Do you consider Grassley and Ernst as having the blue collar background? If so, maybe that’s partly why they get elected with support of young men? That background is part of Sage’s campaign but didn’t seem to work for Bohanan twice.
According to Rolling Stone, “Speaking With American Men” is being led by Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and an adviser to Biden’s 2020 campaign. The project’s fundraising pitch lists former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), a one-time NFL player who lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz last year, as part of the SAM Project team."
One might note: Donor table meetings are always frustrating. I give this national Democratic donor and leadership meeting credit because they appear to be making their decisions at least somewhat in public. In addition, they are tackling a well known challenge, i.e., the culture wars. But! FOX News needs credit because it was first to write and first to identify the project. After that, everyone piled on.
The national "young men" project is a two-year strategic effort to win young men back to the Democratic Party. The $20 million is budgeted not only for research but also for outreach, organizing efforts, and communications. Considering the four categories together, $20 million isn't unreasonable.
In contrast, Iowa's donor table does not seem to make its decision publicly; instead, it appears to be Iowa's wealthy and generous Dems chatting amongst themselves. They make their decisions early, without evaluating how campaigns progress, e.g., when Kamala was only Three Points out in Iowa, they sat on their hands ... "too late to do anything." Well, that was wrong. And once again, just like they did two cycles ago in our most recent Senate race, they refused to close the deal.
Republicans played their "culture wars" cards extremely well in the last election and FOX is already on board to help them. All too many Democratic voters (including young men but also others) got caught in them. Now -- proof of the pudding, people are angrily saying things like, "But I didn't vote for cuts in Medicaid" or "But I didn't think they would cancel USDA contracts."
But yes, these voters did vote for these cuts and cancellations. Votes have consequences.
Now, in Iowa, we have the three open seats, the gov race, the Secretary of State race, and now Joni who plans for people to die sooner rather than later. To win these, we will have to pay special attention to the 4th CD. Statewide races cannot be won if the 4th is ignored. We have
to have a strong candidate there and we have to have all the state legislative races contested.
Is the IDP even breathing? This is their job. The IDP couldn't even offer training for county chairs last time, and they mistakenly thought their only job was to convince Dems to vote -- nooooo! The IDP needs to reach out to Independents and swing voters. Of course, at least they tried. Two cycles ago, the IDP did not pass the mirror test at all..
At the state level, it remains to be seen whether the party will get busy and fill the Democratic ticket with candidates for the legislature and county offices. The IDP must wake up and do its job. However, I am not seeing much in the way of signs that this is happening. It's mostly the Einstein approach -- doing the same things over and over again while expecting a different result. Under normal circumstances, we call this insanity.
Just sitting around the kitchen table and talking is not enough. We need real roll-up-your-sleeves work from the IDP.
Bob's version of what is wrong is far cleaner than what I would tell! Having a little "skin" in the game when I was a lot younger, hanging around those who would potentially lead us in some form or another as democrats, they left crumbs of thoughts that I found disturbing. Many truly wanted to "do the campaign" like the republicans! They didn't want to stand in drizzling rain or sleet at the factory gate shaking hands, even door knocking was felt to be beneath them as a way to get a vote or two. TV was the way to go! but that takes money, and everyone knew the Democrats weren't people with money, and if they had any, they didn't waste it on campaigns! As it is important to note, money continues to be hard to get, and the more you ask, the less likely you are to get any! Those in charge seem to think concentrating in the most populous regions of the state is the answer, and cutting off the rural districts from availability to those running, isn't helping either! I live in a county that has only one Democratic Supervisor, Like the rest of the state government he is it! Yet, when asked to be the temporary chair for the county caucus, he refused! That alone told me he needs to go! He obviously is doing well with the counties health care plan and other benefits of the job, but won't put himself out for a very short term job for the party that elected him? And some wonder why I supported Bernie Sanders for President TWICE!!!
I don't understand. Working class Republicans vote regularly for people who OWN those luxury hotels. You don't hear all the farmers with their big Trump signs complaining about how out of touch he is with the working class even though he clearly has never lifted a manicured finger to do an honest day's work in his life. If elitism is the big problem Democrats say it is, why are the Republicans in power?
Consultant money grab is a correct way to put it. And why do Dems fall for this? Maybe (both parties) have fallen in to the money grab and consultant politics instead of grass root messaging and campaigning. Dunb-fuckery comes to mind.
What if they decided to use, lets say ISU facilities in Ames as a meeting place for this very subject. Something in the middle of the country and non-pretentious. What a better message to the party.
