Thread by @TaikeinCooper

[THREAD] As always, here's my short analysis of what we can learn from last night's elections. I'm seeing a lot of takes on here and in my inbox that I don't agree with. Let's dig in...

I've said this before, but running for office is a tall task; thank you for being willing to serve.

Thank you to all of the staff members and volunteers who work behind the scenes. You all really make this possible and I appreciate you.

I'll start by saying this, I'm a Black man from rural America. My lens is quite different from most, but after last night's results from across the country, we MUST pay more attention to rural.

It's WRONG to justify last night's results by just dismissing the folks who voted for GOP candidates by calling them "racists/uneducated/deplorable/etc."

Those takes lack nuance and we need SELF-REFLECTION.

The first lesson that I was ever taught in politics was at 11 years old. It was 1999 and my DARE teacher was running for County Sheriff. "In politics, like in life, the best story wins."

THIS is why I always talk about messaging.

Truthfully, the GOP crafted and cultivated a narrative that I don't agree with, but the American people believed.

We spent most of this cycle on defense from those narratives.

And as a former athlete, you don't win games if you aren't on offense.

Another take, "we just need to run on more progressive ideals."

I've said this here and to everyone who will listen, Virginia, like America, is quite moderate.

I know plenty of people on here who said that they wouldn't support the Democratic nominees because they didn't come out and say, "defund the police", promise to end qualified immunity, or wouldn't take a hard stance on pipelines.

As we can see from across the country, the majority of people don't support those issues. You have no idea how many times I heard, "we need to support our police."

I've been one of the most outspoken advocates for changing the culture of policing. But you've NEVER seen me say that we should defund or abolish the police.

No need to rehash this, but it's a bad message that we have to defend.

I saw more "Law Enforcement for Youngkin" signs than I ever have in my life. To be honest, idk if I've ever seen law enforcement signs for a candidate until 2020.

Ok let's be honest, COVID protocols saved thousands of lives in Virginia and across the country, BUT, rural communities detested them and hurt us politically.

Am I happy that we saved lives? ABSOLUTELY. However, we must acknowledge the impact that they had politically.

We have to understand that the perception of COVID is different in rural America. 1) we are essentially in pods all of the time. There aren't flights to SWVA or Southside VA all over the country. Since we are in silos, COVID wasn't as prevalent.

2) radio stations were talking about COVID like it was a foreign thing in March of 2020. Seeing something on the news in the closest market, but not hearing it in the obituary segment of the radio station hits differently. (Yes, people listen to local radio for obituaries).

Couple these facts with the then President saying that it was a hoax, and COVID became an urban legend. 3) then schools closed for the year and the lack of broadband created an entirely new issue for families.

4) families started paying attention to what was or wasn't happening in classrooms and 5) the local diner had to close, so people couldn't get the little bit of social time that they once had.

Then schools reopened in person in Rural VA in the fall of 2020 and fortunately, COVID wasn't as bad as many anticipated. Rural folk started saying, "see it ain't that bad."

Then in 2021, we implemented mask mandates for schools and rural folk were like, "we've been doing it our way and it worked. GOVERNMENT IS TOO BIG."

Something else around COVID that many folks don't acknowledge; ALMOST every single business has a "we are hiring" sign.

So many business owners told me, "these stimulus checks are making people lazy. Nobody wants to work."

We know that's not factually true, but this is their truth. This is why candidates like Youngkin said, "the ARP is bad for Virginia."

Business folks are bitter at government because they feel like govt is hurting their bottom line.

While the COVID protocols helped Governor Newsome in CA's recall, VA's electorate is much different and hurt Dems around the Commonwealth.

While we are here, a few other things that hurt us include: the soldiers being killed in Afghanistan (when you invade a country, you must be prepared to occupy it for 50 years), the perceived inability to get anything done in Washington.

Dems have accomplished a lot in Washington this year, but we don't talk enough about that. We spend a lot of time blaming Senators Manchin & Sinema instead of talking about the good things that we've done...

In a few short months, Democrats in DC have cut child poverty significantly, created over 4M jobs, supported HBCUs, terminated federal contracts with private prisons, etc.

Once again, a messaging issue.

Speaking of messaging, one thing that we must change is comparing how many policies we have compared to the GOP.

I said this in 2016, but HRC touted that she had 50+ policy papers. The average voter had no clue what any of them were. Do you remember what Trump's policies were?

He said that he would make America great again, build the wall, ban Muslims, and there was like one other.

I'm convinced that less is more.

Let's learn from this.

Schools became a clarion call in Virginia. I highly recommend that you all listen to the southlake podcast. @AHylton26 laid out how CRT became a national talking point and how Allen West told Texas not to become VA.

What I've heard from parents all over the Commonwealth is that they aren't happy with what's currently happening in schools. They got a front row seat during COVID and started asking questions.

I'm privy to social media education groups around the Commonwealth and some of the complaints were valid.

As Dr. Gerald Unks used to say, "education is America's secular religion."

This thread has run too long, so let me begin to close. What do we do moving forward?

1) Compete in rural. Look, I must've missed the meeting several years ago where Dems decided that signs don't vote. That's become our go to thing and it must fundamentally change.

In Rural America, signs play a significant role psychologically. That's why Republicans rush to put up signs early every single year. That's why they put them on public property because they want people to think that everyone is with them.

2) an unstated advantage that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is that the GOP had a month long head start this year. They nominated in early May and this contributed to them being first on the ballot.

3) resist the urge to over simplify last night's results. Every supporter of GOP members across the country isn't racist, xenophobic, homophobic, etc.

Just like the "basket full of deplorables" comment from 2016, we can't write people off. We need to listen and learn.

4) we can't wait to engage people when it's time to vote. @sam_rasoul gave us the blueprint with Democratic Promise. We need consistent contacts with voters asking how we can serve them, when we don't want anything. This needs to become the Democratic Way.

5) invest in school board races. The GOP is targeting SB seats for two reasons: 1) to build their bench and 2) to transform schools. We must do both.

If I were exploring running statewide anywhere in the country, my PAC would pay for training for potential candidates.

I'd also be prepared to invest a few thousand in each locality. In Rural VA, most of the SB races are unopposed or wide open (write-ins win the race with <50 votes). Imagine a statewide candidate investing 5k in a few swing counties.

6) There's a lot of finger pointing and Monday Morning Quarterbacking, but I'm looking at myself; I need to do MORE.

If my people weren't excited, that's my fault as well.

7) Today is hard for many people who I call my chosen family. I also have a number of friends on the other side who are ecstatic. I'm still hopeful and stand steadfast on truth.

8) I forgot to say this earlier, but I generally appreciate the work that the Lincoln Project does, but last Friday's demonstration hurt us and validated a conservative talking point of us instigating violence.

9) I'll end the same way that I began, I'm a Black man from Prince Edward County; my lens is likely a lot different from yours. My takes are usually unpopular, but I'm here to give y'all the truth. [END]