Democrats Must Learn From Republicans

Democrats spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the 2024 election cycle trying to convince Americans that democracy was at stake - and then they lost. You'd think this would trigger an urgent re-thinking of the party's national strategy. Instead, with the Presidency, Senate, and House of Representatives now controlled by the Republican Party, the circular firing squad was quickly assembled and put to work.

The Lessons

The stakes are too high for playing the blame game. Instead, Democrats should learn from the Republicans. Here are a few lessons to get them started.

1. Public Opinion Changes (and Can Be Changed)

One idea in politics is that leaders should lead. Another is that leaders should follow public opinion. Democrats are followers. They pay for polling and try to create messages that 'split the difference' and target some imaginary 'middle of the road' voter. The result is always inauthentic and uninspiring.

Republicans and Donald Trump decide what should be popular, and then make it happen. In 2016, there wasn't a widespread fear of immigrants, and there definitely wasn't a big desire to deport non-criminal immigrants on a large scale. That belief existed for some, but it was fringe. In 2024, after 8 years of steady and consistent messaging, the majority of Americans voted for those policies.

Why? Because people can be led and minds can be changed if (i) you have a simple and consistent message, (ii) that message connects with an underlying emotion, and (iii) the messenger has credibility and authenticity.

Think about it. What if from 2016 through 2024 the Democrats had consistently called out health insurance companies, Wall Street greed and outsourcing, and wasteful military spending with the same energy that Trump used to talk about immigrants? What if they had proposed real solutions to fix these problems and make life better for regular people? Could that have moved the needle a few percentage points in a few key states?

2. Simplicity Sells

No matter your politics, there's no denying that "Make America Great Again" has been the most effective political slogan in a generation. Let's compare this to Biden's and Kamala's slogans in 2024:

Make America Great Again	"Let's Finish the Job.", "We're Not Going Back"
Simple, clear, delivered consistently and with passion.	I had to Google search what Kamala's campaign slogan was. She had at least 4. Her campaign was only about 100 days long.
"Make" is simple, easy, almost magic and describes something that just sort of 'happens'	Finishing a job is the most difficult and complicated part. Also, what job are we finishing? Also, wasn't that your job to finish? Why are we doing your job?
Positive, forward-looking. Implies it will be easy because we already were great at one point.	One slogan implies a job we failed to finish, the other says we'll, at best, stay right where we are.
Greatness is simple, universally agreeable. Who doesn't want to be in a great country?	Jobs are not inspiring. Many people feel things are getting worse, which means 'going back' would be an improvement.

3. Lead with Strength (and Follow the Leader)

Strength comes from passion, and passion comes from the base. Trump didn't win two elections because he built a 'coalition' of people in the middle. He won because he fired up and grew his base. He told them they mattered, that their concerns were valid, and that he would fight for them. He didn't tell them to 'fall in line' and avoid offending the people in the middle.

The people in the middle? NEWS FLASH: they're not the 'thoughtful' and 'independent thinkers' who are carefully weighing the pros and cons of each candidate. They mostly vote with their gut, just like everyone else. Forced to choose between an authentic (if flawed) candidate and a weak, boring, more-of-the-same Democrat, the middle leaned Trump. Forced to choose between an uninspiring former prosecutor with no vision and staying home, the base leaned toward staying home. If Democrats want to win, they must lead from the base.

4. Authenticity Over Politispeak

Like the fabled entrepreneur and folk hero Tony Montana, Trump always tells the truth, even when he lies. It works for him because even if the words are obviously false, he follows three simple rules:

1. Tell the (Emotional) Truth. It's much easier to redirect feelings than deny or change them. Kamala's "We're Not Going Back" slogan says things are fine right now. Biden's dumpster fire campaign spent a fortune in time and money pushing "Bidenomics" - basically trying to convince people the economy was good. They'd point to facts and figures that were true but didn't feel true. Trump grabbed the current emotional state of Americans (the economy did not feel good in 2024), and used those feelings as the foundation for his lies. It boiled down to two messages:
   • TRUMP: "You're right, the economy sucks --> blame the immigrants!"
   • KAMALA: "You're wrong, the economy is great --> let's stay here!"
2. No Nuance or Big Words. This goes with Rule 1. The most powerful feelings are simple enough for a 5-year-old to understand: happy, sad, angry, scared, proud. No one knows or cares about the GDP or the jobs report or the consumer price index. Show us that you feel the same as us and do it in as few words as possible.
3. Say it like you mean it. The problem with "Trump is a dangerous fascist!" being the main message of the campaign was that it wasn't said in a believable way. The tone was measured and boring. The message itself was undercut and inconsistent with other messages in the campaign: Maybe the Democrats actually believed it, but it didn't sound like they meant it.
   • Banning assault weapons. If they truly believed we were about to be taken over by an authoritarian, reasonable Democrats would be starting gun clubs and defending democracy. Unilaterally disarming blue states and cities on the eve of a coup.
   • Donate $19.99 Today! Telling voters that the only thing standing between them and authoritarianism is a small donation doesn't feel real. Authoritarianism is coming! What do we do? The exact same thing we've been doing! Where do we go? We stay right here! How do we do it? Give us twenty bucks!
   • Continuing to play nice. In March, Democrats bailed out the Republicans on the government shutdown. They're about to bail them out again by passing a stop-gap immigration bill that will do nothing to make immigrants more safe (Trump doesn't respect laws that protect immigrants) but will definitely give him more power. If he's trying to be an authoritarian, why are you helping him - on anything? Ever?

5. Legacy Media is Dead or Useless

Democrats must face the fact that most people don't watch and don't trust legacy media, institutions, and 'experts.' They can say 'trust the science' and 'follow the facts' all day long, but if this conflicts with how people are feeling, people will choose their feelings. Joe Rogan has more than ten times the viewership of CNN. According to Pew, four in ten young adults regularly get their news from TikTok, and this percentage is only going up. Any Democratic campaign that relies on big TV ad buys while avoiding the scrutiny of long-form podcasts or the authenticity of short-form social media is doomed.

Case Study: Zohran

Zohran Mamdani's campaign for New York Mayor is a perfect case study in what works and what doesn't. Cuomo tried to rely on name recognition, commercials, and laying low. Zohran met voters where they were - on streets and buses and trains - and delivered a message that resonated: life is too expensive, my policies will help. He delivered this message in formats that voters were ready to receive. He was authentic. He answered questions honestly and clearly. His campaign knocked on doors and made phone calls and made sure people were hearing this message from trusted neighbors instead of between TV ads for gambling websites and fast food chains. All of this led to a historic primary victory.

Just as important as what he did is what he didn't do:

• focus on culture war issues
• aim for the middle
• dodge tough questions
• rely on paid ads and traditional media

Democrats should learn from Mamdani, and the lesson must be deeper than "post on TikTok."