I read The Wall Street Journal every day even though I seldom agree with its editorial message. But this morning I read a news article that said exactly what I have been thinking since the election last month.
In “Biden Eases Off Stage, Irking Democrats”” authors Aaron Zitner and Ken Thomas said:
“To some Democrats, Biden is forfeiting the transition period. They say the vacuum is emblematic of one of the biggest problems the party must face—its inability to drive a consistent, clear message to voters who increasingly get news from social media—as it lays plans for revival after its defeat in the presidential race and loss of its Senate majority.”
Infuriating Weeks
1877 Vanity Fair caricature of The 9th Marquess of Queensberry.
To someone like me, whose career was in corporate and marketing communications, the last few weeks have been infuriating. I have had smoke coming out of my ears. As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris slip quietly into the past, invisible and mute, Trump has taken over both the news cycle and communication with foreign leaders.
The Democrats seem determined to act like gentlemen, going quietly into that good night without comment, much less protest. It’s easy to infer that, having lost, they are simply retreating.
Worse, the Democrats play by Marquess of Queensberry Rules, even though those clearly don’t exist in today’s politics, if they ever did. They not only lack a consistent, clear message, the don’t have any message at all.
The Lack of a Message
In the business world, this doesn’t work. Neither does it work in politics, although the Democrats never understand this. The big truth that continually escapes them is this:
THE LACK OF A MESSAGE IS THE MESSAGE!
If you have run a campaign based on how dangerous the second Trump Administration will be for America, how can you possibly respond with silence and indifference? How can you be so unconcerned by what you have called a threat to Democracy that you go on vacation (Harris), travel to Africa and South America (Biden), decline to hold a press conference, issue no statements about your opponent’s Cabinet selections, and don’t contribute to the news cycle?
The Hidden Message
And what does it say if that is how you respond?
It says that you are weak, and that you are not willing to fight. (Much less fight, fight, fight.) It communicates that you are disengaged, indifferent, lacking any interest in the future of the country.
No message means no concern, no ideas, no action. One might also infer from it that the Republicans were right when they said you were too old to govern.
And no message means that everything you said before had no real substance.
Wanted: A Junkyard Dog
Acting like a gentleman, taking the high road, behaving with grace and dignity are all very well when things are going well. When confronting an incoming administration that broadcasts fascist plans, it doesn’t work at all.
We need a fighter.
President Harry Truman is supposed to have said, “If you want a friend in this world, get a dog.” Well, President Biden has two dogs; that should be enough.
What the Democrats really need right now is a junkyard dog, not only good at but eager for the fight.
Feeding the News Monster
If you stay quiet like this in business, you just might go out of business. You need a message, the stronger the better. It has to be simple enough for people to understand without an explanation. Your message needs words that real people recognize and use, not highfalutin’ terms heard more in college classrooms than the neighborhood bar. It should require no explanation. And you need to put it in front of your target audience, repeating it as often as you can manage and afford.
By Satish Acharya
In political terms, this means doing things that grab the attention of the news media monster. This voracious beast includes the mainstream media, social media, podcasters, TikTok, Instagram, commercials, and media attuned to younger generations.
It means avoiding terms like “quid pro quo,” which most folks can’t translate and replacing it with “extortion,” which everyone recognizes. Also, it means confronting ridiculous messages like “defund the police,” and stating in no uncertain terms that you reject it.
Why Democrats Won’t Fight
Why don’t the Democrats fight? I don’t know. Given all the advisors and professional communicators they employ, I simply can’t understand why they don’t know not only how to control the news cycle but why it’s important to do so.
What I do know is that I would love for the Democrats to solicit input from people like me. When you work in business, you don’t have the leeway to act with grace and dignity. You can’t say, “When they go low, we go high.” You have to fight for visibility, fight for attention, fight for market share, and fight for profitability. If you don’t, your company fails.
Lighting a Fire
Someone needs to light a fire under the Democrats—and keep it burning bright. So far, I haven’t seen one. Certainly not Chuck Schumer, who is one of the worst communicators in politics. And even new Senator Adam Schiff seems to have fallen for the weak and flabby “high road” idea.
Please, someone step up and lead the fight. Democrats need a fire-breathing communicator now more than ever. Have they got one?
