Saturday's "Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear" was held as an oblique reference to the implicit insanity of the "Restoring Honor" rally earlier this year. At risk of reading too much into what were primarily entertainment events, I think they further evidence the fundamental difference in the way liberals and conservatives are talking to one another this election cycle...and why the Republicans will likely clean up tomorrow.
Laughter is liberating and calming and fun, but it rarely if ever changes anyone’s opinion. In fact, no study of the art of persuasion has ever found derision to be a useful strategy. We in the business world know that telling consumers that they're stupid for using a competing product isn't going to prompt an "aha" moment and convert them to using yours ("Egads, you're right, I've been a fool to use X shaving cream!"). Satire is a great way of making a point, presuming anyone is looking for one; more often than not, it comes across as condescension that hardens the positions and encourages the resolve of those whose opinions have been satirized.
Yet that has been exactly what many liberals have done when confronted with the ideas or passions of those who support Republican candidates. It’s a really stupid, self-defeating strategy, for at least three reasons:
- It doesn't work (see above)
- Not only does it fail to change anyone's positions, but it feeds many of the very fears that drive the rank-and-file while energizing the right-wing commentators who find great currency in being attacked or feeling aggrieved.
- It evidences an emotional distance among many liberals, who perhaps think that President Obama's "Change" agenda was a TV show they could watch and tsk-tsk about online. Going to a really great outdoor concert does not change make.
I know, I know, the Stewart/Colbert rally was also insightful, had a positive and inclusive message, the handheld signs weren't obnoxious, and it was only one event, but the event was fundamentally satirical while the object(s) of the satire are nothing but earnest. It was rich in the tongue-in-cheek laughter that comes from a lot of activist and news commentary sources on the Left.
Have you noticed that the Right rarely seems to be having any fun? They're trying to get candidates elected instead.
Remember that incident at a Rand Paul even a few weeks ago at which a Moveon.org activist got knocked to the ground? She'd spent the past few weeks working on a satirical campaign called "RepubliCorp" in which activities would get pictures taken of Republican candidates with faux payoff checks from their sinister corporate sponsors, thereby illustrating how their interests had merged. The idea is so satirically smart that it's great entertainment for the converted. It's absolutely awful as a tool for persuasive communications.
Moveon.org also produced a really cool commercial starring actress Olivia Wilde sending a message from a future in which Sarah Palin is President and the planet has gone to hell. "You can stop this from happening if you vote," she implores as RepubliCorp forces attack her hideout. You've got to be kidding me. I love Wilde and I'm a sucker for anything that sci-fi but this is atrocious stuff. Why the complicated, made-up backstory for the voting pitch?
Reality should be compelling enough.
Republican candidates seem united in their desire to reverse healthcare reform and financial markets regulation, support continued tax cuts, and ignore anything that hints at combating global warming. Various candidates ruminate about disbanding government departments and changing or deleting parts of the Constitution. It really doesn't matter whether they're right or wrong in their beliefs: their supporters think they have an idea of what actions their candidates will take, and they're fired up to get out tomorrow and vote so their choices can get to work.
What are the Democrats going to do in office again? Healthcare? Well, no, that topic is so toxic that no candidate is even mentioning it. Market regulation? Nope, we're all too beholden to big corporate interests to do anything about it. Taxes? Don't even mention it, because they're sorta for them, but not really. A national agenda for clean energy businesses? Er, you get the idea; we've got no idea of what actions these candidates will take, other than that they're not the actions the other guys have proposed.
Oh, and those other guys are nuts (insert derisive laughter from an outreach campaign or cable TV commentator), so vote for us.
I wrote back in July that the laughter strategy was bad for the public debate. The Republicans aren't nuts any more than the Democrats are smart, or visa versa. But the Republicans are seriously earnest, and they have successfully translated complex issues into simple, actionable statements that fit on placards and inspire action. This isn't a crime and it's not silly. It's smart, focused marketing, and it would do any corporate brand proud.
Conversely, the Democrats have chosen to ignore their two-year legislative record and apply their skills to proposing an agenda for...well...there's no agenda to speak of, as far as I can see. They've given voters some great creative campaigns and comedic shtick to keep them entertained, but they've failed to provide an actionable call to get them to the polls.
Here's a telling contrast: can you imagine Democratic activists at a town hall meeting shouting down the speaker because he or she doesn't believe in global warming? The Olivia Wilde spot isn't even viewable on the Moveon.org website; you have to sign-up as a "friend" on Facebook to watch it, where you can chuckle with like-minded believers. Maybe the spot will win an advertising award at Cannes next year.
I don't think the Democrats will do much winning in tomorrow's election, however. Maybe the results will convince them that laughter isn't enough, and that they need to figure out how to advocate for issues in serious, passionate and, yes, sometimes simplified, shorthand ways.
The country needs them to stop enjoying the show and get involved for real.
(Image credit: I found this shot from this weekend's rally from a Flickr site)