Will Rogers had it right, He didn't belong to any organized political party, he was a Democrat! Well, being a democrat these days is more like blind folded pin the tail on the donkey by a bunch of overpaid smart asses with no common sense! Certainly everybody wants efficency the issues at hand are not yours! However, many issues that are yours, are not those of your fellow democrats! Which means the politics of being poorer and working class simply take time to get it right. I'm 75 and can remember going to 2nd District Conventions on a Saturday morning and not adjourning until Monday morning and the Convention went day and night! Middle class and upper crusty Democrats didn't want to sit until 2 AM to hear the arguments over the war, for and against! They wanted to be included, but didn't want to wait for the opportunity, That simply meant to them they had to reduce all this down to getting things over with at a decent hour and end all this "democracy" for people whose needs were "different" and if there needs came up at 3AM, they were by God going to be there to fight for those issues! You would never guess who those people were, when you goto conventions today, because they aren't there anymore! Arguments about the right way to talk aren't going to bring them back, but at the moment you will see a resurgance in the streets at the protests of the very people the talking heads can't attract to their idea of democracy! Bernie Sanders understands this, but few others do in the Party leadership. Stop talking and start listening! Bernie gave teh microphone to the people who came and asked questions and they answered! He tailred their responses into legislation that covered their concerns, his support was as "grass roots " as you could find. It didn't take some specialist to get to the point with the proper speech that costs a pile of money! I quit the Central Committee years ago because the only time the party wanted something from me, I could feel their hand in my pocket but they never asked me what I thought and frankly, they didn't give a damned what I thought! So after five years I said enough! Others have done the same!
Good math. The $20 million will be spread over four areas: research, outreach, organizing efforts, and communications, so maybe not 285, but with planning, 200 would be great!
Why do I feel absolutely certain that the common sense stated here with such perfect reasoning, devoid of most multi syllabic words, not gobbledygooked with corporate speak, will be unintelligible or simply ignored and thrown away like crumpled paper by those who need to understand it the most? Because I’ve sat at those tables in high rise office buildings, at polished tables with soft cushioned chairs, attended by people with impressive titles, in important meetings, where all good ideas go to die. You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows. And, we can’t afford any more time letting consultants tell us it’s raining, while they’re pissing in our ears. I learned long ago that most consultants steal your wallet to tell you how much money you had, take your watch and tell you what time it is, then charge you for the pleasure of their advice. Enough nonsense. Hire good people and you’ll get good results.
This is a real danger. Talking local is really important. One test coming up soon with the DNC is whether the same ol' coastal people, mostly from the coasts and NE, will be hired or will the DNC reach out for new blood from the states we lost.
We just got trolled. By the NYT. This sounds ridiculous. The article is INTENDED to sound ridiculous.
The vast majority of conference hotels in NYC or DC are luxury hotels. Since the most obvious location for a DNC conference is in DC and since it is a conference it is going to be in a luxury hotel. Even if the conference were in, say, Des Moines, it would still have to be in a conference hotel with large enough rooms and tech capacity.
The price tag for the research proposal sounds high, but we don’t know what is in it. Having done such research (and as a frequent reader of it) the price sounds high. However, what it means is learning how to effectively communicate with people who didn’t go to college and who don’t use standard English. That used to be a class issue, but no longer is. Pretending that communication is strictly a matter of class or wealth is part of the problem.
Biden spoke working class. If you read his old committee transcripts and speeches (to say nothing of his off mike anger) it’s there. Obama spoke working class when he wanted to. Bill Clinton WAS working class and a red neck to boot.
I strongly suspect that the $20M price tag is for something more than studying syntax, since syntax is not the actual problem.
Agreed. The $20 million will be spent on four things: research, outreach, organizing efforts, and communications. The key to success will center on who develops the research questions and who hires the grassroots organizers. Local and rural input is vital.
I just think it is a ridiculous amount of money going to political consultants, not sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, linguists, etc. who could actually address the issue. And it's part of a pattern, as I suggest.
I agree. There are skilled social scientists with decades of expertise who could be immensely helpful. I follow The Frameworks Institute and they are an excellent example. Even commercial marketing specialists would have more useful ideas than most political consultants. I am equally baffled at the incredibly poor choices the national party has made since 2012.
The NYTimes has devolved into that crazy uncle syndrome where he is chuckled at by family members until that one time he accidentally makes sense. This wasn’t one of those times!
