Leipzig Lesson for Demonstrating - Bring Candles, Not Stones
The 1989 political demonstrations in Leipzig Germany helped bring down the Berlin Wall and ultimately broke apart the Soviet Union.
They Key take away is this: Bring candles, not stones. They can't shoot you if you are carrying a candle but they can if you throw a stone.
Tulsi Gabbard handing intel to the Russians.
Kash Patel going after journalists (unless they work for Fox).
RFK Jr. foaming at the mouth about fluoride and vaccines and… heroin?
Pete Hegseth ordering a missile strike after having one too many brewskis.
No, it’s not a bad reality TV show, it’s Donald Trump’s reality. We told you he was going for a cabinet of chaos, and now he’s on track to get that done. Should these nominations be shot down at confirmation? Absolutely. But will they be shot down at confirmation? Not if we let them go without a fight.
You have to remember who we’re dealing with here. The Republican lawmakers who will make or break these wack-job nominations are spineless. They’re weak. They have no original thoughts. They have made it abundantly clear that they will do whatever their orange messiah wants them to do. Their constituents, the democracy they swore to protect, the next generation… that’s all out the window. They only care about one thing: the convicted felon who will be sleeping at his desk for the next four years.
Instead of pleading with these clowns to do the right thing and not let drunks, security threats, and former heroin addicts take over our government, we’re just looking ahead. These appointments will backfire. That’s a fact. And when they do, we’ll be here. Ready to hold Republicans accountable.
We’re not gonna let voters forget who stood by Pete Hegseth. We’re not gonna let voters forget who appointed somebody on an FBI watchlist to head up our nation’s intelligence. We’re not gonna let voters forget which Senators stood by and let this happen. Help us hold the guilty party accountable >>
Here are two ideas about helping Democrats do better in the upcoming elections of 2026 and 2028.
INTRODUCTION
First, I'll try my best to consider the abomination that is trump, without venting. It's a big ask.
His decisions seem to come from a robot and/or an algorithm:
Step 1: Immediate profits for me, yes or no?
Step 2: Help Putin, yes or no?
Step 3: Help my family, yes or no?
That's it - there are no further steps.
Everything else can be manipulated to serve those ends, whether or not that includes people's lives, morality, others' emotions, laws, obligations, etc. ad infinitum
SUGGESTED MESSAGE STRATEGY
Some past actions suggest that Democrats assume decent policies are enough to win an election. Biden had great policies. But, policies alone are not sufficient to win elections because we live in a media saturated environment. Any idea without constant repetition does not exist.
Further, the medium is the message. Voters assume that any idea coming from a traditional source is simply a part of the established system that has not made many lives better.
Many voters cannot connect an economic policy to their problems with high prices, health coverage or poor incomes.
Democrats must explain in simple direct language how each specific or proposed future policy and/or action will be felt at the kitchen table. It will be repetitive and perhaps even boring, but it will be oxygen to voters.
Then we have to explain how Billionaires will act to prevent or reverse any Democrat act or policy. Then, we discuss what the Billionaires actually did to block our goals and how their action hurt voters at the kitchen table.
We should do this for every law we propose and for every regulation we want.
SUGGESTED MESSENGER STRATEGY
We want to create a voice similar to the various conservative social media personalities. The voice should be outside the mainstream media and engage with the same people he appeals to. The actual voice might be a James Carville style populist.
He will talk about Democrat policies and their effects on kitchen table issues for at least half a day, seven days a week. The consistency will build voter understanding of the issues we address with both proposed and actual policies. And, it will also build understanding of the people who prevent those policies from succeeding.
