Michelle Obama | Messaging Matters

On police violence, the “re-” words are better than the “de-” words

Written on April 14, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

“Black Lives Matter” response to police racism and violence

The United States is experiencing the latest chapters of the continuing tragedy of police violence against people of color. Just as Derek Chauvin is being tried for the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, protests have broken out another incident occurred just about 10 miles away in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, where a police officer killed Daunte Wright in a traffic stop over a hanging air freshener last weekend.

These latest police attacks on our citizens of color caused some liberals to repeat the call to “defund the police” that was in heavy rotation over the last couple of years. For example, U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib expressed this view on Monday, going even further to write “no more policing”:

It wasn't an accident. Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist.

Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder.

No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed.

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) April 12, 2021

However, defunding the police is an unpopular idea which hurt Democrats in the 2020 elections. Furthermore, defunding the police to reduce racism and violence is counterproductive, since even a hollowed-out, nearly bankrupt police department could be just as racist and trigger-happy as always, and some proposals to reduce citizen murders by police, such as stricter training and recruiting, might require more, not less, funding.

Perhaps that’s why former President Barack Obama released a different kind of statement yesterday on behalf of himself and former First Lady Michelle Obama, regarding the killing of Daunte Wright:

Our hearts are heavy over yet another shooting of a Black man, Daunte Wright, at the hands of police. It’s important to conduct a full and transparent investigation, but this is also a reminder of just how badly we need to reimagine policing and public safety in this country. pic.twitter.com/sgcbRjlApr

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 13, 2021

Note the term “reimagine policing” that Obama used, and how different that is from “defund the police.” President Obama realizes that, when it comes to police violence, the “re-” words are better than the “de-” words.

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Tags: Brooklyn Center, Daunte Wright, Defund the Police, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, gun violence, Michelle Obama, Minneapolis, Minnesota, police violence, President Barack Obama, Rashida Tlaib

Democrats hit Trump and Republicans hard at National Convention

Written on August 21, 2020 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Former President Barack Obama, one of the key speakers at the Democratic convention.

The 2020 Democratic National Convention has ended, and it was a skillfully run, hard-hitting success During their mostly virtual event, the Democrats covered several important bases, including party unity (for example, by featuring Bernie Sanders strongly supporting the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris presidential ticket) and party appeal, by having prominent Republicans such as John Kasich, Christine Todd Whitman and others speak in support of Biden and against the reelection of Donald Trump. The Democratic convention also highlighted some stars and several stunning speeches:

Get ready for the Democratic National Convention with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Written on August 12, 2020 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Joe Biden with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, at the 2012 Democratic National Convention

The Democratic Party is holding its 2020 National Convention from August 17-20 , and the big news is that Biden has chosen U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate. Although based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the convention will actually take place at various locations and landmarks around the country, because Democrats are serious about public health, specifically, not spreading COVID. Thus, for example, the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee will be used for broadcasting and production. Essentially, the convention will be coordinated and directed from Milwaukee. However, there will only be a few hundred personnel on site, comporting with state and local requirements regarding public gatherings. Accordingly, when Joe Biden is formally offered and accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination for president at the convention, he will do so from a location in his home state of Delaware. Other scheduled speakers, including, presumably, Kamala Harris, will also appear from various remote locations.

Right wing Twitter bots posing as attractive women

Written on October 6, 2017 by Messaging Matters in Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Orange-helping fembots

If you search Twitter for “John Kelly” (White House Chief of Staff) to find out the latest on rumors of his possible resignation, you may stumble upon tweet after tweet indicating “John Kelly Reveals Why He Didn’t Wear a US Flag Pin During Confirmation.” Here’s an example:

https://twitter.com/ellastrs/status/916311433704591360

Checking out some of these tweets, you will find that nearly every one was posted by an attractive-looking white woman, according to their profiles. Moreover, many such profiles were nearly identical, often indicating “Wife,” “Mom,” “Animal Lover,” “Patriot,” “Middle Class Trump Supporter,” etc. And even more creepy is that, besides the tweet about Kelly and the flag pin, many of these accounts have identical tweets down the line, in the same order, including “Lying Liberal Media is 92% Negative Against President Trump,” “RNC Chairwoman RIPS Michelle Obama’s Claim GOP is ‘ALL WHITE MEN,’” “BREAKING: Senate Intel Committee BLASTS Media for FAKE Russia News,” and the like. Furthermore, many of the posted stories come from “reportsecret.com.” When you search for that outlet, you get a 404 Error. Other links go to truthfeednews.com, which does exist, and it is some conservative publication. Their Kelly post didn’t criticize Kelly directly, but it did say this:

