TRUMP’S DEBATE STRATEGY IS EMOTIONAL DISENFRANCHISEMENT. I LEARNED ABOUT IT 27 YEARS AGO FROM THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE (NRCC).
“So, you’ll be happy to know I’m quitting the Republican party.”
In the summer of 1992, when I was in college, I interned at the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) through a program called The Fund for American Studies.I eventually developed a playful acquaintanceship (“friend” might be too strong a word) with Jack, a young man interning at the NRCC. On the last day of our program, he walked up to me and said, “So, you’ll be happy to know I’m quitting the Republican party.” The reason he quit has given me unsettling insight into why Trump behaved as he did in the first Presidential debate, and why it may get him reelected.
During Jack's first meeting at the NRCC, the men around the table were discussing using negative ads. Flipping Democrats to Republicans with those ads was not the goal. No, the goals was to depress turnout.
I call this strategy Emotional Disenfranchisement.
Emotional disenfranchisement is disgusting voters so much with the political process that they think all politicians are corrupt, there is no hope, and they might as well not vote because the candidates are “all the same.”
The goal is to repress the vote of people who are harmed by your candidates’ policies and demoralize the people who might work on their behalf. This is why Jack decided to leave the party he had been so dedicated to until this point.Emotional disenfranchisement works very well when you have a fringe element of very engaged voters, and a majority of voters with soft support for your opponent.
Since 1992 I have watched in dismay, year after year, as the Republicans employed the same strategy they did twenty-eight years ago, but with better reach, more ruthlessness, and less ethics. The right has no intention of winning this election with an honest debate about ideas.
They plan to use two tactics:
1. Old fashioned suppression. (Think Jim Crow, 2.0.)
2. Emotionally disenfranchising all but the most die-hard Trump supporters who could hear anything about their candidate and remain loyal.
If you believe this isn’t the case, watch the first Presidential debate again. It was “going low” amplified through a grotesque funhouse mirror executed perfectly by our President, an immoral but savvy communicator. The most extreme example of this was his refusal to disavow a White supremacy. Yes, Trump was catering to his supporters. But he was also hoping people of conscience would be so appalled by his racism they would check out in disgust.
Emotional disenfranchisement works
I was not surprised, but deeply dismayed, as I scrolled down my Facebook feed after the debate. Smart, committed, and politically active people were talking about how they “were done.” Most would still vote, but could no longer bring themselves to engage more than that.
Days later posts have switched from important articles about the election to pictures of beautifully plated dinners. My friends are highly educated, and committed to being a part of the political process. Moral and upright, they are people who truly care. Usually, they would be the last people to check out, yet a surprising number did. I don’t blame them. Emotional disenfranchisement works.
None of this is by accident. The farright knows exactly what they are doing. They want us to disengage politically online, tune out (and distrust) the news, and tolerate efforts to repress the votes of American youth and People of Color. Republicans are counting on us to feel so horrified, anxious, disgusted and helpless that we accept a slow slide into fascism.
We must do none of those things.
If we are White and privileged, we have a buffer, and therefor temptation to check out can be strong . As countries slide into tyranny, marginalized people are targeted before those with more power. The right is well aware of this. They are counting on White people exercising the privilege of putting our heads in the sand.
We must never accept the unacceptable.
White people must remember that checking out is a luxury, a luxury our fellow Americans in marginalized groups cannot afford. When we check out, we abandon them. We abandon our LBGTQ+ friends, our Black neighbors, or our loved ones with Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI).
Americans must fight emotional disenfranchisement, no matter how low our President sinks. We must stay more engaged than we ever have before. We must vote, poll watch, participate online, help get out the vote, and write letters to the editor. If the election is stolen during the interregnum, we must take to the streets.
At time we may feel repulsed, helpless or afraid. That’s ok.
We cannot, however, let our feelings dictate our actions.
The outcome of this election is dependent upon a nebulous force out of our control. It’s dependent upon Americans working to save our country. No matter how much like a petulant child Trump behaves, or how morally repugnant his minions act, we must not give up. Let’s all be like Jack.
We must never accept the unacceptable.
What happens next is up to us.
BIO: Eliza VanCort’s forthcoming book, “A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO CLAIMING SPACE: Stand Tall. Raise Your Voice. Be Heard” is available for pre-sale now and will be published in the Spring of 2021. She gives talks on empowering communication for the good of all. For more info, go to: elizavancort.com.
