Hit 'Em Where It Hurts: How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game

by Rachel Bitecofer (Narrator), Aaron Murphy (Contributor)

A radical, urgent plan for how the Democratic Party and its supporters can maintain power at one of the most pivotal moments in the history of our nation’s democracy

“Bitecofer hits hard against the GOP tactics of fear and anger and the Democrats’ status quo narratives around political engagement and winning elections.”—Michael Steele, former RNC chair

Why do Democrats fail to win voters to their side, and what can they do to develop new winning political strategies—especially as the very fate of democracy hangs in the balance in 2024? Too often the carefully constructed, rationally minded arguments of the Left meet a grisly fate at the polls, where voters are instead swayed by Republican candidates hawking anger, fear, and resentment. Only when Democrats are handed an overwhelming motivational issue—like the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade>/i> —have they found a way to counter this effect. 

Political scientist and strategist Rachel Bitecofer came to prominence after predicting to the seat the size of the Democrats' rare Blue Wave in the 2018 midterms. At the heart of her prediction lay a powerful concept—negative partisanship, or the idea that voters, even most so-called independents, don’t vote for their candidate so much as they vote against their candidate’s opponent. Seen through this lens, Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is a deep dive into the Republicans’ own playbook, sharing how Democrats can turn the Right’s own tactics against them. The way for Democrats to wage—and win—electoral war, Bitecofer writes, is to present themselves as “brand ambassadors for freedom, health, wealth, safety, and common sense,” the very opposite of the extremist, freedom-fearing Right. This is a last-ditch effort to armor democracy while there is still time to save it and strengthen it so it can never again be hijacked by a small minority of ideologues.

As America careens into the election cycle that determines its democratic future Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is the book for any Democrat who has ever banged their head against a wall when obvious rational arguments failed to sway voters over to their side. This guide is a lifeline to save American democracy in its own darkest hour.

Listening Length: 8 hours and 46 minutes

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, American, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Rachel Bitecofer is a political scientist and election forecaster turned political strategist. Bitecofer’s interviews and analysis have been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, Politico, The New Republic, Real Time with Bill Maher, CNN, MSNBC, and many other prominent news sources. Bitecofer was recognized for her novel theory that predicted the size of the “Blue Wave” in the 2018 midterm elections much earlier than other forecasters.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The GOP is a threat to your freedom, health, wealth, and safety. If they gain control of the federal government they plan on passing a national abortion ban, gutting Medicare, destroying Obamacare, raising taxes on working families, and stealing a lifetime of YOUR Social Security money.

---------------------------------------

Partisanship creates a convenient shortcut that low-interest and low-information voters can rely on to make their vote decisions, and it colors our entire perception of the political world.

There are two things that should never be discussed in polite company, religion and politics. Well, presuming you, gentle reader, to be a reasonably polite person…sorry.

Rachel Bitecofer is a PhD in political science and international affairs. In 2017 she wrote The Unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election, a book analyzing the 2016 US elections. She made her reputation by being one of the few political analysts who correctly predicted Biden’s 2020 victory with impressive specificity, and the size of the Blue Wave in 2018. She has come to some conclusions about why Democrats so frequently lose to Republican candidates whose interests are in opposition to those of their constituents. In order for Dems to make inroads with voters, they will have to take some pages from the GOP campaign playbook. Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts lays out what the other side is doing, and extracts from that lessons to be learned to improve outcomes.


Rachel Bitecofer - image from The Telegraph - credit Christopher Newport University

What is it that they do? Well, demagoguing issues and playing the politics of division, lying relentlessly and repeating their lies ad nauseum, of course. Not news. But Bitercofer digs into the specifics of how the GOP goes about this. She also offers analysis of voting groups, with an eye to how one engages different populations.

Ordinary people hate losing, or losing out on things we like or think we might like--with more intensity than we like gaining those things. A simpler way to put it is losing makes us feel twice as bad as winning makes us feel good.

Instead of the usual Democratic campaign of demonstrating to voters why a candidate is better able, better prepared, and maybe a better person, Bitecofer urges Dems to engage in impactful criticism of their opponents. Or, why the other candidates will be bad for you, applying the blame of truth not just to the down-ballot candidates, but to the party as a whole. Voters may or may not recall a candidate’s name, but they’re likely to remember how they feel about Rs and Ds. Where I live, for example, it is not just GOP senatorial candidate Dave McCormick who is a terrible person with terrible plans, it is the entire Republican Party. Frankly, it is not a tough case to make. Not to the exclusion, of course, of promoting better ideas and humans, but with maybe a shifting of campaign resources from all positive to more attack-mode.

