Another thing that the Democrats need to do to make themselves more appealing is drop the “you didn’t make it on your own” ideology. I’m not talking just about Obama’s notorious gaffe. I mean that the whole line of thinking needs to go. American voters en masse will not go for “It’s not your achievement, it’s about your white / male / thin, etc privilege” and “you wouldn’t have made it without the government building roads and providing social services.”
The point is not whether the idea is correct. The point is that it’s off-putting. Those who don’t find it off-putting are already voting for you. Do you want to hold on to this idea or do you want to hold the Congress?
Also, dispense with the smugness and the high moral ground of all this “the Left, being right since Adam and Eve” or “the Left, making your life better since the Big Bang”. Again, people who like this shit are already yours. But the governorships, the Senate, the Congress and the White House aren’t. Quit being superior, it is not cute.
There are – what? 90 million? – of people who don’t vote. Make yourselves attractive to them and not to those you have already convinced.
Clarissa's Blog 
Agreed. I know you used to read the Last Psychiatrist, so drawing from one of his phrases — the Democrats need to make themselves attractive to the aspirational 14%, so that they are excited to vote Democrat. Their current messaging is doing quite the opposite.
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Agreed. It’s perfect being the enemy of the good.
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From around 1980 until Trump, mainstream Republicans systematically failed to appeal to any kind of voter interest besides naked ambition, because that’s what neoliberalism appeals to, or paranoia because that’s the result of a bunch of ambitious people being around each other.
The Democrats have tried to appeal to what might be called civic values or civic virtues but consistently manage to tie them to ideas that repel much of the electorate.
I briefly discuss why Make America Great Again is such a great campaign slogan (naked self-promotion)
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This is a very good analysis of the campaign slogans. Prosody is definitely on the side of Make America Great Again. It’s got a rhythm. While Stronger Together has no flow. It just sticks in your mouth, like a stone. It’s the least memorable thing ever.
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