Now that you've mentioned it, I would absolutely love to see what a DNC-designed working class Duolingo looks like. Now there's a million dollar app idea.
I stopped giving to the Dem establishment decades ago. They have been totally out of touch with the working class voters for ages. No wonder their base is eroding. It is their own damn fault for not listening. They bombard us with fear-mongering and/or nagging requests for money at a constant. I now make small donations to candidates all over the U.S. who I feel reflect progressive values. It is disgraceful to see the Dems listening to the likes of James Carville and Rahm Emanuel, who are even more out of touch than Schumer, FFS.
Schumer gets the award for being the most out-of-touch. Recently, I did a bit of research about Schumer. I wondered just how often he gets to the Midwest, so I Googled his appearances in ND, SC, NE, KS, MO, and IA. Answer: Twice—in Iowa, once for Hillary in 2016 and in 2009, when he went hunting with then-Senator Ben Nelson. Unless the New York zoo has cows and pigs, I doubt he could tell the difference.
1. The line in Tom Lehrer's satirical song about National Brotherhood Day, "Oh yes, be kind to people who are inferior to you."
2. The time I went to a New Year's Eve party in a very humble home of working class black folks dressed in everyday attire, along with a few white people like me in casual clothes, and one young white lady in a satin, floor length evening gown accessorized with heels and expensive jewelry. Her first words were "Oh dear."
She said little except, "This is my first time eating Soul Food." The other white folks stifled guffaws while the blacks looked at each other quizzically and back to her. She pointed to a plate of collard greens and repeated, "Soul Food?" The black folks all nodded knowingly as if to say, "Oh yeah, now I remember, I almost forgot that's what white people think we call it."
Do you consider Grassley and Ernst as having the blue collar background? If so, maybe that’s partly why they get elected with support of young men? That background is part of Sage’s campaign but didn’t seem to work for Bohanan twice.
According to Rolling Stone, “Speaking With American Men” is being led by Ilyse Hogue, the former president of the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, and John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and an adviser to Biden’s 2020 campaign. The project’s fundraising pitch lists former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), a one-time NFL player who lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz last year, as part of the SAM Project team."
One might note: Donor table meetings are always frustrating. I give this national Democratic donor and leadership meeting credit because they appear to be making their decisions at least somewhat in public. In addition, they are tackling a well known challenge, i.e., the culture wars. But! FOX News needs credit because it was first to write and first to identify the project. After that, everyone piled on.
The national "young men" project is a two-year strategic effort to win young men back to the Democratic Party. The $20 million is budgeted not only for research but also for outreach, organizing efforts, and communications. Considering the four categories together, $20 million isn't unreasonable.
In contrast, Iowa's donor table does not seem to make its decision publicly; instead, it appears to be Iowa's wealthy and generous Dems chatting amongst themselves. They make their decisions early, without evaluating how campaigns progress, e.g., when Kamala was only Three Points out in Iowa, they sat on their hands ... "too late to do anything." Well, that was wrong. And once again, just like they did two cycles ago in our most recent Senate race, they refused to close the deal.
Republicans played their "culture wars" cards extremely well in the last election and FOX is already on board to help them. All too many Democratic voters (including young men but also others) got caught in them. Now -- proof of the pudding, people are angrily saying things like, "But I didn't vote for cuts in Medicaid" or "But I didn't think they would cancel USDA contracts."
But yes, these voters did vote for these cuts and cancellations. Votes have consequences.
Now, in Iowa, we have the three open seats, the gov race, the Secretary of State race, and now Joni who plans for people to die sooner rather than later. To win these, we will have to pay special attention to the 4th CD. Statewide races cannot be won if the 4th is ignored. We have
to have a strong candidate there and we have to have all the state legislative races contested.
Is the IDP even breathing? This is their job. The IDP couldn't even offer training for county chairs last time, and they mistakenly thought their only job was to convince Dems to vote -- nooooo! The IDP needs to reach out to Independents and swing voters. Of course, at least they tried. Two cycles ago, the IDP did not pass the mirror test at all..
At the state level, it remains to be seen whether the party will get busy and fill the Democratic ticket with candidates for the legislature and county offices. The IDP must wake up and do its job. However, I am not seeing much in the way of signs that this is happening. It's mostly the Einstein approach -- doing the same things over and over again while expecting a different result. Under normal circumstances, we call this insanity.
Just sitting around the kitchen table and talking is not enough. We need real roll-up-your-sleeves work from the IDP.
well said. I give only to Iowa candidates and my county party. they need it and will spend it well.
