Welcome to this week’s edition of “Stuff You Should Consume,”— a weekly compilation of interesting political content for Message Box readers. “A Strategy for Factory Towns” by Mike Luz, American Family Voices Hard times, effective right-wing messaging, the demise of local news, and sometimes the Democratic Party itself have led to big changes in the voting and opinions of people living in small and midsized towns that have been most impacted by deindustrialization and increased Big Business power in the economy. But these Factory Towns voters are not lost causes to the Democratic Party, and we cannot afford to write them off. They comprise 48% of the voters in Pennsylvania and the Midwest, and if we continue to lose ground with them, the entire region will become more and more like Iowa and Missouri – tough states for the foreseeable future. However, if these counties start to move back toward the Democrats, that kind of progress could be the linchpin to building sustained Democratic majorities that can usher our country into a more progressive future.
Highly recommend folks to read the Strategic Summary in the report linked in “A Strategy for Factory Towns”.
My sense is much of what they uncovered will apply to many voters that Dems need to win -- the ones Dan writes about in Biden's Blue Collar Blueprint to Win Reelection.
"The rising cost of living" and "jobs and the economy" are top concerns for the folks who participated in the survey. Likely true for Texas rural communities, blue-collar, non-college voters as well.
Study shows these voters believe "the 1% rigging the rules" is "a significant reason for economic hardship in their communities" and not so much that the 1% worked hard for their wealth.
What They Want Someone To Do:
- Crack down on corporate abuses like wage theft, price gouging, tax loopholes.
- Create good jobs, for ex: invest in apprenticeships and job training
This from “A Strategy for Factory Towns” is helpful:
"....recommend that Democrats and progressives make major investments in local field organizing and
door-to-door,
special events that build community,
online community building,
existing local media and progressive media targeted to these counties, and
progressive organizations that make sure voters know how to benefit directly from the Biden policy initiatives of the last two years.
It's in line with what we're doing via Texas Blue Action Democrats. Year-round, neighborhood organizing.
No, we didn't win the last election, despite having the best slate of Dem candidates this Texan has ever seen, and despite all those campaigns -- esp Beto's -- leaving it all on the field.
But we're still fighting. Taking cues from Stacey Abrams' playbook, from Michael Moore's Blue Dot in a Red State podcast series. And now this piece from American Family Voices.
I’m getting really tired of being told what to do by these outside organizations. We have been rebuilding the Dem party here in PA for several years now, especially in NEPA, with the results to show it. And of course we continue to do so. The work is never done. But so many of these assessments refuse to take into account the effect of RW media on voters’ opinions, as well as the decades of bias and both siding by the mainstream media. Not to mention lack of understanding of how the govt actually works--that we need 69 senators to pass much of the legislation we want, for instance.
There are a number of these voters who will never come back. They are so baked, nothing will penetrate their “gut beliefs” and what Tucker told them. The key is reaching out to the many eligible voters who don’t go to the polls. We can win them over with very hard work that goes beyond just knocking doors--by actually getting out and doing for the community. Dems have to be consistently active, and not just when it comes to elections; that is our goal here in my patch of Luzerne County.
Highly recommend folks to read the Strategic Summary in the report linked in “A Strategy for Factory Towns”.
My sense is much of what they uncovered will apply to many voters that Dems need to win -- the ones Dan writes about in Biden's Blue Collar Blueprint to Win Reelection.
"The rising cost of living" and "jobs and the economy" are top concerns for the folks who participated in the survey. Likely true for Texas rural communities, blue-collar, non-college voters as well.
Study shows these voters believe "the 1% rigging the rules" is "a significant reason for economic hardship in their communities" and not so much that the 1% worked hard for their wealth.
What They Want Someone To Do:
- Crack down on corporate abuses like wage theft, price gouging, tax loopholes.
- Create good jobs, for ex: invest in apprenticeships and job training
- Invest in local communities
This from “A Strategy for Factory Towns” is helpful:
"....recommend that Democrats and progressives make major investments in local field organizing and
door-to-door,
special events that build community,
online community building,
existing local media and progressive media targeted to these counties, and
progressive organizations that make sure voters know how to benefit directly from the Biden policy initiatives of the last two years.
It's in line with what we're doing via Texas Blue Action Democrats. Year-round, neighborhood organizing.
No, we didn't win the last election, despite having the best slate of Dem candidates this Texan has ever seen, and despite all those campaigns -- esp Beto's -- leaving it all on the field.
But we're still fighting. Taking cues from Stacey Abrams' playbook, from Michael Moore's Blue Dot in a Red State podcast series. And now this piece from American Family Voices.
Thx for sharing it.
I’m getting really tired of being told what to do by these outside organizations. We have been rebuilding the Dem party here in PA for several years now, especially in NEPA, with the results to show it. And of course we continue to do so. The work is never done. But so many of these assessments refuse to take into account the effect of RW media on voters’ opinions, as well as the decades of bias and both siding by the mainstream media. Not to mention lack of understanding of how the govt actually works--that we need 69 senators to pass much of the legislation we want, for instance.
There are a number of these voters who will never come back. They are so baked, nothing will penetrate their “gut beliefs” and what Tucker told them. The key is reaching out to the many eligible voters who don’t go to the polls. We can win them over with very hard work that goes beyond just knocking doors--by actually getting out and doing for the community. Dems have to be consistently active, and not just when it comes to elections; that is our goal here in my patch of Luzerne County.
It’s Mike Lux, btw. Not Luz. 😉