants beginning as soon as next week.

Donald Trump just called for his own impeachment

Written on June 14, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Sign at Trump Impeachment March, July 2017

This past Wednesday, Donald Trump gave a televised interview to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, in which Trump stated that he would once again consider accepting foreign assistance, for example, from Russia or China, to help get re-elected in 2020. This would be yet another impeachable offense to go along with all the impeachable offenses that Trump has already committed.

Likewise, when asked by Stephanopoulos why Donald Trump, Jr. did not inform the FBI when he was approached in June 2016 by an associate who offered what he claimed was damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, but instead eagerly said, “I love it” and even met in the Trump Tower with Jared Kushner (Trump, Sr.’s son in law) and a lawyer from Russia on the subject, Trump. Sr. had this to say:

Trump: Let’s put yourself in a position, you’re a Congressman, and somebody comes up and says, ‘hey, I have information on your opponent.’ You call the FBI? I don’t think ….

Stephanopoulos: If it’s coming from Russia you do.

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Tags: 2016 election, 2020 Election, ABC News, Donald Trump, Donna Brazile, George Stephanopoulos, Hillary Clinton, impeachment, Jared Kushner, Jr., Norway, Robert Reich, Russia, Trump Tower

Lady Liberty vs. Donald Trump

Written on June 5, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

Statue of Liberty

A visit to the Statue of Liberty followed by the nearby Ellis Island nowadays is very striking. It’s clear that, since Emma Lazarus wrote her poem “The New Colossus” in 1883 to help raise funds for construction of the Statue’s pedestal, and especially after Lazarus’ poem was affixed to the pedestal in 1903, Lady Liberty has stood as a welcoming beacon to immigrants, for many of whom the Statue was their first glimpse of America. Here are the lines of “The New Colossus”:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

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Tags: caravan, Donald Trump, Ellis Island, Emma Lazarus, Hispanic, immigration, Lady Liberty, Latino, Muslims, Statue of Liberty, Trump Tower

Beto O’Rourke does it differently

Written on May 28, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

Beto O’Rourke on the campaign trail in Iowa

Since approximately 23 candidates are competing for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, each candidate must try to stand out from the pack. In that respect, former Texas Congressman Robert “Beto” O’Rourke is making a name for himself by doing things differently. First, O’Rourke rolled out his campaign on a local level, with a flurry of town hall appearances in places like Pacific Junction and Davenport, Iowa, rather than making a national splash with televised rallies in big cities and associated online fundraising.

Only lately, O’Rourke has made the shift to more national appearances, including a CNN town hall and an appearance on ABC‘s “The View.” As O’Rourke stated on “The View” regarding his local campaigning thus far,

I learned so much by being with them, by listening to them, by incorporating their stories into how I’m campaigning. So, with months to go before the first caucus or the first primary, listening to people, showing up everywhere. With 20 candidates, these elections might be decided in these various states by a thousand, a hundred, a dozen votes, so every single one of these conversations counts. I’m going to continue to show up everywhere to ensure that we have them.

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Tags: 2020 Democratic primaries, 2020 Elections, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke, Bobby Kennedy, climate change, CNN, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, healthcare, Hillary Clinton, immigration, Joe Biden, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, The View, trade

The Purity Unicorn vs. Donald Trump

Written on May 22, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

The White House, whose occupants have always been flawed

With some 23 candidates vying for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, we’re starting to hear that some of them have -gasp- flaws! As is the case in every presidential election, the current crop of candidates are not unicorns, and only an out-of-touch purity voter should expect otherwise. The good news, however, is that Donald Trump has made it more than okay to be a Democratic presidential candidate and be human. Let’s hear about some of these flaws:

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Tags: 2020 Election, Amy Klobuchar, Democrats, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Republicans, White House

Democratic Party video shows “a mission and a message”

Written on May 15, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), the governing committee and voice of the Democratic Party, has a video up at its website, as well as on YouTube, which shows the party’s “mission” and “message.” Here is the video:

Not surprisingly, the DNC video stands in stark contrast to the mission and message expressed by Donald Trump and the Republicans:

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