Hacks on Tap
Quit repeating Republican talking points...
One of my favorite podcasts is Hacks on Tap with Michael Murphy, David Axelrod, and Robert Gibbs. Murphy is a well-known Republican strategist. Axelrod and Gibbs were senior advisors in the Obama administration.
I love hearing the old “war stories” of past campaigns and their insights into the current presidential race. I am especially interested in hearing what they have to say about the Republican candidates and their chances to be the nominee. I’m also interested in how their impressions differ from what I see and hear on the ground here in Iowa. I have already lost count of how many Republican candidate events I have attended, and what the Hacks say and what I see happening sometimes diverge.
A couple of weeks ago they had an interesting episode titled “Show Me Your Strategy (with Heidi Heitkamp). Heitkamp is a former Senator from North Dakota. If you start listening at about the 45-minute mark you will hear them say that the Democratic party needs to invest more in rural campaigns. They are spot on.
Then Axelrod said something that caught my attention.
I think the Democratic party has become too much of a cosmopolitan, you know college-educated sort of look-down-your-nose party and...basically, signals have been sent to small-town and rural voters that we're not really that interested in you.
Axelrod is repeating a Republican talking point.
National Democrats should invest more in rural candidates, as the Hacks say, but Democratic policies are very interested in rural people because their policies are helping rural people every day. And while I don’t know about urban Democrats there is nothing about rural Democrats that’s elitist. Some are poor, some are better off, some are college educated, some are not.
Biden has done more for rural America than Trump ever did, and Biden’s economic policies and foreign policies are working. Biden’s climate-smart agriculture plan is a huge investment in rural America, as are his infrastructure efforts. Biden is rebuilding rural America.
Warren County, Iowa Democrats in a parade in Lacona, Iowa in 2022.
Furthermore, as can be seen by the sign above, Democratic policies have helped rural America for generations. Republicans? They want to kill or gut most of these programs that Americans value.
The moral? Hacks, please don’t repeat Republican talking points about Democrats. They are lies.
Last night, fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Laura Belen and I spoke at a potluck hosted by the Iowa Farmer’s Union in Elkhart. It was a terrific event, and I am proud to be a member of the organization (you don’t have to be a farmer…please consider joining).
Laura always offers great insights, and I enjoy being on a panel with her. At the conclusion, Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman asked us to share something hopeful about the political scene in Iowa.
I love our country, my nature, in general, is to be hopeful, and in closing, I chose to read a slightly modified message about American and Democratic values that I have presented before. You may well see it again. I hope so. Here it is…
Don’t self-doubt, don’t throw your hands up in the air, complain, or quit. That’s precisely what the Republicans not only want you to do; they expect you to. Know that your values are America’s values when we are at our best, and with them, you win. Our nation wins.
While there is much yet to be done, Democrats should be proud of how much the party has accomplished in the face of great opposition; it’s the party of Civil Rights, Social Security, Medicare, and Obamacare. The party of the American worker and their families, of greater opportunity for more and more Americans, what it stands for, and its values:
For democracy and love of country in a time of insurrection, for voting rights in a time of voter suppression, for public education and libraries when they are under attack, for smart government being part of the solution, not the problem. For a free and honest press in a time of misinformation and lies, for historical truths in a time when they are being outlawed, for a true and deep understanding of our civil rights history, for our for freedom to worship how one sees fit under the rising threat of theocratic authoritarian rule. For reproductive freedom in a time when fourth-grade girls are forced to give birth, women miscarry, even die because their medical treatment is banned. Where healthcare is a right, not a privilege, where clean water, clean air, and climate solutions are possible, where taxation doesn’t favor the rich, where equal opportunity is for all, and where your chances in life aren’t determined by your ZIP code, race, gender, faith, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
This is your identity, and a declaration, if you want it. A declaration for all Americans who want to save democracy and make the world a better, more humane place. Take it, make it your own, grow it, and build on it as more outrages are forced upon our nation. Sing it with pride where you worship. Shout it from street corners, corn and cotton fields, from shrimp boats and tug boats, from construction sites to restaurant countertops. Beat it on your desk and keyboard, and dance it until you can dance no more.
If these are your values, share your belief that these should be our American values and our future will be democratic. To save democracy and lead the world, you must not accept defeat.
Your values are those most Americans believe in, down to their very bones. Know this.
Your values can play everywhere, including in rural America. Believe in this. Believe in yourself. Believe in America. Never quit.
Earlier versions of the above have run in the Des Moines Register and The New York Times.
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Thanks for this wonderful statement, Bob. Good to be reminded and to have hope.
Thanks again for the reminder that we must NOT QUIT STANDING UP for decency and reason and equality.