What if the party never actually promised us “$2000 checks“, and that this entire time the whole plan was to reach $2000 “eventually.”

At this point, would it change your mind about anything? It shouldn’t, here’s why. #thread 1/16 https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo/status/1354935294454362114

In May, senators @BernieSanders, @KamalaHarris, and @EdMarkey proposed monthly stimulus checks of $2000 - a bid that would inevitably fail, but not before planting a very powerful seed of hope. For months to follow, much would be debated, but no relief to show for it. 2/

It wasn’t until Dec 27th that a 2nd stimulus passed, w/ Trump signing the second round, distributing payments of $600 to individuals between the end of Dec. and the middle of Jan. This coincided with the timeline of the #GASenate runoff. Here’s where shit goes sideways. 3/

At a 1.4.20 event, p.e. @JoeBiden said “If you send Jon and the Reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now” w/ @ossoff backing up that statement. 4/ https://twitter.com/eoinhiggins_/status/1349937010954407936?s=21

From this point, regardless of the previous stimulus timelines or the future roadblocks that the new administration would surely face, people latched on to this statement - not to their own fault, but to the fault of words that came from @JoeBiden’s mouth. 5/

From that moment, and every day since, the left has struggled to recover. Politicos and Twitter pundits alike have debated relentlessly to define what the consequences of that promise should be, meanwhile poor & working class Americans fall further into desolate abandon. 6/

Yesterday @TheDemocrats announced the plan for the next round, and the with righteous anger, struggling people from all sides came out to call this bluff for what it feels like. “This isn’t what we were promised” is something Ive hear many people say. 7/ https://twitter.com/thedemocrats/status/1355634654255190016?s=21

Like it or not, messaging matters. The words that you say matter. The promises you make, whether veiled or in detail, matter.

People didn’t hear “we will increase your payment to $2000 from the $600 already sent out!” They heard “$2000 checks will be going out the door.” 8/

I’ve heard folks label this anger as unjustified, coming from a place of ignorance or selfishness or lack of understanding, but that only highlights their own ignorance. It is equally ignorant to expect ‘the people’ have the time or availability to read the details on paper. 9/

Do you really blame people for believing what they heard the next president say on national TV? If you do, you don’t really understand the perspective of struggle in the midst of this pandemic, or how that affects ones availability to “spend time doing their research.” 10/

After following 4+ years of endless lies from Trump, @JoeBiden - through his own faults - is seen by many as a person of integrity, at least in comparison. Regardless of how you personally feel, *most* people that voted for Joe breathed a sigh of relief after the 21st. 11/

But people’s minds tend to work in a very binary way when under pressure, and transitioning away from “the last president was full of shit” leads them to believe that this president is full of honesty. They assume that what they hear, is EXACTLY what they are going to get. 12/

The @POTUS made a monumental error going on national and $2000 checks are coming. He planted a seed in the minds of the people who are too exhausted to lift their heads to see the truth, and now they want what they audibly heard him say.

And I agree with them.

13/

At this point, to avoid losing in the coming midterms and next election what we collectively gained in this one, promises made, MUST be kept. More than that, the current administration has a mountain of readjusting to do in building trust that has already been eroded. 14/

Get off Twitter, stop wasting money on committees & focus groups, and talk to people. People like those in my struggling neighborhood, who all feel like they were promised something and only have to point to @JoeBiden’s quote to reaffirm what they heard. 15/

Or alternatively, we can ignore “us” and hope for the best getting those people to return back to the polls in two & four years. Hope is a really fucking dangerous thing. Don’t plant those seeds if you don’t plan on tilling the fields. 16/16

Anyway I helped take a company of 5 from a low-million $ valuation to winning one of the largest contracts in SharkTank history, and I did it by listening to every day people. But I’ve also been unemployed for almost a year and can’t find a job, so probably don’t listen to me