"Democracy is on the ballot" has to be just about the worst campaign slogan ever.
I've worked my entire adult life in direct marketing and advertising, as well as political speech writing early in my career. Here are a few reasons why this slogan is so bad:
1) First, America is not a democracy. It's a representative Constitutional Republic. Democracies (mob rule) have failed everywhere tried. This is Civics and U.S. History 101.
2) Democracy is vague. How is democracy on the ballot? Isn't that always the case? Couldn't Republicans use exactly the same slogan? "Democracy is on the ballot" could just mean we should all vote. "Democracy is on the ballot" means whatever we want it to mean. It's not specific.
It's hard for me to believe that any top-level marketer, advertising professional, or top-drawer campaign strategist would have come up with such a lame slogan.
3) By contrast, the Republican message is specific:
"We need a secure border. And this should include a wall on our southern border." That's specific, and it's visual. "Biden cancelled the wall."
"Crime is out of control. We need to fund and support our police, not defund the police. And we certainly don't need NO-CASH BAIL for repeat violent offenders."
That's specific.
"Gas prices are up 70% since Biden's first day on the job because he cancelled the Keystone pipeline, stopped oil exploration on federal lands, and waged war on fossil fuels."
Specific.
"Because of Bidenflation, people are having to choose between filling up their car with gas, putting food on the table, and getting their prescription drugs."
"We don't think kindergarteners should be taught to how change their gender. But Dems think this is awesome. Dems are using the government schools to indoctrinate your children into weirdness."
For a political message to work, it needs to connect with what people are actually seeing and experiencing in their daily lives.
Kevin McCarthy doesn't look or sound anything like Hitler. He looks and sounds like a conventional politician. Same with JD Vance, Ron Johnson, Marco Rubio, and all the others. Kari Lake used to be an Obama supporter. But Dems went too off the rails into weirdness for her. Same for Tulsi Gabbard.
People can see the crime, the inflation, the high gas prices, the open border, the 100,000 fentanyl deaths per year, and the failing woke schools that aren't teaching the kids useful skills that will help them succeed in life.
People saw the unnecessary Covid lockdowns and school closings, which most Republicans opposed.
There's nothing genius about the GOP message. Just had to point out the obvious -- just had to let voters know we are noticing all the same issues the average person is.
The Jan 6 hearings were a political dud for Dems. The longer the J6 hearings went on, the more Dems declined in the polls, and the more out-of-touch they seemed.
One person got killed as the direct result of the J6 riot, and it was an unarmed female Trumpist. That was it.
The police waved the J6 protesters into the Capitol.
Nothing much happened -- nothing compared to the anti-police riots that actually did result in the deaths of dozens of people, hundreds of assaults on police officers, murders of police, and billions of dollars in property damage.
So, the American people are looking at all this and are wondering what Dems are even talking about with "Democracy is on the ballot."
What Americans have noticed is everything has gotten much worse under Dem rule. Change is needed.
And if "Democracy is on the ballot" (and if we define this as "will of the people"), Dems seem to be doing everything they can to thwart democracy with all their hoaxes and their war on free speech.
Dems are actually treating Elon Musk as the enemy -- even though he has always voted Democrat until recently.
What's Elon's big crime in the minds of Dems?
He supports free speech. That can't be tolerated.
Dems now hate Joe Rogan -- who was a Bernie Sanders supporter.
Dems have gone so far off the rails into La La Land, they've even lost Joe Rogan.
It's going to be a bloodbath on November 8th.
As Joe Rogan says, “The Red Wave that’s coming is going to be like the elevator doors opening up in THE SHINING.'”
2022 Elections
Control of Congress
inflation
It's the inflation, stupid
Democracy is on the ballot
constitutional republic
Republican establishment
campaign messaging
gender politics
COVID lockdowns
Critical Race Theory
Biden administration
free speech
Merrick Garland
Biden Justice Department