So often in politics, particularly when it comes to major legislative proposals that become big legislative wins, we think that messaging the whole bill will drive the polls and public opinion. Unfortunately, as Democrats should have learned from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), that assumption can be a big mistake.
In fact, it not only can prove to be a less efficient and effective game plan, it also can leave us open to a dizzying array of focused, if baseless, attacks on individual parts of the proposal that end up tainting the whole.
Fast forward to today and you’ll see Republicans trying to demonize the Biden/Harris agenda (and Democrats in general) the same way they attacked the ACA more than a decade ago. Keep in mind, the ACA was one of the main reasons that Democrats lost so many seats in 2010 — but also was largely responsible for the party regaining congressional majorities in 2018. Why? Because we started laying it out piece by piece and voters saw why it mattered.
That’s why it’s so important that, while Republicans try to engage in an abstract battle against “big government,” we focus on the individual, real world wins.
Let them tout the philosophical; we’ll win the fight by talking about the practical and, to do that, we must effectively message the details, piece by piece, so that they are digestible and relatable to everyday Americans who will benefit the most.
In fact, according to a recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll:
- 54 percent of Americans support the plan to invest $369 billion in climate and clean energy programs over the next 10 years;
- 54 percent support charging a fee to the oil and gas industry for excessive methane emissions;
- 59 percent support investing $60 billion in new incentives for clean energy manufacturing in the United States;
- 61 percent support putting a 15 percent corporate tax minimum on companies that usually have paid little, if any, taxes because of credits and deductions;
- 72 percent support limiting annual out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries to $2,000, and 73 percent support allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices; and
- 76 percent of Americans support capping prescription drug prices.
All of these are key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark legislation to tackle climate change, reduce inflation and lower health care costs that President Biden signed into law last week.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Biden’s signing the legislation is a big deal, particularly since it capped off what Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calls “one of the most productive stretches in Senate history.”
It’s easy to get lost in the celebration of the moment and the fanfare that follows. It’s like a sugar high. But we all know how harmful too much sugar can be in the long run. In fact, in this case, it could lead to “political diabetes.”
That’s why we have to message these big-ticket measures in piecemeal and demonstrate without a doubt that these are the “vitamins and minerals” we need, instead of just “empty calories.” We have to build our long-term political bill of health on the “protein and calcium of real change” that matters to people, instead of the candy bar-rhetoric we hear so often from our opponents.
It’s not easy and it doesn’t always provide quick results. But it can be effective and, more importantly, long-lasting. How do you build a future? The same way you “eat an elephant,” as Desmond Tutu wisely said: “A bite at a time.” Just as life can sometimes seem daunting, overwhelming, or even impossible, we can take this on a little at a time, piece by piece.
Antjuan Seawright is a Democratic political strategist, founder and CEO of Blueprint Strategy LLC, a CBS News political contributor, and a senior visiting fellow at Third Way. Follow him on Twitter @antjuansea.