Tea Party, Changing Demographics, Two Party System,
Thursday/Friday April 16/17, 2009
Today’s Zinger:
A Tree That Falls In The Forest Doesn’t Make A Sound Unless Someone Is There To Hear It.
.JPG)
Morning Briefing:
The Facts:
I attended a “tea party” yesterday. There were 15-20,000 like-minded individuals gathered to protest the recent increases in taxes and government regulation. I have to admit that I was exited about the event. Our collective voices gathered to garner the attention of our government (Washington, State and Local). Everyone wore red. There was a spirit of camaraderie amongst the attendees. I met people from many parts of the country that were in town for various reasons, (business, personal) and chose to attend the event with thousands of local participants.
As we walked to the designated gathering point, the steps of the State Capitol Building, we saw great anticipation on the faces of the participants. We saw people that we assumed were from all walks of life. There were rich and not so rich. Each person shared a goal; to be heard by the elected officials. Congress, state government and the President couldn’t ignore us.
I saw many signs carried by the participants. I made a special effort to pay attention. There was a large number of TEA signs “Taxed Enough Already” and “Read My Lipstick, No More Taxes”. There were young signs “Potheads Pay Taxes Too” and old signs “Forget Illness: Taxed To Death in Retirement”. But there was one sign that really caught my attention, “If You Want A Balanced Budget Elect A Balanced Government”. I stopped looking at the signs and started looking at the crowd. This poster made me think.
I started to think about Zingers in the-past two weeks. Certain themes came to mind:
So let me be specific. Last night reinforced the old white guy party. There were some young people in the crowd but the vast majority were 40-60 years old and white. No Latinos, no Asian Americans. I did see one person that I believe was Native American. I saw three African Americans. I stayed close trying to overhear their conversation. I was curious as to their “triggers”. One wore an Obama tee shirt. The other two heckled and called the crowd stupid people. But most importantly, everyone was invited to the tea party and it was the normal tea party group that showed up. No black tea, no Chinese tea, no Latin pekoe tea. You get the idea.
Then the speakers started. I listened as one after another tried to excite the crowd espousing the stereotypical themes of the Republican Party. Lower taxes, lesser government, all played to the tune of country music. We heard about the Tax and Spend philosophy of Washington, government waste, pork barrel spending, mortgaging our children’s future. We also heard all of the other emotionally charged tag lines such as Jeremiah Wright, Turbo Tax Cheat Tim Geithner and of course the occasional Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Joe the Plumber, an unemployed, unlicensed plumber that gained national fame over his one question to candidate Barack Obama (redistribution of wealth) was also on hand to comment on President Obama’s foreign policy decisions. Are you kidding me?
The slogans and tag lines were flying fast and furious by the early speakers. Dick Armie and Newt Gingrich provided more provocative and insightful speeches.
I will be the first to say that every American should be concerned about the level of government spending. But much of last night was barbed slogans to excite the crowd to yell cheers of support. This only plays into the stereotype of Republicans and does nothing to broaden the support with people that may not have supported your party, your agenda or your cause in the past. This is especially true when the barbed slogans have no basis in the current agenda or lack intellectual honesty.
When speakers complain about $800 billion to bail out the banks it is clear they do not understand how to correct a liquidity crisis by stabilizing the banking system. They have no knowledge of how Sweden set up “bad banks” for troubled assets to steer the banks back to health in the 90’s. If you don’t know what you’re talking about and you want to excite the base you resort to sound bites. I heard a lot of sound bites last night.
If you are trying to attract people to your cause, start with something to say that they are willing to hear. Sound bites are for the already faithful. Passion only works if the message is geared to the group you are trying to attract. What’s needed is a broader base of demographic support to build two viable parties. The passion and speeches were geared for the old white guys.
Listening to the speakers last night caused me great anxiety. As Zinger said last week, with education comes knowledge, with experience comes wisdom and when both are missing you are left with dependency and stupidity. For many of the speakers, both were missing.
The Democratic Party has fostered their relationship with the broader demographic. The Democrats are going to them by modifying their platform and bringing legislative proposals to meet the desires of African Americans, Latinos, illegal immigrants, and unions. As a good marketing expert would do, they have segmented the population and crafted customized messages and policies for them. The Republicans are holding on to the monolithic marketing model. Like Sears Roebuck and Company in consumer goods, The Republicans are hanging on to their core values hoping to attract voters to their vision of America versus the Democrats customizing their platform and policies for their targeted and segmented audiences needs. I am not taking sides saying which one is right, I think we can all guess which one will win. As long as the Democrats don't have a major failing, their marketing approach is sure to garner more votes.
