Republican Messaging | Messaging Matters

What should Democratic Twitter users do now that Elon Musk has taken over?

Written on November 3, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Two things that are back on Twitter

After a months-long effort, Elon Musk finally took over ownership and control of the Twitter social networking platform last week. Now, many Democratic Twitter users are concerned about what Musk will do with the influential platform. That is because Musk is not only the world’s richest person, he has also become a full-blown MAGA Republican. In May, Musk announced that he was switching from voting Democratic to Republican, because, according to him, Democrats “have become the party of division & hate.” He also refers to Democratic and progressive values as “the woke mind virus.”

True to his conservative political colors, Musk has already taken some initial steps to turn Twitter into more of a right wing hate fest, including firing the executive in charge of Twitter’s content moderation policy, and reportedly planning to allow Donald Trump and Kanye (Ye) West back on the platform to spew their divisive lies. Not surprisingly, on the first day that Musk took over, there was a reported flood of racist tweets, including Nazi memes and a massive increase in use of the N-word, on the platform. Thus, the obvious question becomes: what should Democratic and other good Twitter users do in response?

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Tags: Bluesky, Counter Social, Democrats, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Hollywood, Howard Dean, Kanye West, MAGA, Republicans, Rob Reiner, Tribel, Twitter

In Ukraine, these three little letters mean a lot

Written on October 24, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Ukraine support rally

While reading this article from the World Bank regarding emerging markets, this sentence caused a major pause:

The invasion of the Ukraine has triggered an initial appreciation of the U.S. dollar against EM currencies ….

“The Ukraine”? Haven’t we read and heard repeatedly that we shouldn’t use “the” because that feeds into the Soviet-era position that Ukraine is Russia’s territory, not its own nation? Hopefully the inclusion of “the” in the article was an oversight, and indeed there is a mention of “the war in Ukraine” earlier in the article. But often, articles from large organizations pass through more than one writer or editor, so it’s not clear that everyone at the World Bank is on the same page.

This is something to keep an eye on, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine involves not just military weapons, but weapons of words and propaganda as well.

Photo by Robert T Bell, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/DCaHhz

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Tags: Putin, Russia, Soviet, Ukraine, USSR, World Bank

Anatomy of a Republican conspiracy theory

Written on October 17, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Republican Messaging

The Republicans’ positive plan

Nearly everyone knows that inflation is a problem, and that there are various proposals to solve it. However, some Republicans this year have been spouting a conspiracy theory: that the U.S. Federal Reserve is waiting until after the November 2022 midterm elections to raise interest rates, in order to help President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. While this is just the latest in a long line of right wing conspiracy theories about the Fed, this particularly silly theory can be easily debunked a few steps:

–The current Federal Reserve Board Chairman is Republican Jerome Powell, who was appointed by Donald Trump. This fact alone should be enough to destroy the conspiracy theory. Moreover, of the seven Governors on the Fed’s board, three are Republican, which is normal during a Democratic administration. And in addition to Powell, these other Republicans were also appointed by Donald Trump. Given that the Fed Board’s votes to raise interest rates this year typically have been unanimous, one would have to believe the truly ludicrous theory that these Trump appointees are voting to help Biden and the Democrats.

–As indicated above, the Fed has been raising interest rates all year long. The Federal Funds Benchmark rate, which started at .25 percent early this year is now 3-3.25 percent, enough to sharply raise mortgage, auto loan and other rates. So if the plan was to delay rate increases until after the election, the Fed has failed miserably.

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Tags: 2022 midterm elections, COVID, Democrats, Donald Trump, Federal Reserve, inflation, interest rates, President Joe Biden, Republicans, Russia, Ukraine

Elitist Dr. Oz is the new Mitt Romney

Written on October 6, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Messaging Maxims, Republican Messaging

Latest attack on Dr. Oz

In the 2012 presidential election, Republican nominee Willard Mitt Romney inadvertently and repeatedly identified himself as Mr. Elitist/Moneybags/1%, and his Democratic opponent, President Barack Obama, quickly took advantage of the theme. The Obama campaign thus followed our Messaging Maxim #4: Feed the Narrative. Indeed, Romney fed this narrative himself, for example, by talking about his dressage horse Rafalca, revealing that his family travels by car with their dog strapped to the roof, and his infamous “WaWa’s” moment, where, getting the name wrong, Romney claimed to buy “hoagies” at gas station convenience stores. Needless to say, President Obama defeated Romney in a landslide.

