How does Gen Z feel about being referred to as Plurals? I believe one of their issues is being listened to. Maybe they like it, but from what I read, I have only heard them represent themselves as Gen Z with pride in that identity. I have NO experience nor expertise, simply curious. Thanks. And, thanks for the work you have done and are doing.
I normally would never comment with suggestions on the content of a Substack, but Simon asked that we be forthright in this new vehicle, so here I go. 1) in circles I have been peripherally involved in, “Hopium” is a derisive term meaning false hope. This is especially prevalent in environmental analysis along the line of, a soft landing may be out of reach and the damage has been too extensive. I personally believe that we must fight for our democracy no matter what and assume life goes on. In this early stage of what I expect to be my Go To Substack now and going forward, I recommend that this issue be revisited sooner rather than later, and 2) Length - yesterday’s inaugural newsletter was the perfect length that a busy, informed person would read considering they likely have 5-10 other paid or unpaid Substacks to read along with other news sources. Today’s is pretty long and seems to include most of what we saw in NDN’s newsletters. The 55% goal is brilliant and I loved it when it was introduced earlier this year. Perhaps concentrate each main point in a separate newsletter. Louder one day, 55% the next etc. Not sure how often this will be published - some do weekdays (Hubbell) and Joyce Vance, others daily (Craven). These suggestions are mine alone and not based on any empirical data. No matter what the Title or Content ends up being, I will become a paid subscriber and regularly read, watch and listen. Thank you for all that you do.
I agree with all your suggestions for increasing Democratic votes. But I think you are missing a huge opportunity. Three of your four categories assume fixed beliefs among voting groups. Yet, I believe there is great potential to change back a recent shift in beliefs. Namely, that Republicans are the party of non-college graduates and blue-collar workers. It seems clear that Democrats do more to help these groups and we need to regain support from these voters. The Republican inroads have relied on false and misleading claims. They actually want to slash or privatize social security and medicare, reduce worker protections and bargaining power, oppose increasing minimum wages, increase income inequality, etc.
There have been large changes in voter and politician views in recent decades and I see no reason that these can’t shift again. For instance, in 1974, Richard Nixon was forced to resign by the threat of removal from office by many Republican senators. In 2006, the Voting Rights Act was re-approved in the Senate by a unanimous vote. I think it is important to recognize the potential to change minds by correcting misinformation and lies; hence the value of your concept of information warriors getting louder.
Are you planning to coordinate these efforts with the DNC, Latino organizations, AA organizations (Black women are the Dem base, but increasingly, Black men have voted Republican since Trump), and yes AAPI (I read that they are feeling dismissed by the Dem party and are voting for R)? Though I agree with the 4 groups you would like to target, targeting the AA and AAPI groups in addition to the 4 groups would greatly strengthen the Dem coalition.
I really wish we would have universal required voting and ranked choice voting like Australia. Yes I know, that’s a long way off, if ever it comes. This was uplifting, seeing small margins do produce big results. Achievable nibbles. Excellent.
Fantastic information. Love the plan. I went to Reno and Las Vegas the week before the midterms to help young people vote. I did it in my own and went to college campuses with donuts. It was the easiest, most effective, most fun GOTV work I’ve ever done. The kids need help voting - they’re often unclear about the rules, don’t want to make a mistake, are intimidated/overwhelmed trying to figure it out and are likely not to vote if they don’t think they understand the issues. Everything we can do to cut through the confusion will be a game changer.
I am very disappointed that there is no interest in seniors(>60). We are not all republicans-we vote consistently. While a large portion watch Fox News and believe all of the lies are not aware of the plans to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. If you were to add our groups to your efforts you could achieve 55 or more.
I think a topic that Republicans keep winning on is crime. How do we show that crime is not synonymous with "Democrat", that opposing police brutality and systemic racism is not "soft on crime," that GOP gun proliferation laws are part of what contributes to crime, etc? I think Dems could go a long way toward attracting the people we need to get to 55% if we had better answers to that issue.
Here's an idea: use Chat GPT to illustrate Democrats' strength on economy and other issues. This is the next powerful technology everyone is going to be using especially young people using it for research and trusting it as a source of information. Take and share little videos of its answers to questions like "which American Presidents since 2000 created the most jobs" or "which American political party passes legislation to ban abortion." That's just one idea but the possibilities here are endless - don't let the right figure it out first.
Hi Simon, I'm Laura Brill, the founder and CEO of The Civics Center. We're a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on bringing voter registration to every high school in America. Thank you for amplifying the opportunity to engage young voters and to welcome them into our democracy. Most people don't realize that 4 million young people graduate every year, and the best place to help them register so they can vote as soon as they turn 18 is in high school. You can learn more about our work and our research at thecivicscenter.org and thecivicscenter.org/publications.
Congrats on this great new project! I completely agree that getting better at "influencing the information environment" is priority #1 for Dems/Center Left coalition. The R's have built an entire parallel universe ecosystem that took years and keeps them competitive no matter how terrible their case is on the substance, and Dems have completely ignored this front. I will do everything I can to further this!
Love this plan. My big concern is the vote suppression that red states are working on. Removing polling places from college campuses is one example. Even if we get people to join this coalition, how can we ensure that they actually can cast a vote?
I feel more hopeful just having read the plan. The comment from Laura Brill of The Civics Center about registering high-school-age voters is important. I hope the two of you can connect.
So much of our current difficulty emerges from the thin margins in dozens of states. It makes perfect sense that shifting those margins will reduce the distorted influence that MAGA extremists have on our national politics.
How does Gen Z feel about being referred to as Plurals? I believe one of their issues is being listened to. Maybe they like it, but from what I read, I have only heard them represent themselves as Gen Z with pride in that identity. I have NO experience nor expertise, simply curious. Thanks. And, thanks for the work you have done and are doing.
