The Democrats finally got their act together about messaging! I was delighted to read an Atlantic article about their House leader Hakeem Jeffries, which explains that they were making a point to focus on a single, unifying storyline: affordability.
This is a powerful message. It relates to people’s everyday lives, what with prices so absurdly high, and it relates to our common values. And it’s simple. The problems are Trump’s fault (the war with Iran raising prices on oil, the tariffs on lots of things). The problems are the fault of the Republican Party for not reining him in. And it’s wrong that Trump and his allies are getting (even more) rich off the rest of us.
One thing it’s important to recognize is that this isn’t a Democrat message, it’s more of an umbrella message. It’s designed to encompass everyone who’s unhappy with Trump and says nothing about what the Democrats would offer instead, except for “Different from Trump.” But that’s okay for now, especially because a key part of the Democrats’ message is their intention to meet the needs of a wide variety of Americans: working people, people of color, and people who are in some way non-traditional, whether by nature or by choice.
The Right has its umbrella, too, which I find even more improbable. It somehow encompasses libertarians (who just want to be left alone to make as much money as they can), conservative Christians (who want to keep things traditional), and outright racists and sexists (who can’t bear the idea of Black people or women in positions of power over them).
One of the main unifiers for the Republicans has been an us-vs-them storyline, casting the Democrats as a strange “them.” In many states where the Democrats now finally have power, after many decades, they have the opportunity to correct that image – as long as they can stay focused about their messaging.
I understand that the Japanese don’t like the U.S. media’s description of the election results as a “tsunami,” because for them a tsunami is a natural disaster.
That makes sense, but for us here in Eugene, Oregon, Tsunami is also a cherished neighborhood bookstore. As you can see from their calendar, Tsunami Books is not only a great place for book-shopping but also a community gathering place. I’ve attended numerous concerts and book-talks there (like this one), and even a play, once, when our local Trek Theater dramatized part of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. That was my one and only cosplay experience – just like Arthur Dent, my partner and I showed up in our bathrobes!
A few months ago, a couple of us customers asked the bookstore’s founding owner, Scott, why he named it Tsunami. It was for the view of Spencer Butte, which overlooks the southeastern part of Eugene – it reminded him of Fujiyama in Hokusai’s famous painting, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
The reason I’m posting at length about Tsunami Books is because they’ve spent this year on a fundraising campaign to buy their building. If you, too, value independent bookstores, here’s their donation page, and here’s another. I hope to see you there someday.
