An Open Letter to the Biden Campaign
I have two choice words for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign: “Wake up!” Okay, maybe a few more than two words. Allow me to elaborate…
Both presidential candidates have significantly low approval ratings. Voters dissatisfied with both candidates may sit out this election, given the negatives associated with each. But Trump negatives far outweigh Biden negatives. Never in the history of the United States has a major party candidate had such massive negatives: a former President who was twice impeached, refused to accept the results of a free and fair election, fomented an insurrection, belittled and contradicted public health experts during a pandemics, cozied up to dictators while disparaging US allies, lined his pockets and those of cronies, made off with classified government documents, issued presidential pardons for those who broke the law on his behalf; defended and encouraged violent hate groups, and has been found guilty of sexual assault and slander. Any one of these missteps would be fodder for Republican operatives to bash the Democratic candidate. Hillary’s emails pale by comparison.
Congress has failed, not once but twice, to hold Trump accountable for impeachable offenses. A politicized Supreme Court has provided cover for Trump malfeasance. The only sure way for Trump to be judged is in the court of public opinion. And the well-funded Biden campaign is perfectly positioned to influence public opinion — if they only knew how.
Democrats in recent decades have shied away from the bare-knuckled brawl of politics, in effect, bringing a water pistol to a gun fight. It is a sad reality of American politics that negative messaging works. But Democrats are historically reluctant to go negative. “When they go low, we go high,” was the mantra during the 2016 presidential election. Of course, we know how that turned out.
Forget about rational messages — they hold little sway in politics these days. Forget about trying to boost Biden’s image. Since early March his campaign has spent over $15 million trying to highlight his accomplishments and boost his image, and his approval rating hasn’t ticked up in the least.
Americans do, however, respond to emotional messages. They are moved to action by fear, anger, resentment, and disgust. Presidential hopefuls have been torpedoed by a single damning theme or image: the threat of Barry Goldwater triggering a nuclear holocaust; Michael Dukakis freeing a murderous Black convict; uppity Hilary dismissed disaffected populist supporters as deplorables. Trump’s character, his record, his self-serving machinations: these are targets that cannot be missed.
The election can be won decisively by informing and reminding voters who Trump is and what he has done, thereby drawing a sharp contrast between the character of the two candidates. The challenge is to get the American public to pay attention. Because anyone who is paying attention recognizes that Trump is reckless and vindictive, and his approach to governance is dangerous and dysfunctional. But so many Americans don’t pay attention or have short attention spans
How, then to reach a public that fast-forwards through TV commercials and tunes out reputable news sources in favor of social media echo chambers? Create campaign attack ads that arouse and entertain, that create a buzz, that people go out of their way to see.
And who better to general emotion reactions than screenwriters and moviemakers. They are practiced at dramatizing epic struggles between good and evil. The setup is perfect: a showdown between an immoral, self-serving scoundrel and a decent, capable everyman. This is familiar territory to Hollywood scriptwriters, who are practiced in getting us to root for the good guy. As it happens, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the movie mogul behind DreamWorks, is a major player in the Biden campaign. Doing what? Fundraising? Seriously?! Put this man to work doing what he does best: producing must-see content.
Imagine if you will a series of Oscar-worthy 1–2 minute videos that fill the airwaves and go viral on TikTok and YouTube. Here is a sampling of videos that could sway voters.
RULE OF LAW
[Soundtrack: “For What It’s Worth” — Buffalo Springfield]
Cross-cutting between…
(a) images of January 6th violence, Chancellorville chaos, Proud Boy rampaging, video clips of inflammatory statements by right-wing militant groups, and
(b) Trump statements of support for right wing militants· “Good people on both sides”
— Response to debate moderator about whether he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups
— “Stand by…” call to Proud Boys
— Jan. 6th “go home” message
Voice-over summarizes newspaper clipping of FBI findings on the threat of domestic terrorism
Testimony of poll workers who were falsely accused of election interference: harassment, threats, severe life disruption
Video clips of Trump stating how he would appoint cronies, criminalize political opponents
Excerpts from Mueller report describing Russian interference in 2016 election
— Photos of those convicted for election interference, followed by screenshot: “Pardoned by Trump on [date]”
THE ENVIRONMENT
[Soundtrack: “Big Yellow Taxi” — Joni Mitchell]
Vivid footage of natural disasters…
— Dramatic scenes of hurricanes, tornadoes; voiceover explains more severe because of rising temperatures
— Antarctic ice masses break off into the ocean (voiceover describes sea level rise projections)
— Lobstermen in New England decry loss of lobster harvest because of water temperature
— Wildfires in California, Hawaii, other Western States (voiceover cites number and total area)
— U.S. cities engulfed in smoke from Canada
— Scenes of drought in African countries (voiceover cites severity and number affected and resulting migration crisis)
Followed by…
— Headline with voiceover: Trump abandons Paris accords
— Clips of Trump dismissing and lying about impact of global warming
— Headlines with voiceover: Trump’s federal agencies gut environmental protections
List of ten hottest years on record flash in quick succession: 2023, 2020, 2016, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2014
DEMOCRACY
[Soundtrack: “Sympathy for the Devil” — Rolling Stones]
Videos from Trump impeachment hearing and news reports, with corresponding calendar dates in corner of screen
— Trump team schemes to substitute false electors, encourages January 6 disruption
— Court cases affirm that election results were valid
— Trump team encourages lawless supporters to come to DC on January 6
— Trump phone call seeking additional votes in Georgia
Impeachment hearing testimony about, and footage from, January 6th, with a clock in corner of screen documenting when events occurre
— Excerpts from Trump speech at prior rally
— Testimony of Trump being made aware of the weapons-wielding supporters (“Let ’em in, they’re on my side”)
— Video of violence by insurrectionists, attack on police, breaching the floor of Congress
— Accounts of Trump watching TV as it unfolds
— Accounts of political allies and family member asking him to intercede
— Tweets about Mike Pence
— Video of Trump praising insurrections when he finally tells them to stand down
Statements by campus police who feared for their lives
News report of police death toll
Recent clip of Trump acknowledging prospect of violence if he loses
FOREIGN POLICY
[“The End” — The Doors]
Video clips of Trump…
— Expressing solidarity with Kim Jong Il and admiration for Putin
— Disparaging U.S. generals, John McCain, NATO allies
Excerpts from tell-all books by former colleagues describing how…
— Trump never reads briefing reports
— Subterfuge was required to prevent him from taking disastrous action
— Ukraine policy, with clips from first impeachment hearing
— Trump withholds support of Zelensky government, disregards established foreign policy
— Trump recalls ambassador and sends Guiliani and other cronies to do his political bidding
— Trump phone call seeking political favors
— Testimony by defenders of U.S. policy (Vindman, Hill, Yovanovitch), followed by accounts of how they were subsequently targeted
Recent clips of Trump vowing to clean house in State Department and other government agencies
The election is Biden’s for the taking. If only his campaign would wake up and sling the mud.