Bob's version of what is wrong is far cleaner than what I would tell! Having a little "skin" in the game when I was a lot younger, hanging around those who would potentially lead us in some form or another as democrats, they left crumbs of thoughts that I found disturbing. Many truly wanted to "do the campaign" like the republicans! They didn't want to stand in drizzling rain or sleet at the factory gate shaking hands, even door knocking was felt to be beneath them as a way to get a vote or two. TV was the way to go! but that takes money, and everyone knew the Democrats weren't people with money, and if they had any, they didn't waste it on campaigns! As it is important to note, money continues to be hard to get, and the more you ask, the less likely you are to get any! Those in charge seem to think concentrating in the most populous regions of the state is the answer, and cutting off the rural districts from availability to those running, isn't helping either! I live in a county that has only one Democratic Supervisor, Like the rest of the state government he is it! Yet, when asked to be the temporary chair for the county caucus, he refused! That alone told me he needs to go! He obviously is doing well with the counties health care plan and other benefits of the job, but won't put himself out for a very short term job for the party that elected him? And some wonder why I supported Bernie Sanders for President TWICE!!!
I don't understand. Working class Republicans vote regularly for people who OWN those luxury hotels. You don't hear all the farmers with their big Trump signs complaining about how out of touch he is with the working class even though he clearly has never lifted a manicured finger to do an honest day's work in his life. If elitism is the big problem Democrats say it is, why are the Republicans in power?
Because it’s a cult is the only explanation I have.
I suppose Chuck Grassley considers himself as a part of the 2%
Consultant money grab is a correct way to put it. And why do Dems fall for this? Maybe (both parties) have fallen in to the money grab and consultant politics instead of grass root messaging and campaigning. Dunb-fuckery comes to mind.
What if they decided to use, lets say ISU facilities in Ames as a meeting place for this very subject. Something in the middle of the country and non-pretentious. What a better message to the party.
Will Rogers had it right, He didn't belong to any organized political party, he was a Democrat! Well, being a democrat these days is more like blind folded pin the tail on the donkey by a bunch of overpaid smart asses with no common sense! Certainly everybody wants efficency the issues at hand are not yours! However, many issues that are yours, are not those of your fellow democrats! Which means the politics of being poorer and working class simply take time to get it right. I'm 75 and can remember going to 2nd District Conventions on a Saturday morning and not adjourning until Monday morning and the Convention went day and night! Middle class and upper crusty Democrats didn't want to sit until 2 AM to hear the arguments over the war, for and against! They wanted to be included, but didn't want to wait for the opportunity, That simply meant to them they had to reduce all this down to getting things over with at a decent hour and end all this "democracy" for people whose needs were "different" and if there needs came up at 3AM, they were by God going to be there to fight for those issues! You would never guess who those people were, when you goto conventions today, because they aren't there anymore! Arguments about the right way to talk aren't going to bring them back, but at the moment you will see a resurgance in the streets at the protests of the very people the talking heads can't attract to their idea of democracy! Bernie Sanders understands this, but few others do in the Party leadership. Stop talking and start listening! Bernie gave teh microphone to the people who came and asked questions and they answered! He tailred their responses into legislation that covered their concerns, his support was as "grass roots " as you could find. It didn't take some specialist to get to the point with the proper speech that costs a pile of money! I quit the Central Committee years ago because the only time the party wanted something from me, I could feel their hand in my pocket but they never asked me what I thought and frankly, they didn't give a damned what I thought! So after five years I said enough! Others have done the same!
Hey, ChatGPT, how many field workers could $20mm pay for? 📊 Assumptions:
Average salary: $55,000 per year (a middle estimate based on national data)
Benefits, taxes, equipment, travel: Typically adds 20–30%, so let’s estimate total cost per organizer at $70,000/year
💰 $20 million / $70,000 per organizer = ~285 field organizers
This means:
$20 million would fund approximately 285 full-time field organizers for one year, including benefits and expenses.
If roles were seasonal (e.g., 6 months before an election), you could fund ~570 organizers for that shorter term.
Good math. The $20 million will be spread over four areas: research, outreach, organizing efforts, and communications, so maybe not 285, but with planning, 200 would be great!
