County committees should also have a support package ready to go for candidates, with resources including money, data,  and volunteers, already identified.

Always be on the lookout for quality candidates. Encourage candidates. Build relationships with campaigns.

Money is incredibly important to your organization. In Kansas you are already behind the 8 ball in most Kansas communities, simply due to your party. You are battling local right wing radio and media, national TV, existing hostile politicians, and an army of MAGA influencers who hold sway with your voters.

It will take marketing to get your message out. Marketing is expensive. Support for candidates is expensive. You should form as many revenue streams as possible and work them for all they're worth. Make fundraising success an important metric for your Committee.

Even if Democratic candidates don't win in your area, you can still have an impact on the issues. Working the issues (through well thought out moderate positions) also positions your group as experts, who can be trusted for information. For your relevancy, and for the sake of our State, the issues are vitally important.

While confronting words and actions/policies when we should, we must also focus on ourselves — what we stand for, and how we tell our story. That means acknowledging that “the narrative of liberalism and democracy collapsed.” Instead of defending a system that has been rejected by many voters, we need to articulate an alternative vision for what kind of County and State should come next.

*Adapted from a Nov. 8 2024 New York Times article, by Ben Rhodes, titled "I Study Guys Like Trump. There’s a Reason They Keep Winning."

Many Kansas Democrats, and Democratic campaigns, today shrink from the Democratic brand.

This has to change.

The extreme excesses in the upcoming years by the national GOP will flow over into our State GOP and local government. Kansas Democrats will likely never have a better chance to be the resistance to this insanity, and build their brand.

With that in mind, all Democratic Campaigns should be strongly encouraged to display the County Committee logo and tagline.

Additionally,  County Democrat Committees should aggressively market themselves. A strong, recognized brand helps in recruiting volunteers, candidates, and donors. Effective marketing campaigns can also help get the message out.

You can even take control and build your own media machine.

A smart and effective marketing plan is key to taking back control of your message.

Substack has given us a model for not only a media hub, but also a built-in mailing and subscription engine. Combine this with YouTube for channel videos, and citizen journalism to make up for the death of local newspapers, and you have the basis for changing the way your community perceives your group.

Channel all your communications through your hub. Build and strengthen your brand within the hub. Become a destination for political happenings in your community.

Democrats need an effective megaphone. Your community is a desert of local political and governmental information. Combine the two, and you have a new way forward.

While Democrats support the general guidance of the Kansas Democratic Party Platform, they should also respect and embrace the differences in their candidates and voters, and shouldn't dogmatically require obedience. Diversity, equity, and inclusion of thought should apply.

Democrats should also be welcoming to moderate Republican voices alienated by the extremism in today's Republican Party. A big tent serves all.

There are few outside resources for Democrats however. It simply isn't a fair fight.

Normally, local candidates don't want to run negative ads. That's where the County Democrat Committee can help. Negative ads should be factual, but it is imperative that somebody highlight the negative aspects of the opposing candidate. A budget and a strategy team ready to go could make all the difference in a race. Postcards to targeted voters are usually the most cost effective marketing, but there are other avenues as well.

For adanced committees, consider a PAC or SuperPac to advocate for candidates. SuperPacs in conjunction with non-profit organizations have an added benefit of shielding donors. There are many Republicans and Independents who would donate to Democratic issues, if they didn't have to publicly disclose their donations. Why not give them that opportunity?

While there are still many moderates in Kansas, far left positions simply won't fly here. And that's OK. Our MAGA politicians are now so far to the "Kooky" end of the spectrum that simple common sense positions are a vast improvement.

When it comes to marketing, it matters how arguments are framed. In her upcoming book, Outclassed by Joan C. Williams, the author elaborates with this:

“Do you talk about climate change as: ‘There are climate deniers that deny science and in their ignorance, are taking us to a toasty future?’ Or do you talk about climate change as creating situations where farmers can no longer farm what their grandfathers farmed - how you have a situation where insurance companies are refusing to offer fire insurance to middle-class people?” Williams asked.

Again, the ways in which Democrats frame conversations matter if we want to appeal to a broader group. 