Now, 10 years later, TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz is committing many of these same elitist reveals as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. Here is a handy chart showing how Dr. Oz is the new Mitt Romney:

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Tags: 2012 election, 2022 midterm elections, Chuck Schumer, Democrats, Donald Trump, Dr. Oz, John Fetterman, Mitt Romney, Pennsylvania, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Twitter, U.S. Senate

Dr. Oz Senate campaign implosion reaches comical levels

Written on August 25, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman

The 2022 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz on the Republican side and Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is capturing tons of national media attention, but not for the reasons Dr. Oz would prefer. The Oz campaign has been especially tone-deaf, making one mistake after another, and Fetterman and his campaign have been quick to capitalize on each one.

Essentially, the Oz-Fetterman race has turned into a Culture War, to the great disadvantage of Dr. Oz. Usually, it’s the Republicans who try to run on Culture War issues, whether it’s abortion, attacking LGBTQ people and their rights, book banning, guns, etc., mostly as a distraction, because Republicans are extremely unpopular on economic and other issues of importance to most Americans. In Pennsylvania, however, Fetterman has turned the tables on Republicans regarding cultural issues.

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Tags: 2022 elections, Chef José Andrés, Congress, Democrats, Dr. Oz, food prices, healthcare, inflation, John Fetterman, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Republicans, Twitter, U.S. Senate, veterans

Democrats co-opt Republican meme as “Dark Brandon” goes viral

Written on August 3, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

The attack that turned into a compliment

In an amazing flipping of the script, Democrats have taken back a Republican phrase used to denigrate President Joe Biden.

It all started last October, at the Sparks 300 NASCAR race at Talladega Motor Speedway in Alabama. During winner Brandon Brown‘s post-race interview, some in the crowd began chanting “Fu*k Joe Biden!” The interviewer instead claimed, either unknowingly or deliberately, that the crowd was chanting “Let’s Go Brandon!”

Soon, Republicans started saying “Let’s Go Brandon!” as a euphemism for the epithet against President Biden. Even a number of leading Republican politicians began uttering the phrase, wearing t-shirts and masks displaying the phrase, and referring to the Biden administration as “the Brandon administration.” The “Brandon” saying was going strong as recently as this past weekend, at Donald Trump‘s Saudi-sponsored golf tournament:

https://twitter.com/magatalker/status/1554112313887805441

However, over the past week or so, Democrats have suddenly taken the “Brandon” epithet back, and have turned it into an instant smash hit for President Biden.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Brandon, COVID, Dark Brandon, Democrats, President Joe Biden, Republicans, Twitter

Law enforcement failure in Uvalde shooting demonstrates need for Assault Weapons Ban

Written on July 20, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Good Government, Republican Messaging

Protest by Teens for Gun Reform

Last Sunday, the Texas House of Representatives released an Investigative Committee Interim Report indicating that 376 law enforcement officers arrived at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX to confront an active shooter on May 24, 2022, but none of them acted to rescue the students and teachers. As a result, 19 children and two teachers were killed. The report in particular faults a lack of leadership and command, especially by school district police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who claimed to be in charge on the scene but did not act or order his officers to try to take down the gunman. Arredondo has since resigned.

The failure of so many officers in Uvalde to confront the shooter and try to save the children and teachers belies the Republicans’ frequently used “good guy with a gun” talking point, or the Republican idea that teachers should be armed in the classroom, as demonstrated by this sampling of tweets on the subject:

https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/1549039660596228096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I know no better arguments for banning AR-15 type semiautomatic rifles
Than 400 cops being afraid to take on an 18 year old with one

— William Buecker (@wcbuecker) July 17, 2022

ALMOST 400?!

If 400 “good guys with guns” are too scared to confront ONE bad guy with a gun? And let 19 people die?? Our children and their teachers?

What does that tell you?? IT’S THE GUNS. Ban assault weapons now https://t.co/TOx5bydoY9

— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) July 17, 2022

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Tags: AR-15, Assault Weapons Ban, Congress, filibuster, guns, mass shootings, Parkland, Pete Arredondo, President Joe Biden, Texas, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, Uvalde

With midterm elections coming up fast, do Democrats finally have a theme?

