Don't look down, they've removed the safety net

The MAGA societal wet dream is succeeding beyond their wildest dreams inside a government that is experiencing multiple points of structural failure. Where are the Democrats?

I’m going to take a slight diversion today and carry on with my deep dive on China tariffs tomorrow if that’s OK?

Right now, my days are made up of curating important information to deliver the truth in this battle to preserve democracy. Sometimes my frustration overflows and I have to have an outlet. You are my outlet today. Sorry.

There are currently 211 Democrats in Congress and 47 in the Senate. Aside from 10% at most, where are they? Democracy is sinking in an ocean of corruption and lies, the ship is listing at 45 degrees, there are women and children on the deck in tears. They look out to see Democrats waving back at them from safety of the lifeboats, while a handful of their colleagues are left on deck screaming “HELP us you selfish bastards”.

Never in modern American history, have so many been abandoned by the few they elected to represent them. This is an inflection point within the Democratic Party in which self preservation has once again reared its ugly head at a time when only collective action can win the day. AOC and Bernie have broken the stagnating political apathy, to set an example and are proving that this crisis has moved beyond party politics onto whole new ground. I am at a complete and utter loss as to the abject failure to respond to the clear voice of the people. Instead, they hunker down with their fingers in their ears pretending that it will all work out in the end. WAKE THE F*CK UP. The good ship democracy is taking on gallons of lies, and disinformation. Meanwhile, they leave the fighting for someone else to do, while collecting $174,000 a year for what?

There is NO vision, NO proposition, just a constant drum beat of ‘Trump is a fascist’. WE KNOW THAT, the question is, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Trump now has control over 80% of the social media landscape and that is where the majority of people now consume their news. If you think BlueSky is the silver bullet, get some help, because you need to see a doctor. In this moment, the only person who can beat Trump is Trump, by falling flat on his ass. There needs to be a strategy to focus attention on what is about to happen, as inflation and high prices begin to take hold. Democrats need a campaign ready to go. A reactive response is a failed response. They need to be on the front foot ready with a blitzkrieg campaign. A campaign where the message is coordinated and EVERY elected Democrat hits every media outlet and social media channel with THE SAME MESSAGE. Sorry for all the shouting, but people need to listen.

In this moment, YouTube channels are a vital component in delivering better exposure for messaging. This is especially true at local level and I have the receipts to prove it from Ads I’ve helped candidates run in previous campaigns. Every Dem advocacy group needs to setup a YouTube Channel tied to a QR Code right now, if they don’t have one already. Internet enabled TVs provide a really useful vehicle for messaging in what was the local media market. Every Dem candidate needs to do the same, because this is a neglected media channel at a time when Dems need to counter the chokehold Musk and Zuckerberg have over the algorithms of X, Facebook and Instagram. An added problem on the horizon is, Dem TikTokers face the real possibility that the trade war with China may see TikTok taken off the table.

There needs to be a three step proposition.

1. Vision

2. Content

3. Execution

My concern is, the vision is not in place so content and execution are irrelevant. If we step back a little, it’s very difficult to counter dark money in politics, but the problem goes MUCH deeper than that. Each election cycle is dominated by a closed shop of services provided to candidates. Any new candidate is sat in a room surrounded by a group of what I like to call party electoral beneficiaries. Each cycle, they fill their pockets often with money raised from working class voters for whom their small dollar donations don’t come easy. Candidates are told how much they need to raise (to effectively pay for the vacations people around the table will buy with the money the campaign pays them for their services). Don’t forget, they get paid regardless of whether the candidate wins or loses, so where is the incentive? Each campaign in my view should have a written Campaign Efficiency Policy laser focussed on value for money. Too many campaigns are a gold rush for the selected few and that’s not how it should be. If Democrats try to fight the midterms with the same old same old, Trump will eat them for breakfast.

If campaigns are being fought in the social media space and your opponent is in control of the algorithm, you already have a steep hill to climb, so it’s essential to get the best and the brightest content creators to innovate and cut through. Instead, Dems rely on the same old providers who run their own closed shop to guard their turf. Money is king, no matter which part of the political landscape you inhabit. As someone who both creates and curates content, I’m delighted to inform you that there is some phenomenal talent out there. Tragically, many will be overlooked because Dems will fall back on their ‘tried and tested’ regular content providers. These people do a great job but how hungry are you if you know you’ll get the job regardless? Let me be very clear, Dems have some phenomenal messaging shops and content creators, but time after time it falls down when it comes to message coordination and distribution. Many don’t play well together either, so you’ve lost before you come out of the gate.

We need to think outside the box, because only then do we have a chance. Good Ads are timeless. It’s time to tell a story not just call the other guy a fascist.

The nation is in the midst of an existential crisis and we need to have a conversation about effective representation, because right now it’s not working.

There is much talk about this platform Substack and it’s ability to reach persuadable voters too, I don’t have enough experience here yet to fully understand its reach, but I would be interested to get some feedback on that from readers.

The one thing I am confident about, is in 2026 the campaign can almost be fought by stripping out party politics. The big question is, will there even be elections in 2026? If Trump continues down his current path, elections could quite easily become a thing of the past. Once we have reached that position, then we’re at revolution point. Then and only then, will we find out where the military stands.

Let me conclude by saying I believe Democrats can win this and win the argument, but if the last election taught us anything, it taught us that the same old same old delivers tyranny and tyranny is much more difficult to defeat using the usual rules of engagement. I’m quite happy to share my extended thoughts should people want to listen, so please let me know in the comments.