“The short-term strategy is, win the House of Representatives,” stated the former president, garnering applause. “Because that’s going to be the circuit breaker that will give us control of one major component of the federal government. With that as a bulwark, we’re now able to block some of the worst impulses that are coming out of this White House.”
The former president laid out a two-pronged strategy for Democrats: to reclaim a House majority next year, and to work on honing the party’s messaging in the coming years.
“Long term, let’s tell a story, a better story about who we are as Americans and what we share,” Obama said, according to excerpts shared with CBS News. “We have to tell the story that makes people who feel outside that process, we’ve got to bring them back in.”
I think focusing on the message isn’t going to help all that much. I think most voters have become desensitized to political messaging. Obama’s own “hope and change,” message helped with that desensitizing, after people felt that in the end they had neither.
I think most Americans are now looking more for a real, material plan for improving things. And I don’t think the problem is that no one has a plan, plenty of politicians do, but I think Americans just aren’t sure which plan will work. It’s the perfect environment for political grifters who are able to convince people they have a plan to help them, even though they have no such thing. One thing I think most Americans were pretty confident about was that the plan that establishment Democrats put forward of “nothing will fundamentally change,” was not appealing. When the people are absolutely desperate for positive change, that’s the last thing they want to hear.