When, at the 2016 Democratic convention, Michelle Obama first said, "When they go low, we go high," it was a rousing moment which spoke to people being and becoming their best selves. Good values matter. But from a tactical perspective it is self-defeating. In basketball, these days, it is called undercutting (back when I was a terrible player, it was called low-bridging), when a defender hits an airborne shooter, causing a dangerous crash to the floor. Going high when the opposition is spending millions going low is a surefire way to ensure a broken back or a losing campaign.

There are two things that low information, and low interest voters (and they are legion) rely on in deciding who to vote for. Most important is party affiliation and second is their familiarity with the names of candidates. So, as a rule, a Republican will vote for the Republican on the ticket, regardless of the candidate’s merits. We can, for example, fully expect that, in addition to his core supporters, Donald Trump will receive tens of millions of votes from people who simply do not care about his 34 felony convictions, his attempt to stage a coup, his stealing of classified documents, his relentless lying and his considerable hostility to democracy. Nope. If he’s got an “R” next to his name, he’s our guy. To be fair, there are some Dem voters would vote for a cheese sandwich if it was on the ballot with a “D” next to its name, but I expect fewer than the “R” non-MAGA voters or leaners. Core voters for both parties will support their team.

But there is a middle ground, comprised of voters who lean and the truly unaffiliated, a small number. This is where the battle is engaged. Campaign ads must portray not only the candidate of the opposing party, but the party he/she represents, in a bad, but honest light. And do it relentlessly. She calls this Negative Partisanship. Instead of proclaiming only the virtues of our candidate, we must also portray the darkness of our opposition, something that has worked quite well for Republicans, but which has met with resistance from many Democratic candidates. Also, this should not be limited to the candidate in a given election, but applied across the board to the Republican Party. It is the party that will see to it that our rights and freedoms are pared back, while the rich get richer, not just the candidate. This has the benefit of being a worthy broad brush, as all Republican pols do whatever their Dear Leader wants.

There are barriers to Democrats progressing in political warfare tactics, primarily money. The right has a well-funded, (by billionaire oligarch sorts like the Koch brothers and major corporations like the big oil ) well-oiled machine for spreading their message. Think tanks provide academic cover for nonsensical or dark policies. Check out the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 for maybe the best example of this, certainly the most alarming, and probably the most dangerous. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a central clearinghouse for the creation of rightist legislation. It is no accident that the same text is used in state bills across the nation. Dems do not have a comparable entity. Neither do we have Fox News, the primary purveyor of political misinformation, even if it does cost them the odd billion dollars or so in court settlements. It is an uneven playing field.

In the absence of that sort of infrastructure, Dems must rely on improving messaging, making it more pointed. When it comes to public policy, the majority of voters side with Democratic positions, on sensible gun control, abortion rights, the inviolability of Social Security and Medicare, and more recently on the need for Obamacare. It is important, Bitecofer says, to point out to voters just what they are in danger of losing, highlighting the differences between Dems and Republicans. What are they trying to take from you? Pretty easy re SS and Medicare, which have huge national constituencies. Republicans are eager to gut both. People are more likely to respond to a campaign that points to Republicans trying to take away your medical choices, your literal freedoms, than they are to a detailed message about how a religious belief should not be made into public policy. How about the safety of your children? Are they likelier to come home from school in one piece if we allow military grade weapons to be bought by just about anyone? Are you ok with schools having to run active-shooter drills? It is not necessary to get into the corruption of the NRA or point out that that organization has become a funnel for Russian money to right-wing politicians. Simplify, show contrasts, and point out potential personal losses.

In most political books the analysis of why we are where we are is all fine and dandy, but what does it mean for addressing it, given that the dark side has, effectively, limitless funding to spread their lies, the mainstream media has shown itself to be highly resistant to calling out liars, and most voters simply do not give a shit? Are we doomed to relentless right-wing propaganda and spin through their pervasive media capture, aided of course by Putin and other foreign allies of American fascists? What can be done to get people to recognize the existential threat posed to our democracy? Turns out there are some things we can do. This is what makes Hit ’Em Where It Hurts different from most political analyses, and a must read for anyone engaged in political campaigns.