The Republican model implies that the new demographic will see the value in stringent enforcement of work laws, border control, no amnesty for illegal immigrants, focus on business and not unions, country music, etc. Unless the Republicans can broaden their reach we will not have a balanced government or a balanced budget.
Conclusion:
The demographics are rapidly changing. Democrats have already responded with targeted messaging and policies. Repubicans appear to be clinging to their core values hoping to attract new voters. Unless the Republicans figure this out and and broaden their support, they run the risk of not being heard and not attracting the audience needed to win votes. Two parties create the natural tension that leads to better and balanced decisions. Like the sign said “If You Want A Balanced Budget, Elect A Balanced Government". Its now up to the Republicans to create the offering.
Today’s Zinger:
A Tree That Falls In The Forest Doesn’t Make A Sound Unless Someone Is There To Hear It.
Morning Briefing:
- A viable two party government is critical to ensure a balanced government. One party dominating has the potential to lead to fiscal irresponsibility and policy that ignores half of the citizens.
- The Republican Party is in disarray and yesterday’s “tea party” did nothing to change that.
The Facts:
- Thousands of people attended “tea parties” across the country on tax day to protest taxes and government policies.
- The crowds were primarily white and Republican.
- The demographics of the United States are rapidly changing with African Americans and Latinos (including estimated illegal immigrants) closing in on majority status (37%).
I attended a “tea party” yesterday. There were 15-20,000 like-minded individuals gathered to protest the recent increases in taxes and government regulation. I have to admit that I was exited about the event. Our collective voices gathered to garner the attention of our government (Washington, State and Local). Everyone wore red. There was a spirit of camaraderie amongst the attendees. I met people from many parts of the country that were in town for various reasons, (business, personal) and chose to attend the event with thousands of local participants.
As we walked to the designated gathering point, the steps of the State Capitol Building, we saw great anticipation on the faces of the participants. We saw people that we assumed were from all walks of life. There were rich and not so rich. Each person shared a goal; to be heard by the elected officials. Congress, state government and the President couldn’t ignore us.
I saw many signs carried by the participants. I made a special effort to pay attention. There was a large number of TEA signs “Taxed Enough Already” and “Read My Lipstick, No More Taxes”. There were young signs “Potheads Pay Taxes Too” and old signs “Forget Illness: Taxed To Death in Retirement”. But there was one sign that really caught my attention, “If You Want A Balanced Budget Elect A Balanced Government”. I stopped looking at the signs and started looking at the crowd. This poster made me think.
I started to think about Zingers in the-past two weeks. Certain themes came to mind:
- As a nation we need a viable two party system. When one party dominates the other (Republican or Democrat) we have had some on the biggest fiscal problems through overspending and policy that caters to a section of the country but tends to be focused on the few, load voices crying for their agenda.
- In order to have a viable two party system, we need two viable parties.
- People hear what supports their beliefs and ignore facts that are in conflict with their beliefs.
- The demographics of America are rapidly changing. Both parties must compete for this broader vote or forever become minority parties.
So let me be specific. Last night reinforced the old white guy party. There were some young people in the crowd but the vast majority were 40-60 years old and white. No Latinos, no Asian Americans. I did see one person that I believe was Native American. I saw three African Americans. I stayed close trying to overhear their conversation. I was curious as to their “triggers”. One wore an Obama tee shirt. The other two heckled and called the crowd stupid people. But most importantly, everyone was invited to the tea party and it was the normal tea party group that showed up. No black tea, no Chinese tea, no Latin pekoe tea. You get the idea.
Then the speakers started. I listened as one after another tried to excite the crowd espousing the stereotypical themes of the Republican Party. Lower taxes, lesser government, all played to the tune of country music. We heard about the Tax and Spend philosophy of Washington, government waste, pork barrel spending, mortgaging our children’s future. We also heard all of the other emotionally charged tag lines such as Jeremiah Wright, Turbo Tax Cheat Tim Geithner and of course the occasional Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Joe the Plumber, an unemployed, unlicensed plumber that gained national fame over his one question to candidate Barack Obama (redistribution of wealth) was also on hand to comment on President Obama’s foreign policy decisions. Are you kidding me?
