Thread by @DanteAtkins

Whether you supported Fetterman in the primary or not, you have to acknowledge that he understands how to message and campaign in a way that resonates and has an impact, and that's something most Dems haven't figured out. Here's what I mean: 1/x

2/x he has taken one issue--the issue of Mehmet Oz' residency--and crushed him with it across every possible communications channel. From flyovers to trolling with Snooki, to more traditional communications, he has taken one particular point and hammered it.

3/x and that issue isn't a kitchen table issue, social issue, or a legal issue. It's not a policy issue at all! But it is an issue that speaks to authenticity and character that serves as a direct contrast to Fetterman himself.

4/x Oz is a multimillionaire Hollywood celebrity from New Jersey who parachuted across the river to run for Senate, and Fetterman is an authentic blue-collar Pennsylvanian. That's something voters understand.

5/x What Fetterman understands, and something that Republicans figured out a long time ago, is that policy is DOWNSTREAM from values and character. Policy is complex and can be obfuscated in most cases. Character is much harder.

6/x A lot of people used to (still do!) make fun of young people who supported Bernie in such large numbers without knowing the specifics of his policy platform. What those people don't understand is a political fundamental:

7/x people are not policy experts, and they know they are not policy experts. But if they trust your character and your values, they will be paying much less attention to your policy specifics because they trust you are on their side and will do the right thing.

8/x and how you present your character and values is a question of not just what you say in terms of your values, but your tone, your presentation, and the image you project. That's what resonates, that's what goes viral, that's what gets attention. Things that show you're human.

9/x If Lamb were the nominee, he would probably be running a traditional suit-and-tie campaign messaging around gas prices because that's what polls show the "voters care about." Fetterman has made that an irrelevant issue and has Oz chasing his own tail.

10/x if you polled Pennsylvanians before Fetterman's general election campaign, would anyone have told you they care that Oz is from across the river? No. But Fetterman made it an issue, one that plays to his strengths. And this is the main upshot that Dems need to learn:

11/11 stop chasing the voters on the issues that other people are setting the terms on. start with establishing personal character contrasts and allow the issue conversation to flow downhill from there.