About last night ... Listen up, Dems.
Here are some reasons why the Dems lost:
1. The Message.
It is a mistake for Dems to dismiss the Right's appeal to the average voter. Dems seem to enjoy relishing the fact that they consider Republicans to be "low-information voters," while, ironically, that's exactly how the Right sees the Left. And also, ironically, there are areas where both sides agree, namely:
1. The sanctity and constitutional right of privacy and how that is being corrupted by the over-reach of government surveillance.
2. The misuse of drones in general, not only as instruments of war overseas, but also on American soil.
3. The militarization of the police. Everyone is appalled by stories of swat teams injuring innocents or shooting the family dog.
4. The seemingly slow and ineffectual response by leadership to ISIS, ebola, and immigration issues.
5. The cost of living and stagnation of wages that diminish the standard of living that Americans have enjoyed in the past.
6. The undue influence of special interest groups, not to mention money funneled into elections by secret benefactors.
7. Gridlock in Congress as well as the negativity and endless bickering between the two sides.
Both sides share these grievances, but the Right has succeeded in crafting the message that the Dems are entirely to blame -- especially Obama.
The Left has failed miserably in crafting any cohesive message at all. Instead, there have been many messages designed to resonate with singular cohorts of blacks, hispanics, and women. The mistake is that politicos don't seem to get the fact that when a black woman, an hispanic family, or a white man who barely made it through high school is struggling to feed their families, they're not particularly concerned about much of anything else. And when people look to the future, they see their personal situations becoming worse. Consequently, nuanced and complicated reasons for their predicaments fall on deaf ears.
2. Fear
Fox News or more accurately, "Fear Noise," spews relentless "noise" of potential threats, most of which are exaggerated and imagined. Everyday, a threat is raised up to generate fear (and ratings). Fear of the unknown. The future. Poverty. Governmental malfeasance. Obama. The Other. Foreigners. And even jhadists slipping into the country to kill us all or to infect us with ebola or to make us all follow Sharia Law.
A reasonable response doesn't penetrate the emotional ravages of fear. Lectures by Rachel, explanations by Chris Hayes, emotional pleas by Ed Schultz, righteous indignation by Reverend Al, and loud, disjunctive, political insight by Chris Matthews will never cut through the haze of an emotional state as powerful as fear. Nor will the intellectual and professorial style of President Obama -- not to mention the lackadaisical demeanor of Harry Reid.
3. Disgust
Most people are aware that our politicians are managed, groomed, polished, and spun to create a "package" that is appealing and, therefore, marketable -- just like a product. It's hard to detect the real person underneath the polish or even what he or she actually thinks.
Most people are aware that politics is infected and corrupted by big money. Many people even believe that Congress has been bought and sold to the highest bidder.
Many people believe that members of both parties cater to special interests for their personal benefit, so it doesn't matter which party they belong to.
Consequently, people yearn for authenticity in their candidates. So, when a person comes along, like Joni Ernst, who says she castrated hogs -- and seems genuine, fairly intelligent, and perhaps not *yet* corrupted, people will vote for her. She seems real. And so the voter reasons that Ernst just might -- maybe -- hopefully -- tell the truth. And that quality is rare enough to give her a try.
Finally --
It's not about the Party. It's about coming together over issues on which we can agree, crafting a powerful, cohesive message, and finding candidates that seem brave enough to tell the truth.