It's All About the Messages

“...it is beyond my comprehension how a reasonable observer could believe anything but the fact that the Iraq war has made the U.S. less safe.” - Alex Rossmiller

Rossmiller makes some insightful observations in his opening comments at YearlyKos (see link from Thursday below), but when he says: “Despite what the media might say, Democrats largely agree on foreign policy,” and “I do not believe that Democratic values and strategies in foreign policy need to be significantly revised. I also do not believe that we should have huge message problems,” it gets me worried. The part about not having message problems is really worrying, actually.

Currently John Kerry is talking about full troop withdrawal by the end of ’06, Hillary Clinton is touting her own withdrawal plan and schedule, and Howard Dean and other Democrats chime in from time to time with generalities about the Bush admin having no plan in Iraq. So what is the message we are receiving from Democrats?

The press and Republicans will chew up and spit out any perceived inconsistencies within the Democrat “consensus,” especially when it comes to Iraq. Two examples: CNN attempts to highlight this trend while interviewing Nancy Pelosi, but luckily Wolf was shooting from the hip and Pelosi caught him doing it. Karl Rove has begun peppering his speeches with the mini-slogans that will eventually form the core of his all out attack on Democrat inconsistencies: in this case it’s the Democrat plan to “cut and run” from Iraq. We haven't heard the last of this one, and how exactly will Democrats respond to this in a credible, comprehendable manner to the public?

This is nothing new. Exploiting the lack of cohesive messages and weak communication skills of the Democrats got Bush 2 terms in the WH and Republicans a majority in congress. Republicans know their audience, keep the messages simple, and repeat them incessantly.

So how do we take what Rossmiller says about Democrat foreign policy and package that up in a digestible, compelling message for the public? This is the challenge for Democrats. If there was one thing we SHOULD have learned in 2000 and 2004 is that messages drive perception, and perception drives voting. The public likes the media to lob easy-to-comprehend ideas and messages at them. By using the term “reasonable observer,” Rossmiller assumes that the audience is indeed not only reasonable, but immune to the false realities conjured up by Republican messages. He is giving them (the public) too much credit.

Democrats can’t repeat the mistake of overestimating the American public’s propensity to comprehend reality. It is precisely what the media says that matters in the end, no matter how cohesive the Democrats think they are.

So Democrats: please take a weekend, get out of DC for some group hugging and get your shit together. What can happen between now and November? Anything.