I normally would never comment with suggestions on the content of a Substack, but Simon asked that we be forthright in this new vehicle, so here I go. 1) in circles I have been peripherally involved in, “Hopium” is a derisive term meaning false hope. This is especially prevalent in environmental analysis along the line of, a soft landing may be out of reach and the damage has been too extensive. I personally believe that we must fight for our democracy no matter what and assume life goes on. In this early stage of what I expect to be my Go To Substack now and going forward, I recommend that this issue be revisited sooner rather than later, and 2) Length - yesterday’s inaugural newsletter was the perfect length that a busy, informed person would read considering they likely have 5-10 other paid or unpaid Substacks to read along with other news sources. Today’s is pretty long and seems to include most of what we saw in NDN’s newsletters. The 55% goal is brilliant and I loved it when it was introduced earlier this year. Perhaps concentrate each main point in a separate newsletter. Louder one day, 55% the next etc. Not sure how often this will be published - some do weekdays (Hubbell) and Joyce Vance, others daily (Craven). These suggestions are mine alone and not based on any empirical data. No matter what the Title or Content ends up being, I will become a paid subscriber and regularly read, watch and listen. Thank you for all that you do.
I agree with all your suggestions for increasing Democratic votes. But I think you are missing a huge opportunity. Three of your four categories assume fixed beliefs among voting groups. Yet, I believe there is great potential to change back a recent shift in beliefs. Namely, that Republicans are the party of non-college graduates and blue-collar workers. It seems clear that Democrats do more to help these groups and we need to regain support from these voters. The Republican inroads have relied on false and misleading claims. They actually want to slash or privatize social security and medicare, reduce worker protections and bargaining power, oppose increasing minimum wages, increase income inequality, etc.
There have been large changes in voter and politician views in recent decades and I see no reason that these can’t shift again. For instance, in 1974, Richard Nixon was forced to resign by the threat of removal from office by many Republican senators. In 2006, the Voting Rights Act was re-approved in the Senate by a unanimous vote. I think it is important to recognize the potential to change minds by correcting misinformation and lies; hence the value of your concept of information warriors getting louder.
Are you planning to coordinate these efforts with the DNC, Latino organizations, AA organizations (Black women are the Dem base, but increasingly, Black men have voted Republican since Trump), and yes AAPI (I read that they are feeling dismissed by the Dem party and are voting for R)? Though I agree with the 4 groups you would like to target, targeting the AA and AAPI groups in addition to the 4 groups would greatly strengthen the Dem coalition.
I really wish we would have universal required voting and ranked choice voting like Australia. Yes I know, that’s a long way off, if ever it comes. This was uplifting, seeing small margins do produce big results. Achievable nibbles. Excellent.
Fantastic information. Love the plan. I went to Reno and Las Vegas the week before the midterms to help young people vote. I did it in my own and went to college campuses with donuts. It was the easiest, most effective, most fun GOTV work I’ve ever done. The kids need help voting - they’re often unclear about the rules, don’t want to make a mistake, are intimidated/overwhelmed trying to figure it out and are likely not to vote if they don’t think they understand the issues. Everything we can do to cut through the confusion will be a game changer.
Just my inner brand strategist. But a strong bumper-sticker caliber campaign slogan might be "Drive to 55" or possibly just "Drive55"
🤓
I am very disappointed that there is no interest in seniors(>60). We are not all republicans-we vote consistently. While a large portion watch Fox News and believe all of the lies are not aware of the plans to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. If you were to add our groups to your efforts you could achieve 55 or more.
I think a topic that Republicans keep winning on is crime. How do we show that crime is not synonymous with "Democrat", that opposing police brutality and systemic racism is not "soft on crime," that GOP gun proliferation laws are part of what contributes to crime, etc? I think Dems could go a long way toward attracting the people we need to get to 55% if we had better answers to that issue.
Here's an idea: use Chat GPT to illustrate Democrats' strength on economy and other issues. This is the next powerful technology everyone is going to be using especially young people using it for research and trusting it as a source of information. Take and share little videos of its answers to questions like "which American Presidents since 2000 created the most jobs" or "which American political party passes legislation to ban abortion." That's just one idea but the possibilities here are endless - don't let the right figure it out first.
Hi Simon, I'm Laura Brill, the founder and CEO of The Civics Center. We're a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on bringing voter registration to every high school in America. Thank you for amplifying the opportunity to engage young voters and to welcome them into our democracy. Most people don't realize that 4 million young people graduate every year, and the best place to help them register so they can vote as soon as they turn 18 is in high school. You can learn more about our work and our research at thecivicscenter.org and thecivicscenter.org/publications.
Congrats on this great new project! I completely agree that getting better at "influencing the information environment" is priority #1 for Dems/Center Left coalition. The R's have built an entire parallel universe ecosystem that took years and keeps them competitive no matter how terrible their case is on the substance, and Dems have completely ignored this front. I will do everything I can to further this!
Love this plan. My big concern is the vote suppression that red states are working on. Removing polling places from college campuses is one example. Even if we get people to join this coalition, how can we ensure that they actually can cast a vote?
Your proposal makes sense to me. Well done.
I feel more hopeful just having read the plan. The comment from Laura Brill of The Civics Center about registering high-school-age voters is important. I hope the two of you can connect.
So much of our current difficulty emerges from the thin margins in dozens of states. It makes perfect sense that shifting those margins will reduce the distorted influence that MAGA extremists have on our national politics.
'it is the metro areas that are “the state’s economic engine, generating tax dollars that flow outward to every corner of the state."
Fascist politics feeds the insulting myth that hardworking rural residents pay to support lazy urban dwellers'
"How Fascism Works", Stanley, p174