DEAR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

DEAR DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

First, permit me to introduce myself. My name is John Spiegelhoff and I am a middle class voter in the Midwest. I think it is appropriate to inform you that I have voted Democratic since as long as I have been a registered voter. I have financially supported Democratic candidates mostly at the state and local levels. Since-really-all politics are local. Or so I have heard.

So with that in mind, I wish to respond to your survey but not on the mind numbing pre-fill form that you sent me along with the obligatory “send us some money.”

I would really like to support the Democratic Party on a national level but not until the following things occur:

  1. The Democrats stop running away from issues that have been good for the middle class such as raising the minimum wage and making the really wealthy among us pay their fair share. The Democrats look scared and indecisive. And they lose elections.
  2. Have some courage and say your message confidently, strongly and often.
  3. The Democrats come up with a comprehensive strategy to message to the masses that their vision of America is better than the destructive vision of the Republicans/party of the wealthy. This messaging must come out of the mouths of all Democratic candidates and those seeking office- like an echo chamber. The Democrats look like Moses’ People wandering in the desert. And they lose elections as a result of no messaging, ineffective messaging or responsive messaging to the party of the 1%ers.
  4. The Democrats stop being on the defensive to the Republican offense. We can go on offense too. Perhaps we should think about doing that soon.
  5. Stop supporting corporate Democrats who definitely appear to be out of touch with whom the Democrats traditionally stood for: the working and middle class. We can do better and we should.
  6. Start putting money towards the local candidates who can build the progressive bench for the Democratic Party.
  7. Stop ignoring/taking for granted organized labor which is your base. Organized labor will leave you at some point if you ignore us long enough.
  8. Start reading the books by renown cognitive scientist linguist George Lakoff on how to message effectively and win the hearts and minds of the American people. Then take his ideas and train your elected officials and candidates on it.

So this is my response to your fundraising letter. I hope that you will take it to heart.