The slogans and tag lines were flying fast and furious by the early speakers. Dick Armie and Newt Gingrich provided more provocative and insightful speeches.
I will be the first to say that every American should be concerned about the level of government spending. But much of last night was barbed slogans to excite the crowd to yell cheers of support. This only plays into the stereotype of Republicans and does nothing to broaden the support with people that may not have supported your party, your agenda or your cause in the past. This is especially true when the barbed slogans have no basis in the current agenda or lack intellectual honesty.
When speakers complain about $800 billion to bail out the banks it is clear they do not understand how to correct a liquidity crisis by stabilizing the banking system. They have no knowledge of how Sweden set up “bad banks” for troubled assets to steer the banks back to health in the 90’s. If you don’t know what you’re talking about and you want to excite the base you resort to sound bites. I heard a lot of sound bites last night.
If you are trying to attract people to your cause, start with something to say that they are willing to hear. Sound bites are for the already faithful. Passion only works if the message is geared to the group you are trying to attract. What’s needed is a broader base of demographic support to build two viable parties. The passion and speeches were geared for the old white guys.
Listening to the speakers last night caused me great anxiety. As Zinger said last week, with education comes knowledge, with experience comes wisdom and when both are missing you are left with dependency and stupidity. For many of the speakers, both were missing.
The Democratic Party has fostered their relationship with the broader demographic. The Democrats are going to them by modifying their platform and bringing legislative proposals to meet the desires of African Americans, Latinos, illegal immigrants, and unions. As a good marketing expert would do, they have segmented the population and crafted customized messages and policies for them. The Republicans are holding on to the monolithic marketing model. Like Sears Roebuck and Company in consumer goods, The Republicans are hanging on to their core values hoping to attract voters to their vision of America versus the Democrats customizing their platform and policies for their targeted and segmented audiences needs. I am not taking sides saying which one is right, I think we can all guess which one will win. As long as the Democrats don't have a major failing, their marketing approach is sure to garner more votes.
The Republican model implies that the new demographic will see the value in stringent enforcement of work laws, border control, no amnesty for illegal immigrants, focus on business and not unions, country music, etc. Unless the Republicans can broaden their reach we will not have a balanced government or a balanced budget.
Conclusion:
The demographics are rapidly changing. Democrats have already responded with targeted messaging and policies. Repubicans appear to be clinging to their core values hoping to attract new voters. Unless the Republicans figure this out and and broaden their support, they run the risk of not being heard and not attracting the audience needed to win votes. Two parties create the natural tension that leads to better and balanced decisions. Like the sign said “If You Want A Balanced Budget, Elect A Balanced Government". Its now up to the Republicans to create the offering.
After reading your posting on brain bias and political bias, I am left to wonder about your first point, i.e., the need for a balanced two-party system... Why must it be two? Why is there no room for a third party, perhaps more...?
And perhaps it's more than just the number of parties... both are prisoners of a system we've created that forces them to be supplicants to big money donors.
Repubs are making two big mistakes. You saw both at the tea party. They went too far in trying to woo Southern Dems since the 70s... Repub Party seems to be code for white-power party to many of its current constituents. Beyond the window-dressing as a values-based party, the driving value of the Repubs today is greed, not fiscal conservatism or any of its legacy values.
Their other mistake is they've put too much faith in the power of bullshit/spin... if you say it enough, it will be true. While it works on the campaign trail, it's no way to run a country or wage war. They've invested in cartoons as political leaders (Rush, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, O'Reilly...), building their following through entertainment and constant "us vs. them". Iraq was started and fought with this approach, "Mission Accomplished" being the most glaring testimony... if we say it loud enough and long enough, it will be true. Letting the clowns lead can only mean they've built a circus.
But as I said, I don't see this phenomenon as purely Repub... it's an extreme version of our political system, and Karl Rove led the charge to play the game harder and nastier than b4... Dems could just as easily produced him and an incurious President. Our society has shifted to a belief that if it's profitable, it must be better..and our society has shifted to superficiality over substance... look at the small number of folks who actually serve in the military, even at a time when our values and way of life is supposedly in danger.
I applaud your participation in the Tea Party and the postings. We need to get engaged in the process and serve. We need to live the legacy of those who came before us in order to sustain what they created.
Reply to this