Ever since Barack Obama’s disastrous presidency, the American flag has been under an all-out assault.

NFL athletes routinely disrespect our flag, as do Hollywood celebrities, far-left denizens, and Democrat politicians.

In fact, many Democrat politicians make a point of choosing to not wear an American flag pin on their jackets, a subtle snub to our country and to those who are patriotic.

Here are a few more examples of the profiles found and some of the tweets in question:

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Tags: bot, Donald Trump, election, Hillary Clinton, John Kelly, Michelle Obama, Republican, Russia, Twitter

Donald Trump’s dangerous endgame

Written on October 17, 2016 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Anti-Trump protesters in Dallas, Texas

Not long ago, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had a well-organized, unifying end to their Democratic Party primary battle. Both sides acted like adults, sat down and negotiated over the party platform and the Democratic National Convention. The result was a hugely successful convention and a more unified Democratic Party, after which Clinton took the general election lead from Donald Trump. As new revelations about Trump’s sexually predatory behavior pile up, Clinton’s lead has extended to the point where nearly no one, including Republicans, says that Trump can win. The question now becomes, how will Trump lose, and what will he do afterward? Unfortunately, the signs thus far point to an ugly and dangerous electoral withdrawal from Donald Trump.

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Tags: 2016 Democratic primaries, 2016 Elections, Bernie Sanders, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Republican Party, Trump TV

Raucous unity at the Democratic National Convention

Written on July 26, 2016 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at recent unity event in New Hampshire

The diverse, outspoken and sometimes raucous Democratic Party was on full display on Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania yesterday. This is the party whose unity is likened to “herding cats.” On the other hand, the outbursts from some delegates at the convention hardly spelled doom and gloom, as some chattering heads on the cable TV news networks intimated. Rather, if you caught the unfiltered convention proceedings via live stream or C-SPAN, you saw a political party reach a noisy state of unity, as only the Democrats can do.

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Tags: Al Franken, Bernie Sanders, climate change, Democratic National Convention, Democratic Party, Democratic primaries, DNC, Donald Trump, Elijah Cummings, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Republican National Convention, Republican Party, Russia, Sarah Silverman, Supreme Court

Welcome to the Trump Republican National Convention train wreck

Written on July 21, 2016 by Messaging Matters in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch, Messaging Maxims, Republican Messaging

Ill-fated Trump/Pence “TP” logo.

On Monday, several of Donald Trump‘s campaign staffers were involved in a minor car accident in New York City. That was nothing compared to the train wreck that is the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, Ohio, and the events of the previous days. Here are some of the many things that have gone wrong for the Trump campaign and the Republican Party in just the past week:

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Tags: 2016 Elections, Donald Trump, John Kasich, Melania Trump, Meredith McIver, Michelle Obama, Mike Pence, NATO, Republican National Convention, Republican Party, RNC, Saddam Hussein, Scott Baio, Ted Cruz, The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz

GOP Death Spiral report card

Written on May 20, 2014 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Cliven Bundy

After the Republican Party’s losses in the 2012 elections at the Presidential, Senate and House of Representatives, the GOP released an “Autopsy” report that called for Republican outreach to women, blacks, gays, Latinos and Asians. Several months later, Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said that the GOP was in a “demographic death spiral” that would continue unless and until the Republicans pass immigration reform and “get it off the table” in order to “get back in good graces with the Hispanic community.” Let’s see how that outreach is working for Republicans one year later:

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Tags: Barack Obama, Cliven Bundy, Duck Dynasty, Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney, Operation American Spring, Paul Ryan, Phil Robertson, Republican Party

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