DON'T BE AFRAID TO INSULT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, DEMOCRATS

At Threads, Brian Paterson notes the results of a new Virginia poll:

Oliver Willis's response is absolutely right:

I think Democrats are afraid to say that you get abortion bans if you vote Republican, or a gun free-for-all if you vote Republican, or more tax cuts for the rich if you vote Republican, because they don't want to offend Republicans or independents who generally vote Republican. But Republicans have been insulting Democrats and liberals tirelessly since the days of Nixon, and many people who used to be Democrats, or who grew up in Democratic households, have responded to the insults by ... turning Republican. They don't seem to be offended -- and by "they" I mean the entire white South as well as much of the middle of the country. (I'm so old I remember when Missouri and Ohio were swing states.) These voters aren't upset when Republicans insult their former party (or parents' party). They respond well to sayings like "I didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me."

President Biden talks about the way "MAGA" has taken over the Republican Party, but he continues to suggest that it's just a temporary infection that will clear up if Donald Trump loses again, and he insists that there are plenty of good, decent Republicans out there. By contrast, Republicans tell voters that the Democratic Party is irreparably broken -- maybe it was fine in the days of JFK, but it's been awful since then. And many boomers who grew up worshipping JFK respond by voting GOP.

So remind voters that bad right-wing policies are Republican. Many people don't follow politics closely, so they just don't know.