Republicans win elections largely because they beat the pants off Democrats on branding and sloganeering. Have you heard the latest Democratic slogan? Yeah, me either.
Branding doesn’t need to be flashy, but it does need to be memorable; and personally, I’d like it to be accurate. That’s why my nomination for the Democrats is “Competent Leadership,” along with its direct corollary, “Positive Progress.”
Not exciting, but simple and historically kinda accurate. Democrats love governing, and they actually aspire to deliver Positive Progress.
Competent Leadership means finding solutions to complex problems and protecting constitutional rights. It means genuine dedication to public service and even (occasionally) accepting responsibility for failures. It means acknowledging that there’s no free lunch. All things worth doing are worth paying for.
Competent Leadership means not letting critical infrastructure collapse. It means maintaining strong military readiness, but prioritizing diplomacy to avoid foolish military engagements. It means trusting the views of actual experts over preening bloviators, funding independent research, and crafting and implementing intelligent long-term strategic policies.
Once in office, politicians fall short of the promise; but remember that transformational leadership is actually very rare in human history, though competence in leadership shouldn’t be.
Critically, to elect competent leaders, we need informed and engaged voters. That’s why I try to vote in every election in Elburn.
I’m Reed Scherer, and that’s my perspective.
