Read on Twitter
A hashtag is a great way to do an online social movement.
A hashtag is a terrible way to do politics. For successful politics you need a good sound bite that leads right into your talking points which promote your narrative.
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A hashtag is a terrible way to do politics. For successful politics you need a good sound bite that leads right into your talking points which promote your narrative.
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Any controversy that makes the cameras point at you is a grand opportunity to repeat your sound bite & talking points.
#DefundThePolice was a great hashtag. And it was controversial as hell. It provided a perfect chance for elected Dems to get on TV and show their stuff.
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#DefundThePolice was a great hashtag. And it was controversial as hell. It provided a perfect chance for elected Dems to get on TV and show their stuff.
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In typical Pelosi fashion however, Dem leadership totally botched the messaging. They had no sound bite or talking points. As a result progressives were angry AF that Pelosi opposes serious police reform & centrists were angry AF that Pelosi wants to abolish law enforcement.
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Abigail Spanberger is pissed off that some of her colleagues expressed sympathy for the movement because her opponent almost beat her with attack ads claiming she wants to abolish the police.
Police reform is desperately needed. That truth can be presented well or badly.
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Police reform is desperately needed. That truth can be presented well or badly.
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Neither Spanberger nor her left-wing colleagues are at fault here. This was entirely a failure of leadership. Good leaders discuss media strategies with their team. They set up a sound bite and their talking points then they go to work.
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Without a coherent coordinated message you end up with 200 people throwing their favorite foods in big pot then expecting good soup.
The sound bite should have been "Defund is not the right word" All leading Democrats in the USA should have been on TV repeating that phrase.
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The sound bite should have been "Defund is not the right word" All leading Democrats in the USA should have been on TV repeating that phrase.
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Answers for follow up questions:
-Defund is only a word
-Real/serious/profound/comprehensive reform is needed
-Brutality is unacceptable
Pivot:
Reframe the issue as one of rights. Americans have a right to...
"Police are denying the rights of American citizens"
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-Defund is only a word
-Real/serious/profound/comprehensive reform is needed
-Brutality is unacceptable
Pivot:
Reframe the issue as one of rights. Americans have a right to...
"Police are denying the rights of American citizens"
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"Americans have rights. Our police reform bill with ensure that those rights are respected."
"Our bill will protect YOU and your rights, from police overreach."
"The accountability measures we propose will ensure that your children are safe"
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"Our bill will protect YOU and your rights, from police overreach."
"The accountability measures we propose will ensure that your children are safe"
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Competent Dem Party leaders would have had probably two weeks of everybody going on radio and TV spreading this one simple unifying message. It would kill the bad words "abolish" & "defund" and promote the badly needed changes. It would sound intelligent and caring.
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It took one twitter rando about 30 minutes to come up with it. Pelosi is smart. She just doesn't care. She makes no effort. The vast majority of the problems in the Democratic Party could be solved quickly and...
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easily by young energetic smart leaders (of whom we have many) replacing the useless, painfully out of touch, geriatric crowd blocking all healthy changes.
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"Defund the police? 'Defund' is not the right word. Accountability is. Law enforcement must serve you, the people. Law enforcement exists to protect your rights. Police practices that deny your rights have to go. That's why we're proposing..."
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"... reforms. Police accountability protects your rights. Police accountability protects your children."
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"Police accountability protects America (our nation, our free society, our wonderful Republic, whatever)"
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Dems must stop running away from hashtags. #AbolishICE or #DefundThePolice are great attention getters. Attention is good. The only problem is the lack of messaging to use when the attention arrives.
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Pelosi utterly failed to give Spanberger the tools she needed to win the police reform issue.
and not just Spanberger. Dem Activist Twitter wasted months fighting with itself over these hashtags. It is the job of our leaders to unify us behind a constructive message.
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and not just Spanberger. Dem Activist Twitter wasted months fighting with itself over these hashtags. It is the job of our leaders to unify us behind a constructive message.
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(sorry for long thread)
and don't try to fight a "bad" hashtag with a better hashtag. Move the whole thing out of hashtag territory. Write a sound bite, a pivot, some talking points, framing for a better narrative.
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and don't try to fight a "bad" hashtag with a better hashtag. Move the whole thing out of hashtag territory. Write a sound bite, a pivot, some talking points, framing for a better narrative.
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Hey Ho, Listen to this.
Spanberger agrees with me, and confirms for us that PELOSI HAD NO MEDIA STRATEGY AT ALL. Zero leadership from their leader. They *must* get rid of her.
Spanberger agrees with me, and confirms for us that PELOSI HAD NO MEDIA STRATEGY AT ALL. Zero leadership from their leader. They *must* get rid of her.
Spanberger gets unfairly trashed all the time, because Team Pelosi lied about the swing district caucus members, saying that they opposed impeachment (based on the absurd notion that attacking a vile, obviously corrupt, politician would hurt them with the voters)
In an interview with the NY Times 8 November, Connor Lamb said "We need to have a unified Democratic message"... so there it is again. Pelosi's leadership failed them. No unified message. Zero effective PR.
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