Here’s a dirty little secret about the PR profession: The PR experts in private practice think the PR “experts” who work for politicians, political parties, and government agencies are a bunch of low-watt bulbs. There are exceptions, of course, but as a general rule, the most productive, outside-the-box creative, high-energy PR minds are exclusively in the private sector. The ones who accept government jobs, alas, tend to be lazy, bureaucratic, and full of roadblocks — and good Lord, forget about reaching ‘em after 5 p.m.!
When government workers are off the clock, they’re REALLY off the clock.
But if you work in PR, you have to deal with ‘em, because the government’s tentacles are so far-reaching. From official statements to agency proclamations to the actual laws and regulations, almost everything involves the local, state, or federal government. Big and small, they’re everywhere.
They’re the 500-pound gorilla.
(An early SNAFU of mine: When celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse was receiving mayoral proclamations from a pair of Florida cities — which I was responsible for writing; this was all negotiated behind-the-scenes — I thought I’d save time by using the same verbiage for each city, and simply switch the names. I didn’t realize they actually read those proclamations out loud beforehand, and the two events would be staged together. Whoops. That was awkward. Plus, one of the mayor’s keys-to-the-city was quadruple the size of the other, so the less-endowed mayor felt “inadequate” and got all grumpy. Isn’t politics fun?)
I mention this, because it helps explain the stunningly slow pace of the Democratic Party. I swear, I’ve seen glaciers move faster. The Dems make sloths look like Usain Bolt.
Yesterday afternoon, Newsweek released a story, “Almost Half of Democrats Say a Third Party Is Necessary — Poll”
The Democratic Party has struggled with unpopularity and internal dissatisfaction since the sweeping defeat, facing pronounced ideological and generational divides, compounded by widespread voter frustration with congressional leaders and the party's overall direction.
According to this latest poll, 47% of Democrats believe a third party is now “necessary.” Potentially, this could leave the Donkeys divided for the midterms and beyond: Forget about trying to win over independents, moderates, or even conservatives — if they split, it’s only a 50-50 shot they’ll retain their own!
The article continued:
The poll comes as voters' disapproval of Democratic members in Congress has increased since February, per a recent Quinnipiac poll of 1,265 registered voters nationwide, conducted between June 5 and June 9.
Seventy percent of participants said they disapprove of how Democrats are handling their jobs in Congress, while 21 percent approve. Among Democrats, 53 percent disapprove, and 41 percent approve. Just 9 percent of Republicans approve of Democrats' performance, while 84 percent disapprove.
A similar Quinnipiac University poll of 1,039 registered voters in February found that 68 percent of participants disapproved of congressional Democrats and 52 percent disapproved of congressional Republicans.
Several high-profile Democrats have either switched parties or identified as independent, with former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announcing her departure from the party in June.
It beckons the very obvious question: Why hasn’t a liberal leader with presidential aspirations exploited this opening?
Last weekend’s “No Kings” protests were one of the largest political rallies in American history. By (liberal) numbers, between 4 and 6 million people participated. That’s an awful lot of attendees.
But where were the liberal leaders?
This wasn’t anything like the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. threw down the moral gauntlet with his now-legendary “I Have a Dream” speech. His personal leadership, charisma, and gravitas mattered greatly.
If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand PR.
Compare the 1963 March on Washington with the “No Kings” protests: At the latter, there were no MLK-like keynote addresses, moments of rhetorical magic, star-making, or oratorical flourishes to build upon.
Instead, it was a movement without any leaders.
Meanwhile, the one constant on the Democratic side is anger. The Donkeys are mad at the whole wide world! They’re raging against Trump and MAGA, of course. But they’re also angry with the American people — ‘cause they voted for “literally Hitler.” They’re angry at Latino men for voting for him, too. They’re angry at Elon Musk and electric cars. They’re angry at Israel. They’re angry at young men for spurning Team Kamala. They’re angry at Joe Rogan and the UFC.
And half of ‘em are so furious at their own party, they’re actually ready to jump ship.
If politics were run like the private sector, numerous Democratic presidential hopefuls would’ve already exploited this gaping, wide-open PR opportunity. In the private sector, things move very quickly.
Low-hanging fruit gets devoured fast.
That’s because, in the private sector, there are no “off-the-clock” executives at 5 p.m. Instead, victory belongs to whoever is proactive, aggressive, and ultra-opportunistic. The more competitive the industry, the more unusual it is for low-hanging fruit to rot on the vine.
Republicans and Democrats don’t use PR the same way. The GOP typically views its relationship with the mainstream media as adversarial; they’re an obstacle that must be circumvented. Dems, however, view ‘em as complementary — they’re ideological allies who help disseminate the “right” messages.
As such, the Democrats tend to telegraph their moves in the media. It’s why there’s so much overlap in language/phrasing across the different outlets.
So here we are today: The Democratic base is Hulk-level angry. Liberals are marching and protesting by the millions. There’s a huge, national movement that’s searching for a leader.
Eventually, someone on the Left will claim the part of Gail Wynand.
In Ayn Rand’s classic novel “The Fountainhead,” Gail Wynand is a wealthy newspaper mogul who rose from poverty in Hell’s Kitchen. His media empire pandered to public opinion, so he naively assumed he could control it. But when he tried to steer the masses in a new direction, they rejected his leadership. By the end of the story (sorry about the spoilers, but look, Rand’s book was published in 1943; I’m pretty sure you had enough time to read it) Wynand loses everything: his newspapers, his wife, and his illusion of power.
That’s an important lesson: It’s far easier for a “leader” to jump in front of a mob that already exists than to build and steer a movement on his own.
Today, the headwinds are still just as strong. Just two days ago, Politico ran an exposé on the Dems' ineptitude, “‘Weak,’ ‘whiny’ and ‘invisible’: Critics of DNC Chair Ken Martin savage his tenure”:
Two influential labor union heads quit their posts at the DNC after disagreements over the party’s direction. Gun control activist David Hogg was ousted from the DNC’s vice chairman position after he pledged to fund primary challenges against “ineffective” Democrats. Martin has infuriated some Democrats by purging a number of party officials from a powerful panel that has enormous sway over the presidential nominating contest. And Martin complained in a private meeting that intraparty warfare had “destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to.”
In 2009, Weird Al had a hit song called “White & Nerdy.”
“White & Nerdy” is WAY better than “Weak & Whiny.” (Advantage: Weird Al.)
Yet this low-hanging fruit continues to sit on the vine. It’s plump, juicy, and still just sitting there, waiting to be plucked! It doesn’t necessarily have to culminate with the actual emergence of a third party; simply being the avatar of liberal rage could give an ambitious Democrat the inside track to the 2028 nomination.
And that’s still the most likely move.
Even a party as utterly incompetent as the Democratic Party will figure this out… eventually.
But holy moly, are they slow.
One Last Thing: The Democrats are on the ropes, but make no mistake: The donkeys are still dangerous. 2025 will either go down in history as the year we finally Made America Great Again — or the year it all slipped through our fingers. We need your help to succeed! As a VIP member, you’ll receive exclusive access to all our family of sites (PJ Media, Townhall, RedState, twitchy, Hot Air, Bearing Arms): More stories, more videos, more content, more fun, more conservatism, more EVERYTHING! And if you CLICK HERE and use the promo code FIGHT you’ll receive a Trumpian 60% discount!
Thank you for your consideration!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member