This is not unplowed earth in which Bitecofer toils. There have been plenty of books written about political tactics. Rick Wilson’s wonderful 2020 book, Running Against the Devil, offers advice on how to go about campaigning against Trump. One book that stands out the most for me is Saul Alinsky’s look at how to organize a movement for change, a community organizer guide, based on his decades of experience. In the 1970s many progressive and liberal activists studied his now classic 1971 political strategy book, Rules for Radicals. The benefit of these, and surely many other books is that they offer specifics re how to move forward. While Bitecofer’s book differs in focus from Alinsky’s the intention of both works is to show people how to seek and gain power over their own lives through democratic means. Bitecofer’s Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts is a Rules for Radicals for the 21st century. We have already seen some application of her approach in current and recent campaigns, whether inspired by her or someone else. The tactics she espouses have found their way into the real world and we will see in 2024 if candidates are willing to accept her counsel and do what it takes to win. I truly hope that most of them do.

think of all elections, big and small, as battles in a much larger and far more consequential electoral war, whose victors will determine the future of this nation.

Review posted - 07/12/24

Publication date – 02/06/24



This review is cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!

=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the Bitecofer’s personal Substack, Threads, FB, Instagram, and Twitter pages

Profile - from SALT

Senior Fellow, Elections, The Niskanen Center
Rachel Bitecofer is assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, where she teaches classes on political behavior, elections, & political analysis and conducts survey research and elections analysis. Her research has been featured in many media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, and she is a contracted commentator on CBC Radio. Her book, The Unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election (Palgrave McMillan) is available via Amazon.
Her innovative election forecasting model predicted the 2018 midterms five months before Election Day, far ahead of other forecasting methods. Her forecasting work argues that American elections have become increasingly nationalized and highly predictable; with partisanship serving as an identity-based, dominant vote determinant for all but a small portion of Americans.

Interviews
-----CSPAN - Washington, DC – Prose & Prose bookstoreHit 'Em Where It Hurts - How to Save Democracy by Beating Republicans at Their Own Game by Adam Parkhomenk – video – 1:04:00
-----Salon - Rachel Bitecofer's tough-love lesson for Democrats: Time to fight dirty by Paul Rosenberg
-----The Al Franken podcast - Democratic Strategists Rachel Bitecofer and Justin Barasky on Democratic Messaging
- video – 48:00
-----Morning Joe - Democrats Seek to Recreate Midterm Success in 2024

“Roe is a concrete way to show people you have a right and the Republicans stole it from you”

Items of Interest from the author
-----ResearchGate - A list of her publications from January 2018 to January 2023
-----Web site for the book

Item of Interest
-----PoliticalCharge.org - An Elections Specialist You Should Get to Know by Tokyosand

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

TL;DR

Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts by Rachel Bitecofer is a wonderful political book for Democrats and Progressives. She lays out the realities of U.S. voting patterns, and then she provides strategies for winning elections. This should be a must read for any Democrat or Progressive politician. For the rest of us political junkies, it’s highly recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.

Review: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts by Rachel Bitecofer with Aaron Murphy

I love politics. I hate my political party. I’m a registered Democrat because I hate the GOP worse. The GOP’s moral cowardice towards Trump and their support of Eric Greitens pushed me from independent to registered Democrat. And that, in short, is how politics in the U.S. truly works. We don’t vote for our team; we vote against the other team. Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts by Rachel Bitecofer takes this bit of wisdom and puts case studies, data, and common sense to proving it. Then she goes on to give Democrats strategies for adapting to the new political environment the U.S. finds itself in. If you’re a Democrat or a Progressive, you should read this book. Below I detail why.

Bitecofer starts off the book talking about politics, which seems natural for a book about politics. But what’s she’s talking about is the fact that, for Americans, politics is considered a dirty word. In the introduction, she pulls no punches and informs the reader that they should be worried about democracy’s continued existence in the U.S. (I am.) Bitecofer has correctly identified that we’re currently in the midst of a national crisis and that the solution to that crisis relies on democrats and the American public. (Sooooo, not great.) The truth is that if you’re reading this book, this review, or any book on politics, you’re in the minority in the U.S. The majority of U.S. citizens DO NOT VOTE. Bitecofer’s book isn’t about how to engage the non-voters; though, she tries. Her book is how to convince a majority of voters who do their civic duty to vote for the party that is trying to keep democracy alive. Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts does just that, assuming democratic politicians and their teams read it. Bitecofer has divided her book into three parts. Since I have an advance copy and the titles may change, I’m going to refer to them as “The Setup”, the “Republican Strategy”, and “How to Fight Back.” The three stages are effectively organized even if the middle section is difficult to read. Bitecofer’s writing is fine and perhaps too well as in this section she details how Republicans have built a system to destroy democracy. Their actions are awful; Bitecofer is simply documenting it.

Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is a political nonfiction work aimed at Democrats and Progressives. It’s common sense advice backed by examples from the other side. The book is an easy read; there’s no need for a political science degree to understand Bitecofer’s advice. It’s aimed at people who are uninterested in voting but is most effective for those running campaigns.

The Setup

For someone who has voted in nearly every election since he was 18, the first part of the book was shocking. Bitecofer lays out the statistics on how politics ranks among the average Americans interest. It’s not a good result. She notes that making voting easier works, but that also the GOP doesn’t want more voters. They’re a vastly unpopular party, which is why they suppress voters and gerrymander the hell out of their districts. But she also notes that politicians are now permanently campaigning. Much like internet ads, the explosion of campaigning results in people ignoring more and more.

Where Bitecofer shines is her discussion of partisanship and the identification of negative partisanship. I rely liked how she lays out how it works. She even uses a neat phrase: “partisan circuitry.” It’s an excellent reason for why more and more extreme Republicans get elected. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Herschel Walker should never be considered serious politicians. (Or serious people, for that matter) But partisanship gets them votes simply because they have that little “R” behind their name. This isn’t a one way street, though. Partisan circuitry is a universal human problem.

Republican Strategy

Bitecofer then goes on to show how Republicans use negative partisanship. Not only that, she lays out the infrastructure that the GOP has to hammer home its message, which is generally to frighten people into not voting for Democrats. For anyone who has paid attention to politics, we know that Republicans parrot their talking points with robotic accuracy. They don’t care what question is asked, they just say the lines their political overlords tell them to say. Even if they don’t believe it. Even if it’s a bold-faced lie. Republicans don’t care about the law or improving the country. They care about power and power alone. If democracy has to burn for them to run your life, c’est la vie, they’ll say. (Actually, they won’t because something something french socialism.)

This chapter confronts us with how the Republican machine works. It also shows how the Democratic machine is far, far behind. Of course, this makes sense. The Democratic party is a big tent one made of many coalitions. These coalitions prefer fighting with each other instead of Republicans, which plays into Republican strategy. Where Republicans succeed is that at every vote, they goose-step in sync to pass their horrible agendas. Democrats and Progressives will bicker and fight but not show up to support each other. They won’t vote inline with each other. In a functioning democracy, that would be great. We do not have that. Unless they get their act together, Progressives and Democrats will continue to bicker as democracy burns.

How to Fight Back

Finally, we get to the good stuff. Bitecofer gives Democrats some tools to fight back. Her chapter on messaging is spot on. While I do think the word ‘fascism’ is generally overplayed, it’s time to rebrand Republicans with it. They want to control women’s uteri (That’s a weird plural) to the point they’re talking about punishing abortions that don’t even happen in their states. It’s time to label the party as they are. Democrats need to counter-punch. More importantly, they need to punch first. Joe Biden has been doing this lately, and it’s effective. I hope more Democrats and Progressives take this approach. (Also, remember that the real enemy is the GOP. Once it’s destroyed, feel free to bicker all you want, Progressives and Democrats.)

To be clear, I can’t say enough good things about this section. It’s concrete, solid advice that will work. The reality of our nation is that it is divided with the partisan gap widening. All the peace and love strategies of the past will not close that gap. Politics have changed, and it’s time Democrats change their tactics. Bitecofer’s strategies give Democrats a real, fighting chance. As long as Trumpism exists, the U.S. will be divided. As long as Trumpism continues to win elections, it will continue to exist. If Trumpism is to be defeated, it can only be done at the ballot box. Voters will show up if Democrats inspire us. More voters will show up if Democrats scare us. Sad but true, and Bitecofer shows us how to correctly frame the GOP’s actions as the terrifying acts that they are.

Conclusion

Rachel Bitecofer’s Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is the wake-up call that Democratic politicians need. It’s filled with solid strategies to help Democrats turn the voter base to them and away from the GOP. I cannot recommend this book enough to Democrats and Progressives. The political landscape has irrevocably changed, and the U.S. needs Democrats to change with it. Bitecofer’s book is an action plan to help them change.

