Want to help VP Harris win? Ignore Trump, talk Harris.

Two new studies tell us this!

The corporate media is “now back to their regularly scheduled program” when it comes to the 2024 race. And that program is all Trump, all the time.  

Corporate media took a break from their usual “all Trump” programming when VP Kamala Harris became the candidate in late July through the Democratic National Convention in August.  They were collectively covering her more than the convicted felon.

But that has ended—despite Harris crushing Trump in the debate last week. If you turn on cable news or read political articles it’s all about Trump spewing more lies and bigotry because he knows how to manipulate the sheep of the corporate media.

That is where we come in. Want to persuade people to support Harris or at the very least animate people leaning her way to vote? Then take the advice from two recent studies: “Instead of attacking Trump, Democrats should talk about Harris.”

That was the conclusion of two large studies released a few weeks ago, the first by political science professors, David Broockman of Univ of California and Josh Kalla of Yale University. These two professors explained at the outset, “We’ve dedicated our academic careers to studying political persuasion.” To that end, they conducted a survey of more than 100,000 people in August about the 2024 and especially choosing between Trump and Harris.

Their research led to this conclusion when it comes to persuading voters: “Attacking Trump simply isn’t as effective for Democrats as praising Harris.” They added, “Instead of repeating a single negative adjective about Trump over and over, Democrats should be informing voters about what Harris would do.”

They continued: “Messages attacking Trump moved a small number of people from saying they’d support Trump to being indifferent but didn’t persuade people to vote for Harris.” But instructively they found: “Only messages that praised Harris actually boosted support for her (and reduced support for Trump).”

So what message did they find was the most persuasive in getting people to go form simply being anti-Trump to pro-Harris? “Mainstream “kitchen table Democratic ideas.” They list these as reducing “the cost of living, protect Medicare and Social Security by taxing the rich, keep abortion legal, and raise the minimum wage.”

Just a few weeks ago a second study was released on this very issue, this time by Blueprint which is a self-described “public opinion research initiative designed to take a sober, detailed look at what Democrats need to do to win in 2024.” For this new study, Blueprint  surveyed an online sample of 13,215 voters in late August by showing them a series of ads they created about Harris and Trump.

Their findings line up well with the two political professors study, namely that if you want to get voters to support Harris, then talk Harris—not how awful Trump is.  Blueprint’s report explained: “Voters are eager for a breath of fresh air in this race, and their perceptions of Donald Trump are mostly solidified.” But still “they want to learn more about Vice President Harris’s accomplishments, policy plans, and personal background.”

The Blueprint researchers showed voters a series of ads about Trump, Harris and then ads contrasting the two.  You can act as part of the focus group by watching the two ads below and try to guess which was more persuasive. 

The first is about how “Trump is fighting for an America where we cut taxes for the rich by cutting healthcare for everyone else.”

Here is another that contrasts Harris and Trump on reproductive freedom that starts with the lines, “We have a choice this election.”

The first ad about Trump is powerful but barely moved the needle with independent voters and those not fully decided. Why? After nine years of Trump, everyone knows what he is about.  That doesn’t mean they are times we need to call out his bigotry, inciting violence and that he appears to have an early form of dementia, etc.

But the second ad contrasting Harris and Trump tested the best because it not only reminded people of Trump’s position, it explained to voters what Harris stands for.  Blueprint noted that this contrast abortion ad “moves voter preference by 3.5 points toward Vice President Harris—drastically changing the horse race from 50-50 to 53.5-46.5.”

On subjects that move people, Blueprints findings are close to the professors in that issues that directly affect people are the most persuasive. As Blueprint’s report detailed, the best-performing ads are “on the hot-button issues of healthcare affordability and abortion access are those that use positive messaging around Harris’s vision and background rather than those that attack Trump.”

Here is one more Blueprint ad that tested very well that explains what Harris is about:

Overall, Blueprint like the professors concluded that, “The takeaway is clear: stay on offense and keep it positive. Voters still have a lot to learn about Vice President Harris and are looking for a hopeful vision of the future, not just more attacks on a well-known figure.”

That is where each of us come in. Don’t waste your time trying to convince the MAGA faithful. We are six weeks from the end of voting. Tell friends, co-workers, fellow Democrats and anyone who will listen what Harris is about. That can start first with her as a person such as serving as a DA, California Attorney General and US Senator because helping people is what has long animated her as noted in the ad on Harris above.

Share her vision for an America where women have freedom to make their own decisions and her championing of an “Opportunity Economy” that includes a tax cut for the middle class, up to $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, more help for small business start-ups, reducing prices by targeting companies that are gouging us and more.  The Harris campaign website offers a litany of policy proposals that you can look at and share with people based on what you think will move them.

We can—and should—call out the corporate media’s pro-Trump bias. But with less than 50 days until the ballots are counted, I prefer to follow the words of John F. Kennedy, “We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light a candle that can guide us through the darkness to a safe and sure future.”

At this point in the campaign, each of us can and must be that “candle.”

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