How to Deliver a Political Message

A little-know state legislator shows us how to push back against lies and obstruction

If we were to make a list of the characteristics common to politicians, it would be a safe bet that courage would not be on it. Whether it’s Republicans who are dismayed that their party is now dominated by extremists but are fearful of speaking out against them or Democrats who act as if they are afraid of both the Republicans and the progressive activists in their own party, the failure to act on any principle except ”I want to be re-elected” is frustrating. It is certainly not in the spirit of public service the Founders envisioned would be the hallmark of a democratic government.

Considering that a group of wealthy white men drafted the Constitution, perhaps it’s a gender thing. We do have a smattering of very accomplished women in the current Congress: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, for example, is a more effective political leader than her Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; and can you name another Republican in Congress as willing to fight for principles as Liz Cheney?

So, in this crucial election year, it might well be a woman who ultimately shows Democrats how to combat the talking-points style messaging of the GOP. Mallory McMorrow is a member of the Michigan state senate. She gained national attention with an emotional speech in April in response to a fundraising letter a Republican colleague had sent out accusing Democrats of wanting “to groom and sexualize kindergarteners”. The letter mentioned McMorrow by name and her response went viral, viewed over 14 million times on Twitter alone. It was her Margaret Chase Smith moment.*

In less than 5 minutes, Ms. McMorrow may have provided Democrats with an approach to counter the Republican culture-war assault. She combined a personal story with facts and delivered them with passion. She was articulate in a plain-spoken way. At 35, her appeal is potentially multi-generational and as a self-described “straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom,” she can possibly attracto a significant voting demographic.

She is also politically savvy. Taking advantage of her new-found visibility, she recorded this video after the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last week:

When the Washington Post’s Greg Sargeant reached out to veteran Democratic strategist James Carville for comment on her original speech, Carville told him:

She wasn’t defensive at all… I’d show this clip as an instructional video… I’m going to start talking that way.

Of course, Democrats will never know how effective this approach is unless they try it. I wonder if a prediction market would take bets on that possibility. Time will tell.

*On June 1, 1950, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered a speech that she called a "Declaration of Conscience." She made a strong call for every American's rights to criticize, hold unpopular beliefs, protest, and independent thought. [Source: www.americanswhotellthetruth.org]

I’m taking this week off from Friday Night YouTube Music. It will return next week.

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