What is an example of "assembly line" language?
If I want to talk about the economy, or national security, or abortion, or immigration—pick an issue—what is the right "assembly line" wording, and how does that differ from what leading Democratic politicians say about it?
If I want to talk about the economy, or national security, or abortion, or immigration—pick an issue—what is the right "assembly line" wording, and how does that differ from what leading Democratic politicians say about it?
Reposted from
Melissa Murray
So this is what we're doing now. Cool cool cool.
Comments
Slotkin is right that academic jargon has become too common in left-leaning spaces, and that such language is so impenetrable that regular people look at it as weird and off-putting.
Being on the same page as to what a word or phrase means is important.
Example: "personal responsibility"
Does that mean responsible for your own actions (what I believe) or responsible for yourself?
Not everyone agrees with me.
Important to agree on definitions.
“It doesn't make you a man to pick on trans or gay kids. It just makes you an asshole." -John Fetterman
the prescription should be that someone like him headlines and they ignore consultants
I'm extremely skeptical of the "One Weird Truck" recommendations, as if changing a few specific words in just the right way would've swung millions of votes.
Or maybe "don't do identity politics" doesn't mean deemphasize identity in your political pitch, and just means "be a white guy."
"Bread is too expensive."
"But mom, you know the war is a problem."
"Well, bread was cheaper four years ago."
"Prices go up when there's trouble, always have. You remember when gas prices jumped from .19/gal to .53/gal. It was rough."
"I remember. We did have to scrimp."
Looks like the move is to throw the people who are now the most vulnerable to the wolves. This is why I haven’t been able to stomach most of the post election punditry.
Even setting aside any moral questions, the numbers don't make sense.
When you ask Americans questions of what policies they support, they much more often side with dems policy platforms than they do with Republican platforms, but the language republicans use is often more enticing
A credit for first time homeowners wouldn't help most people, since most aren't trying to buy a first home. Ditto a credit for home health care.
Instead: "I will send everyone a yearly $1000 check, paid for by a billionaire tax"
Quite a few academics say things like "give people money" and "tax the billionaires."
It's not really a matter of language, it's a matter of focus.
"It’s not rocket science, but talking about those issues plainly, not from the faculty lounge, but from the assembly line, is, I think, a very important message"
And what makes you think the Harris campaign focused on identity politics, not kitchen table issues?
Was it when asked about Trump calling her "not really Black" and she said "same old, next question"? Or her proposal to cover at-home elder care costs?
I don't necessarily agree that Harris overused them, but I do think the economic side of the 2024 platform was uninspiring.
"Any party — and I can only represent the Democratic Party — needs to focus on the things that keep people up at night. That's their pocketbooks and their kids .. you've got to start with what keeps people awake, and that is kitchen-table issues, economics"
So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
From a Noah Smith article yesterday:
Also I can't help but notice that "working class" has been used quite a bit in recent years to refer to some born-rich Americans, at least as long as they espouse right-wing culture war views.
Latinks?
And with English or Spanish vowel pronunciation?
I don't know. But I do know that Harris, Walz, their website, and their main surrogates didn't use the word.
"Today, we welcome our friends and colleagues to the opening of this new community and resource center for the neighborhood. We appreciate all your the hard work."
"Our new community center is now open thanks to all of you!!"
Same concepts. Fewer words.
Stop diving into deep policy wonk, It turns people off.
Level with them, promise them relief, stop trying to not insult the other side. Make republican politicians the villains they are
Need short term projects with results
The post I quoted was about language.
I think you'll also find that a lot of people who recommend an "assembly line" or "working class" style think that Pete Buttigieg is a good example of who not to emulate.