[Ari Damoulakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book. I don’t know why the Democrat Party hasn’t started doing this, or didn’t do it ages ago. It would have saved the world, and will save the world and most normal Americans a lot of angst, trouble, and you will hopefully also eventually win the culture war bit by bit as well.

[Jim Twombly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Democratic operative, strategist, and spokesperson should read this book. It was nice to see what I've been saying for years about messaging.

[Rebekah Ferguson · Rating 1 out of 5]

before you read this book look a Rachel’s digital footprint to see how she speaks to BIPOC and ask yourself if that’s the person you want to give advice to combat the republican party.

[Amy Voelker · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was a really hard book to read. I started it right after the election and immediately put it aside after reading some of the doom from the author’s twitter feed which —coupled with the first 2 parts of this book— made me feel hopeless with despair. But I picked it back up this week and found part 3 on how to fight back on the GOP messaging apparatus quite helpful. Sadly I think I will have way too many opportunities to practice in the years to come.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an obvious playbook, but I'm amazed it hasn't been put into action already. This book lays out everything the Democrats need to be doing, but refuse to use to win elections. The pop culture references sprinkled throughout the book are a nice bonus.

[Jaydan Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Democrats win this election in November it’s because Rachel laid out the blueprint in this book and enough people in the party finally listened to her. Just incredible.

[June Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

I debated taking this to review. I made the mistake of looking at the one then available review and it was scathing. Still, I was curious. Some others commented on the review that the reviewer had mis-read. I decided to ask to review it. While it certainly isn't soothing reading, I'm glad I opted to read it. The title pretty well says it all as far as the focus, to share tried and true methods developed to elect the candidate of your choice.

Started prior to the November 8. 2022, election, the author points out what has worked in the past isn't working now. I'm actually seeing the ideas within being utilized more frequently, so someone is obviously listening. I'm not going to share highlights as this is a book that should be read in its entirety, not just grasping onto isolated details/ideas. One builds on another, so to speak, and it'd be doing the book an injustice to share bits and pieces that, in their isolation, might not have the impact desired. Please read the blurb below for a more detailed look. Bitecofer pulls no punches, I will note.

As the author note, this book is for those who are uneasy about politics right now and where the nation is going. It should be in every single election consultant's hands and, quite frankly, should be read by anyone who wants to better visualize the big picture in the political scene. Bitecofer is a political scientist and has been featured on various media sites that are well known and respected. This guide to elections/politics is an excellent roadmap for all, candidates, election coordinators, and the public. Thank you #NetGalley and #CrownPublishing for making it available. I only wish it were available sooner.

Publisher Blurb:

"A radical, urgent plan for how the Democratic Party and its supporters can maintain power at one of the most pivotal moments in the history of our nation’s democracy
Why do Democrats fail to win voters to their side, and what can they do to develop new winning political strategies—especially as the very fate of democracy hangs in the balance in 2024? Too often the carefully constructed, rationally minded arguments of the Left meet a grisly fate at the polls, where voters are instead swayed by Republican candidates hawking anger, fear, and resentment. Only when Democrats are handed an overwhelming motivational issue—like the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade>/i> —have they found a way to counter this effect.

Political scientist and strategist Rachel Bitecofer came to prominence after predicting to the seat the size of the Democrats' rare Blue Wave in the 2018 midterms. At the heart of her prediction lay a powerful concept—negative partisanship, or the idea that voters, even most so-called independents, don’t vote for their candidate so much as they vote against their candidate’s opponent. Seen through this lens, Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is a deep dive into the Republicans’ own playbook, sharing how Democrats can turn the Right’s own tactics against them. The way for Democrats to wage—and win—electoral war, Bitecofer writes, is to present themselves as “brand ambassadors for freedom, health, wealth, safety, and common sense,” the very opposite of the extremist, freedom-fearing Right. This is a last-ditch effort to armor democracy while there is still time to save it and strengthen it so it can never again be hijacked by a small minority of ideologues.

As America careens into the election cycle that determines its democratic future Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts is the book for any Democrat who has ever banged their head against a wall when obvious rational arguments failed to sway voters over to their side. This guide is a lifeline to save American democracy in its own darkest hour.'"

[Peter Z. · Rating 1 out of 5]

That's rich, claiming to be fighting for Our Democracy™ when you assholes are the ones trying everything in your power to keep someone off the ballot. That's what they do in communist dictatorships, not democracies, you awful beggar.