Written on July 6, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

“Freedom” is just potatoes to Republicans

The 2022 midterm elections are just 124 days away, and the results will likely make or break Joe Biden‘s presidency and the Democratic Party’s agenda. All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as approximately one-third of U.S. Senate seats, are up for grabs. If the Republicans gain a majority in either house of Congress, at minimum, the Biden/Democratic agenda will be stymied as they won’t be able to pass any meaningful legislation. Additionally, either house under Republican control will bog the government down in senseless hearings involving laptops and other shiny object distractions, in order for the GOP to try to score political points. Moreover, many state and local offices are up for election, which could determine how crucial matters ranging from abortion to elections themselves are handled. Suffice it to say that, if any Democrats claim “this is one of the most important elections of your lifetime,” they are not exaggerating.

Republicans, predictably, are bashing President Biden and Democrats over inflation and gasoline prices as their 2022 election theme. Fair enough, as the party out of power generally attacks on any economic front that it can, even though in this case, Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, as well as leftover COVID-based supply chain problems, both of which can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump, are largely to blame. Indeed, inflation is a problem worldwide, and the United States is on the lower side of gasoline prices around the world.

Therefore, it would be really helpful if the Democratic Party would express a unifying and galvanizing theme for the upcoming elections, to counter the Republicans and drive all-important voter turnout. This has worked in the past, e.g., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s healthcare message for the 2018 midterms, which led to a Democratic takeover of the U.S. House, catapulting Pelosi to House Speaker.

As it turns out, President Biden and Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California, among others, seem to be leading the way with a theme that can succeed for the Democrats in this year’s elections. That theme can be seen in recent tweets from Biden and Rep. Swalwell:

Wading into the right wing comments section on YouTube

Written on June 13, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

The popular Assault Weapons Ban

This past week, on a YouTube channel I watch regularly, a commenter from Australia asked an unrelated question about gun violence in America, and I was off to the races. Quite an animated discussion ensued.

Interestingly, the channel is not a YouTube politics channel. Rather, it’s a special interest channel that is not officially political. Think of a channel about sneaker collecting, for example, and you’ll get the idea. However, the host is conservative. Most of his guests are conservative. And most regular commenters on the channel are likewise conservative, and they all express their views frequently, such as when talking about markets and financial issues. Normally, I don’t respond to their many right wing statements and comments. And often, I don’t tune in at all, not wanting to reward the channel with more viewership. However, as the transcript below indicates, I spontaneously waded into a fast-moving political discussion on this particular stream, and I think the exchange provides insight into two things:

The right wing talking points on gun violence
Our ability to fight back, and even drive the conversation, with good Democratic talking points. I found that mine came quite naturally, after having absorbed and participated in so many discussions for years.

I am not naming the channel in order to further minimize its viewership, as well as to maintain the commenters’ privacy. Likewise, I used each commenter’s initial (or initials) instead of their names to differentiate them below, with mine being “MM.” I bolded my comments to make them easier to identify. Finally, in order to keep the spontaneity, I did not correct the comments for spelling, punctuation, grammar, content, etc.

Here is the bulk of the conversation that took place:

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Tags: Antonin Scalia, Assault Weapons Ban, Chicago, crime, Democrats, District of Columbia vs. Heller, Fox News, gun conrol, guns, mass shootings, Mike Signorile, President Bill Clinton, Republicans, U.S. Supreme Court, Uvalde, YouTube

List of culprits in the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade

Written on May 4, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins, not looking too good

On Monday night, the explosive news broke that the Republican-majority U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is about to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision granting a constitutional right to abortion, and indeed, that a draft of the decision is already being circulated on the Court. The likely result of this imminent decision will be to leave abortion to the states, where it is estimated that at least half of them (primarily the ones with Republican governors and/or legislatures) will outlaw abortion completely, even in the case of rape, incest, and possibly he health or life of the mother.

To many observers, the news about this decision is shocking but not surprising, given the Court’s 6-3 majority of conservative Republicans. These Republican justices were put on the Court for the very purpose of overturning Roe, and perhaps many other decisions granting rights to women, blacks, LGBTQ Americans and other minorities; as well as protections for consumers, workers, the environment, wildlife, etc. However, the list of culprits that led us to this day goes well beyond the six current Republican SCOTUS justices and the Republican presidents who put them there. Here are some additional parties who share responsibility for the impending loss of a woman’s right to choose:

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Tags: 2016 Elections, 2020 Elections, abortion, Amy Coney Barrett, Bill Clinton, Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Neil Gorsuch, Roe v. Wade, Senate, Susan Collins, U.S. Supreme Court

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