Trump is often said to be “throwing red meat to his base” when he brings up the border wall, Supreme Court nominations, and illegal immigration to rev up his core supporters. But what’s the Democratic equivalent of “red meat?”
Right now, it appears to be…opposing Trump. Opposing Trump is what revs up the Democratic party faithful and energizes them to the polls. But what else? LGBT, abortion, gun control, healthcare reform doesn’t seem to truly do the trick. Before Trump came along, and after Trump leaves, what are the issues that a Democratic candidate uses to really get their base fired up?
I’m a gun owner that would welcome keeping guns out of the wrong hands. Let’s look at this. The genie is out of the bottle, but we have to start somewhere.
I am also a person that would likely be hit initially by intelligent tax reforms, but think that needs to be addressed.
I think for the Democrats, “make the rich pay their fair share”, sensible gun control, protection of reproductive rights, green energy, health care, and “diversity” are typical topics that get their base revved-up.
For the Republicans, tax cuts (for the rich job creators), protection of the 2nd amendment, expansion of extracting industries and blue collar jobs, security and defense from the “others”, and God get their engines going. Also, fiscal responsibility (bwahahaha!).
I guess if you just talk about things that induce rage and negative emotions (rage, contempt, fear, etc) for the left it’d be the injustice of our health care system, GOP attacks on democracy, fears of the planet becoming unlivable, cruelty towards marginalized minority groups,
For the right I think what induces the most rage/contempt/fear is abortion and fears of multiculturalism. Also fears of being defense against multiculturalism (taking their guns away). Also the Clintons induce rage in the right, but I’m not sure how much of that is because they feel the Clintons are highly criminal and corrupt, or how much is just hatred of Hillary being a woman who craves power (the GOP seems fairly ok with women craving power on their side though, so I don’t know what role sexism plays).
The border wall and illegal immigration are just about multiculturalism. The border wall is designed to keep brown skinned foreigners out which racist and nativist whites love. The supreme court is about abortion.
To that list, I’d also add income inequality (of which “make the rich pay their fair share” is a sub-topic), climate change, equality for all, voting rights, and immigration reform.
But, of all of that, right now, it feels like healthcare (and, specifically, Medicare-for-all or single-payer) is probably the hottest-button topic for Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.
The words “medicare” or “single-payer” or even “healthcare reform” are not winners, semantically. They don’t begin to capture the rapacious nature of the healthcare industry and how egregiously everyone is getting gouged. If I were a strategist for any Democratic candidate, I wouldn’t waste a breath on those euphemisms. “STOP FUCKING US” would be my “Build The Wall.” That’s what this is, at the very core. The idea that people are going off to other countries to get dental work and joint replacement and heart surgery should be fucking offensive to people. And I don’t just mean it in the sense of “it offends”, I mean it should be used as an offensive play in the football game that is politics.
Want to throw real meat to people? Don’t beat around the bush. “STOP FUCKING US.”
Next time you want to mention red meat, a trigger warning would be nice. I almost horked up kale congee and kombucha all over my “Sinema/Ocasio-Cortez 2020” hoodie.
I consider myself part of the Democratic base and what I believe are:
Voting rights and ends to voter suppression and gerrymandering.
Tolerance and equality for all ethnic, minority, religious, gender, and sexual preference groups.
Climate change is real and we need to get serious about addressing it.
We need to be accommodating to those who flee unsafe conditions in their native countries and seek refuge in the US.
Sensible gun control.
The wealthy and corporate interests are not pulling their weight and we need to return to the tax structure of the 1950s-1960s.
Health care is a basic human right and we need to guarantee affordable access for all.
As I see it, the Republicans have gone batshit crazy and now believe in:
The infallibility of DJT. I’m surprised a virgin birth hasn’t been part of the myth.
White supremacy and persecution of all non whites, non straight, non Christians.
Fealty to the god known as The Second Half of The Second Amendment.
No rich person should pay any tax, nor should any corporation be worried about such niceties as worker rights or environmental or safety regulations.
Health care pre-Obama was perfect and we must return to it.