I posted this rant on our local Invisible page. I'll throw it on here. Apology for the parts I've posted here before.
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Republicans run a 24/7 messaging operation. It's actually a constant campaign. They have Fox News, national conservative radio shows, local radio, churches, social media, and even clothing with the MAGA hats. All of that makes Republicans feel like they are active participants in a vibrant community that speaks to their concerns.
Democrats don't counter any of that. My wife was telling me about the radio stations in Miami that cater to Cuban immigrants with a signal that reaches into Cuba. It's a constant anti-"socialism" message and Democrats have nothing to respond to it.
Notice how when any event happens, within a few hours every elected Republican or pundit is tweeting the same thing, saying the same thing on cable news, and writing the same thing in op-eds? And within the next 24 hours, your friends from high school and neighbors start saying the exact same things. And often they think it's an organic idea they developed with their friends. And they think they're smart.
Democrats don't do anything like that. We laugh at their "original ideas" and counter them with facts. So we come off like the know-it-all bullies.
Democrats passively farm out messaging. Democrats expect network and cable news, NPR, education, and policy discourse advance Democrat goals because facts have a liberal bias. But Democrats don't do anything to control the messaging. They don't build a large community around people's existing interests. So regular folks on the ground are doing the intellectual work, the grassroots work, and forming communities like this one or podcast fandoms or getting TikTok followers with no financial help or frameworks from a national party. I don't know but I suspect there are key state and local volunteer positions on the left that correspond to well-paid full-time positions on the right.
Democrats seem to trust people to be critical thinkers and come up with informed decisions. Most aren't. They believe what they're told. So when Republicans say "we're fighting for life and freedom" and "Democrats want to steal your hard-earned money" people just believe it because they keep hearing it and Democrats have no real answer.