As to your so-called "carefully constructed, rationally minded arguments," give me a break. Do you mean calling for more background checks, a national red flag law and an "assault weapons" ban in response to a school shooting by a kid who didn't use an "assault weapon", wouldn't have passed a background check, and couldn't have been red flagged in the first place? Oh yes, so carefully constructed and rational.

Let's be real. You don't care about stopping school shootings. If you did, you'd harden the schools like every country in Europe. Then the shootings would stop but you'd have no crises to exploit to push your real agenda, which is more power and control via civilian disarmament.

And if anyone wants more proof the Democrats care more about power than kids, just look at what happened when parents came complaining to their school board because girls were getting raped in the bathrooms and the school board was covering it up. Was the Biden administration outraged, like the parents of the kids? No, they took their talking points from the teachers union and sent the FBI after anyone who yelled at the school board.

What you democrats need isn't better strategy. It's a reality check. And like a badly behaved dog you need your nose rubbed in your mistakes. Let's just hope the country can even survive the next 12 months of this shit show you're putting on. Using our tax dollars to fight border states who are trying to stop the invasion at our southern border, while you not only discourage peace talks but actually spend money trying to *escalate* a war in Ukraine? Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves.

The voters are going to show you their asses in November. Count on it, and get your hurt feelings forms ready.

[Julier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, to-the-point. I dreaded reading another "political" book, but this one was the exception: Here's what to do differently to communicate with voters who are in the middle. The following paragraphs are direct copy and paste from one of my friend Will Byrnes' always excellent reviews:

In order for Dems to make inroads with voters, they will have to take some pages from the GOP campaign playbook. Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts lays out what the other side is doing, and extracts from that lessons to be learned to improve outcomes."

A simpler way to put it is losing makes us feel twice as bad as winning makes us feel good.

There are two things that low information, and low interest voters (and they are legion) rely on in deciding who to vote for. Most important is party affiliation and second is their familiarity with the names of candidates.

Campaign ads must portray not only the candidate of the opposing party, but the party he/she represents, in a bad, but honest light. And do it relentlessly. She calls this Negative Partisanship.

In the absence of that sort of infrastructure, Dems must rely on improving messaging, making it more pointed. When it comes to public policy, the majority of voters side with Democratic positions, on sensible gun control, abortion rights, the inviolability of Social Security and Medicare, and more recently on the need for Obamacare.

It is important, Bitecofer says, to point out to voters just what they are in danger of losing, highlighting the differences between Dems and Republicans. What are they trying to take from you? Pretty easy re SS and Medicare, which have huge national constituencies...

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't we all watched someone talking to someone else who doesn't speak English, and Person A thinks they'll be able to communicate to Person B if they repeat the same thing over and over again and just TALK LOUDER? Spoiler alert: That never works.

What we have to do to persuade our Repub & Repub leaning friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to join us in saving democracy, is to learn to talk in THEIR language. It's not effective to yammer at them in the nerdy policy-wonk way we love to talk with other Dems.

Facts and figures don't persuade them - and DEFENDING any positions with them is doomed to failure. We need to get off the defense and go on the counter-offense. They don't seem to have the flexibility or desire to meet us where WE are, so it's on US to get better at messaging in ways that break through to them.

If we want to save democracy in the USA, that is.

There are hard-core MAGA people who are unreachable, but plenty of Independents and Repubs and Repub-leaners who ARE reachable. Provided we give them sharp, succinct messaging that pushes them away from Repubs. Use THEIR buzzwords to frame the issues, like freedom. "Republicans are taking away the freedom of women to make their own choices." People don't like having their freedom (or anything else) taken away from them.

This book gives good information on HOW to do that, with lots of examples. There are wedge issues - like abortion and IVF rights - that can be used effectively.

I'm probably going to reread this book a lot in the next few months, because when I interact with these kinds of people, I want to talk effectively, not simply LOUDER.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights and examples of effective political messaging for Democrats, based on the (diabolically) successful techniques Republicans have been using for decades -- to the detriment of most Americans.

Good governance should involve good-faith bipartisanship, but bipartisanship doesn't win elections in today's world, and you don't get to govern if you don't win elections.

