People Aren't Stupid!

There are good reasons Ronald Reagan, the 40^th president, was known as the great communicator. He knew how to read a room, adjusting his message and adding a dollop of truth when it served his purpose.

True, he did some serious damage to this country, bankrupting many worthwhile programs with his “Trickle-down economics.” Still, you had to hand it to the man when it came to messaging.

With 40+ years in marketing, I can appreciate the opportunities presented by coming up with a single message, then saying it repeatedly until people believe it’s true. The current resident of the White House is also a master of the art, very effectively using big lies to persuade millions that whatever he says is the only truth.

Historical note: “The big lie” is a German expression first used by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf to describe how people could be induced to believe so colossal a lie because they would not believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously."

But I digress. In addition to my professional training, I also earned an undergraduate degree in political science (GWU, ’80). So perhaps it was inevitable that the two eventually converged in my mind.

In 1982, I’d sometimes wonder why President Reagan didn’t just declare his recession over and move on. My naivete suggested him repeating that message would make everything align itself properly.  

Of course, things don’t work that way in real life. Prices keep going up, real people feel that pain, and smart politicians adjust their message accordingly.

That’s why, just before the 1982 mid-term election, Mr. Reagan spoke to the nation and acknowledged that “This recession has been deeper and more stubborn than any since the Great Depression.” He then observed “For the unemployed, recession is not a statistic — it’s a tragedy.”

The mid-term election was held 20 days later. And despite large Republican losses in the House that day, the GOP held the Senate, which proved crucial for Reagan’s legislative agenda. His ability to communicate, and to reach across partisan lines, contributed to that success.

Mr. Trump is trying to pull the same trick, declaring there’s no recession and everything is just fine. Only people have grown wise to him, and he’s no Ronald Reagan. He lacks the ability to negotiate, empathize, or try to satisfy the needs of anyone other than himself.

Said Greg Buzinski, retired from sales in Wilkes-Barre, PA, after Trump’s recent speech in Pennsylvania, “We’ve seen the prices go up and stay up. No matter how many times he says different, we know the reality.”

And THERE is our opportunity! During Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, strategist James Carville coined the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid!” This is as true today as it was 30 years ago, and is the one thing we – as a group - need to focus on.

Because Trump can scream all he likes that affordability is a hoax, but the reality is that people are living and dying based on the economy. The economy he promised to fix on day one. The economy he and his team have no idea how to handle.

If the Democrat Party as a whole can get its messaging figured out about this critical issue, it may not be too long before our Republican friends are living through this scene from the movie Animal House.

Now THAT is a future we can all live with!

See you at the ballot box!

Rob