Why do I feel absolutely certain that the common sense stated here with such perfect reasoning, devoid of most multi syllabic words, not gobbledygooked with corporate speak, will be unintelligible or simply ignored and thrown away like crumpled paper by those who need to understand it the most? Because I’ve sat at those tables in high rise office buildings, at polished tables with soft cushioned chairs, attended by people with impressive titles, in important meetings, where all good ideas go to die. You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows. And, we can’t afford any more time letting consultants tell us it’s raining, while they’re pissing in our ears. I learned long ago that most consultants steal your wallet to tell you how much money you had, take your watch and tell you what time it is, then charge you for the pleasure of their advice. Enough nonsense. Hire good people and you’ll get good results.
This is a real danger. Talking local is really important. One test coming up soon with the DNC is whether the same ol' coastal people, mostly from the coasts and NE, will be hired or will the DNC reach out for new blood from the states we lost.
We just got trolled. By the NYT. This sounds ridiculous. The article is INTENDED to sound ridiculous.
The vast majority of conference hotels in NYC or DC are luxury hotels. Since the most obvious location for a DNC conference is in DC and since it is a conference it is going to be in a luxury hotel. Even if the conference were in, say, Des Moines, it would still have to be in a conference hotel with large enough rooms and tech capacity.
The price tag for the research proposal sounds high, but we don’t know what is in it. Having done such research (and as a frequent reader of it) the price sounds high. However, what it means is learning how to effectively communicate with people who didn’t go to college and who don’t use standard English. That used to be a class issue, but no longer is. Pretending that communication is strictly a matter of class or wealth is part of the problem.
Biden spoke working class. If you read his old committee transcripts and speeches (to say nothing of his off mike anger) it’s there. Obama spoke working class when he wanted to. Bill Clinton WAS working class and a red neck to boot.
I strongly suspect that the $20M price tag is for something more than studying syntax, since syntax is not the actual problem.
Agreed. The $20 million will be spent on four things: research, outreach, organizing efforts, and communications. The key to success will center on who develops the research questions and who hires the grassroots organizers. Local and rural input is vital.
The organizers need to be local.
I just think it is a ridiculous amount of money going to political consultants, not sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, linguists, etc. who could actually address the issue. And it's part of a pattern, as I suggest.
I agree. There are skilled social scientists with decades of expertise who could be immensely helpful. I follow The Frameworks Institute and they are an excellent example. Even commercial marketing specialists would have more useful ideas than most political consultants. I am equally baffled at the incredibly poor choices the national party has made since 2012.
Drew Westen and George Lakoff are two people I would like involved.
The NYTimes has devolved into that crazy uncle syndrome where he is chuckled at by family members until that one time he accidentally makes sense. This wasn’t one of those times!
Now that you've mentioned it, I would absolutely love to see what a DNC-designed working class Duolingo looks like. Now there's a million dollar app idea.
I love this! Pop! Soda! Coke! Which should you ask for when you are in which locality?
I’m a lifelong Midwesterner and even I have trouble code-switching on pop vs. soda sometimes haha, so this would be very helpful for me.
I stopped giving to the Dem establishment decades ago. They have been totally out of touch with the working class voters for ages. No wonder their base is eroding. It is their own damn fault for not listening. They bombard us with fear-mongering and/or nagging requests for money at a constant. I now make small donations to candidates all over the U.S. who I feel reflect progressive values. It is disgraceful to see the Dems listening to the likes of James Carville and Rahm Emanuel, who are even more out of touch than Schumer, FFS.
Schumer gets the award for being the most out-of-touch. Recently, I did a bit of research about Schumer. I wondered just how often he gets to the Midwest, so I Googled his appearances in ND, SC, NE, KS, MO, and IA. Answer: Twice—in Iowa, once for Hillary in 2016 and in 2009, when he went hunting with then-Senator Ben Nelson. Unless the New York zoo has cows and pigs, I doubt he could tell the difference.
A couple of associations this article triggered:
1. The line in Tom Lehrer's satirical song about National Brotherhood Day, "Oh yes, be kind to people who are inferior to you."
2. The time I went to a New Year's Eve party in a very humble home of working class black folks dressed in everyday attire, along with a few white people like me in casual clothes, and one young white lady in a satin, floor length evening gown accessorized with heels and expensive jewelry. Her first words were "Oh dear."
She said little except, "This is my first time eating Soul Food." The other white folks stifled guffaws while the blacks looked at each other quizzically and back to her. She pointed to a plate of collard greens and repeated, "Soul Food?" The black folks all nodded knowingly as if to say, "Oh yeah, now I remember, I almost forgot that's what white people think we call it."
“Total dumbassery” - you nailed it, Dr. Bob 🤦♀️