Therefore, we need to learn what makes for simple, compelling, and truthful core messages to represent what Democrats stand for...and how that contrasts with what Republicans have done and envision doing to us. Enough of the apologetic Democrat/Liberal syndrome. There is plenty of rhetorical ammunition for strong messages on everything from economics, health, democracy, and education to safety, personal freedom, and the environment to be loud-and-proud about.

Once the campaigns are over, it is time for governing, which should mean setting aside the perpetual campaign rhetoric and coming up with reasonable, fair, consensus solutions. It can be done. It takes a different mindset though. On that theme, see "Polarity Management" by Barry Johnson. Also see two different initiatives both called "Our Common Purpose":

Revitalizing American civic culture -- https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpo...

Themes we can unite around instead of polarize --
https://ourcommonpurpose.com/

[Christine Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Political strategist, Rachel Bitecofer, offers readers a down-to-earth, step-by-step guide on how to "beat Republicans at their own game." Anyone who has been paying attention of politics the last few decades, particularly the last few years, has noticed the difference between how Republicans present their message as opposed to how Democrats do it. The Republicans come out swinging, twisting and turning an idea, repeating it over and over and over again, ad nauseum, until it has saturated the airwaves. The GOP's faithful followers hang on their every word, while the Democrats are skeptical but seemingly helpless as to how to handle the onslaught of misinformation and disinformation spewed out endlessly by GOP politicians, reporters and political pundits.

Bitecofer, however, is in the business of teaching Democrats how to fight back. She proves that messaging can be both hard-hitting and effective without having to be dishonest.

If you would like a refreshingly different take on political activism, do yourself a favor and read this book Bitecofer's off-the-cuff style, often laced with mild expletives, gets the point across, leaving readers energized and ready to take on the Radical Right.

[wanderlustlost · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough one because content-wise the book is excellent. But the audiobook is inaccessible thanks to Bitecofer and her inability to pronounce words correctly. And I don’t mean a word here or there, which I would ignore. I mean dozens of words hundreds of times across the audiobook.

I wanted to recommend this book to my friends. But I can’t recommend it to anyone who, like me, needs to use an audiobook for accessibility purposes because, well, it’s not fit for purpose.

Bitecofer is a college lecturer and in her class a few words here or there wouldn’t make a difference because a) there would more likely than not be PowerPoint slides to follow along with, and b) a student who didn’t understand her could raise their hand to ask what she meant. You can’t do any of that with an audiobook.

Seriously, why did someone who can’t pronounce simple words insist on doing her own audiobook narration?? She must know she says these words wrong. I find it hard to believe she’s made it to her big age without someone telling her how to say “memorable” or “access” or “create” correctly. It’s a nightmare.

Do NOT read the audiobook.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A near perfect strategy for countering modern politics that deal in bad faith, lies and media manipulation/propaganda. Whilst focusing on countering the Republican party’s political machinations, Bitecofer lays out a plan that not only works but that can also be utilised to counter basically any talking points spouted by political parties in any country.

The only issue I have with the short, sharp tactics laid out here is that you still require a dense, in depth knowledge of the issues and policies to back up your points so you’re not left with your pants down when asked for more detail. Too many times have inexperienced pollies been left red faced when they can’t talk further than a slogan. Whilst it is touched on a little it could probably have its own chapter.

Overall though this book is extremely solid and worth the read regardless of your country of origin.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best, and most useful, political books I've read this year. Bitecofer skewers Democrats for trying to sound reasonable, factual, policy-wonkish and "going high when they go low." We are losing the messaging war with those old techniques. She points to the examples of the 2022 Dem winners (Michigan's Whitmer, for one) and losers (Tim Ryan in OH) as good contrasting case studies in messaging methods. Specifically, Ryan went so middle-of-the road with his messaging he actually advertised on Fox!!

Bitecofer's advise is simple -- get your opponent on the defensive. Using techniques such as: pivot, mock, attack and the use of the "wedgie"-- she provides clear, practical examples of how Dems can take back the messaging war.

I'm thankful this talented, brilliant soldier is working for the 2024 Biden campaign.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off: Terrible title. Awful subtitle.

Because the book's strength (great strength) is advice on messaging, crafting a coherent reason to vote against Republicans (negative partisanship wins the war), and the pep talks about the untapped power of influence via social media, and a stark reminder that taking the high road is nice but what matters at this (on fire) moment is winning the damned election. Unbelievable as that may seem.

Bitecofer's folksiness makes the messaging approachable-- data is nice but boring, and the trick is getting the first six seconds of anyone's attention. Lather, rinse, repeat repeat repeat.

