“It’s never easy for Democrats to get elected in Montana, because Democrats here are running against not only the opponent on the ballot, but also, against conservative media’s — and at times, our own — typecast of the national Democratic brand: coastal, overly educated, elitist, judgmental, socialist, a bundle of identity groups and interests lacking any shared principles,” Bullock laments. “The problem isn’t the candidates we nominate. It’s the perception of the party we belong to.”
We need to frame our policies, not in terms of grand ideological narratives, but around the material concerns of voters. Despite our differences and no matter where we live, we generally all want the same things: a decent job, a safe place to call home, good schools, clean air and water, and the promise of a better life for our kids and grandkids.
For me, that meant talking about Obamacare not as an entitlement, but as a way to save rural hospitals and keep local communities and small businesses afloat. It meant talking about expanding apprenticeships, not just lowering the costs of college. It meant framing public lands as a great equalizer and as a driver for small business. It meant talking about universal pre-K not as an abstract policy goal, but being essential for our children and for keeping parents in the work force. It meant talking about climate change not just as a crisis, but as an opportunity to create good jobs, preserve our outdoor heritage, and as a promise not to leave communities behind.
If they are blaming the media, then they are confessing that their grassroots organization
is pretty much less than organized, efficacious or promoting rural values.
I come from a rural state and I find that the Democrats always focus on urban voters
hoping that they can get enough of those to counter "the deplorables..."
FOX isn't the enemy, your own national leaders are the enemy.
The MSM is the avowed , unabashed enemy of rural folk.
Republicans are just the only option they have that
doesn't absolutely detest and denigrate them.
PS - You do know that we have a politics board now...
