Democrats need to get better at simply explaining what they did and what they want to do while persuading through a well-framed moral and fact-based argument that can win Hearts AND Minds that is supported by universal ideals that can find common ground to appeal to the broadest audience possible.
Vox recently published an analysis of persuasion techniques that teaches you “How to debunk false beliefs without having it backfire” that everyone interested in advocacy should read. Luckily this is one thing that this President is good at, and frankly MUST be good at as the leader of the entire nation...that’s why he his in the Oval Office. But we can ALL do better....especially when we share a consistent message that people can remember.
Here is the the #1 issue on my “wish list” on what the President should say and how he should explain it...I will update it as an ongoing reference that I hope our fellow Obama supporters can use as well.
TALKING POINT: RENEWABLE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Issue: Jobs, Economy, Energy, Environment
The President needs to discuss the importance of Renewable Energy Independence for helping create jobs at home in America and explain the great success of solar and electric vehicles thanks to federal loans etc. and how the reduction of gas prices is partly fueled by our unsustainable reliance on the expensive and environmentally harmful fracking process. He should then share his future plans like the EPA’s new standards for cutting carbon emissions and how they will benefit the economy but he should also consider re-working his carbon tax into a more popular-sounding Polluter Tax.
All Americans should understand the importance of ending our dependence on foreign oil and how countries like Russia and Iran benefit from it so this should be an easy argument to make that is practical for today and not just a “sacrifice” to fight the distant and murky effects of global warming that can be difficult to sell in the current political environment.
The White House’s online live-stream of the speech is a great tool for sharing supporting graphics and photos with those willing to find it but in this case I would recommend hold up a live picture at the lecturn of the California drought to SHOW America what global warming looks like. These kinds of images should also be live-tweeted at minimum.
Here is my template….feel free to share your own!
Policy:
Issue Category:
Common Ground:
Progress Example (past record and how it worked):
Agenda Example (future proposal and how it will work):