Those of us who care about the danger to democracy will find the book useful, and a quicky, punchy read.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be a consequence of my choice to listen to the audio book but Bitecofer's arguments here lack the district by district data that typically accompany her arguments made online. That absence reduced the book to somebody asserting what I already believe while repeatedly reciting their credentials. Fortunately, I've seen Bitecofer show her work enough elsewhere to establish her credibility regarding what motivates voters. Any Democrats who are actually misguided rather than conflicted would benefit from her electoral advice. My least favorite part was Bitecofer pronouncing error as era, which is far more charming when it comes in small doses from first generation Americans announcing a baseball game.

[Marleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Bitexofer is a political strategist who has described how the Republicans have been successful at controlling the political narrative. As she describes, Dthe Dems have been playing checkers while the Republicans have been p,aging chess. The party of Lincoln would not recognize the party now. The first half of the book describes how the Rebublicans have been able to control their message and have created issues where no issues had e sited before. Who ever heard of critical race theory? The second half describes how the Democrats can beat them at their own game. Reason and facts do not resonate with the general public. You need to appeal to their emotions.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Anyone who wants to influence friends, family, is a campaign manager, door knocker, or works a campaign will find much helpful info in this book. Crafting short, succinct, impactful messages is a winning strategy. So often Dems back everything we do with facts, citations, references, etc and most voters have zero interest unfortunately. You have 10 seconds to get your message across to make it count. And as Rachel says- you need skin in the game. It's your democracy to lose. It's freedom versus fascism and we need to show Republicans the door. Vote Dem.

[Michael McCue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice for candidates running against the MAGA world. Rachel Bitecofer says that Democrats can learn from the GOP playbook, not by lying and misrepresenting but by using direct simple messaging. She also says Democrats who want to win need to stop trying to appeal to the so called swing voters and clearly state what they are against. This book is certainly a partisan and political book, but that is not a bad thing. How can political campaigns win against authoritarian dishonesty, Bitecofer shows a way. ..

[Griffalcon · Rating 1 out of 5]

author is disgusting. On her Twitter she openly says she wants to k*ll people just for their political views. She says: "If i could fund a 100million dollar SP i would spend 100million on napalmping Republicans"....NAPALMING. THAT is what she said. Those are her exact words. How insane do you have to be to admit you want to k*ll people just because you don't agree with them?? Violent gross person.

[Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounded up to five stars, because it does have some weaknesses. It's repetitive and takes entirely too long to get to the good advice.

It's like a flushed out version of the original Indivisible Guide - which was meant to follow actions that worked for the tea party - this is a broader scale messaging strategy.

I hope every candidate and campaign manager takes the advice and we can keep our constitutional republic.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough book to read during the Summer of 2024 when real-world examples of Democratic self-inflicted wounds abound. Biden's awful debate performance (just ignore the fire hose of lies from Trump during the same debate!) The push to replace Biden with someone else on the presidential ticket. The general lack of laser-like focus on simple, clear, impactful messages (controlling the narrative).

Ugh.

[Constance Mussells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incisive take on how Democrats can use Republican messaging tactics to our advantage

As a former marketing person I recognized a lot of truisms here, which I also recognized are being masterfully used by Republicans. Read this book, it will lift your spirits and give you a clear path to pushing back and scoring.

[Marianne KB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good advice on political messaging. I could not bring myself to give the book 5 stars because I have a big problem with the way the author interacts with the public in person. Not only is she over- the-top unnecessarily foul-mouthed but occasionally posts racist and anti-immigrant statements online. Nevertheless, I got some good advie from the book.

[Roel Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book about political communication in highly polarized times. The pivot, mock, score and the wedging strategies aren't exactly new, but presented with a large amount of examples about contemporary issues. Finally, I feel Bitecofer is somewhat cherrypicking the facts when evaluating her theories in the real world.

[L & J Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very erudite book detailing potential political strategies the Democrats (or other parties) could use to try to effectively make their points and increase voter appeal. I could see how some of these suggestions could have been helpful if they had been more widely used in the 2024 elections. Hopefully some of the suggestions for generating narratives will be used in future election years.

[angela bardoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hard Truth

She speaks plainly and isn't afraid to point out the weaknesses of Democratic messaging and strategy while also offing good advice if Dems have the guts to implement it. They don't at their own peril and quite possibly of democracy itself.