Center your issues in words designed to appeal to the other side. For instance when it comes to renewable energy, couch your arguments around freedom, landowner rights, and saving the taxpayers money. Don't couch it as being "green"and saving the planet from greenhouse gasses. You have to appeal to the ideals your opponents have been indoctrinated to believe in.

Finally, remember that limited government can be a good thing. Government simply isn't equipped to solve all of societies ills. Private enterprise is the backbone of our economic system and much good can be accomplished within this framework.

The Trump years will feature continuous over-reaching, with our State and Federal GOP legislators enthusiastically capitulating. You are the watchdog. Don't abandon your principles.

Lay of the Land:
In the grand scheme of things, at a high level, the biggest difference between the Democratic Party and the traditional Republican Party is that Democrats believe more in “WE” and traditional Republicans believe more in “ME”. It really is that simple, and most every difference flows from that simple concept.

Now, if we’re addressing the difference between Democrats and MAGA Republicans, the distinction is one of basic sanity and which world we actually physically reside in. In this arena, the Democrats tagline could be changed to something along the lines of “Democrats, at least we aren’t crazy”!

The Democrat message is a good message. It is a people message. It is a caring message. It is a "WE" message. Embrace it.

But, if you strip away the layers of hate that have been added, and get back to the fundamentals, religion can be a unifying and powerful force for good in the world. Jesus was not a Republican, and was in fact quite liberal.  Realize that Democrats stand for much of what Jesus taught.

Consider inter-denominational prayers at meetings. Incorporate religious ideals into your positions. Don't run from religion due to the hatred MAGA has attached, accept it for what it truly is. Respect and embrace religion.

As a Democrat, this may rub you the wrong way. An argument could be made that a moderate Republican will be harder for a future Democrat to beat at a later date.

AND

Your Committee is going to have to decide if party loyalties take precedence over a loyalty to a better Kansas.

Moderate non-MAGA Republicans are getting rarer by the day. Without your support they may lose in their most important race, the primary, to their more extreme opponent.

Democrats have much in common with moderate Republicans, including a desire for good governance and rational policies.

Support for a moderate Republican may consist of endorsing an issue, canvassing for or contributing to a candidate, or even registering to vote as a Republican in a primary election.

In 2022 a well liked moderate Republican candidate for County Commission lost in a primary election in Central Kansas by just 2 votes. Had the moderate candidate received help from the County Democratic party in the primary, including having several Democrats re-register as Republicans, history would have been altered, for the better. Just 2 votes made all the difference. Because of those 2 votes our County Health Department was under threat and lost a very capable medical consultant.

However, most recruitment efforts fall flat. Completely.

To recruit youth you must get out of your comfort zone and have something to offer them. Your organization must be active and leading. Boring meetings aren't going to cut it. Action is what younger people desire. You have to have something to offer. It could be anything from issues leadership to candidate support to internships to focus groups to committee positions.

First, recruit and designate a younger person on your team to recruit and liaison with younger folks.

Secondly, find young people willing to lead and let them run with it. You will have to share power and listen. You can find these people by actively searching them out via networking with groups such as Young Professionals, Girls and Boys Clubs, local College groups, etc. Instagram, Youtube, and to a lesser extent Facebook ads might even be an option. Get creative and get going.

And finally, and this is where the money comes in, you have to support youth with merchandise and hospitality. Free food, shirts, etc. Make it fun. Welcome younger people and make them an important part of the team. Listen to them.

Women's groups, the NAACP, environmental groups, the LGBTQ+ community, etc. are all excellent candidates for your parties attention. Relationships should either be forged, or renewed.

It isn't enough to just want votes from these groups at election time. Your County Party Committee needs these groups input, and they need to know that you take their issues seriously as well. Good old fashioned networking and listening skills are needed by the ambassador, as well as the entire Committee.

Historically the Democratic Party was the friend of the working class. Disregarding what the economy offers this group is a recipe for disaster.  Tax relief, a livable wage, affordable education and housing, should all be pillars of your platform. How are you going to address these issues? Does your message and marketing speak to these folks?

However none of this matters if you don't have the expertise to slice and dice this data into meaningful, actionable tasks for your County Committee and candidates. Developing this expertise can give you an edge, reduce expenses, and win elections.

Violent rhetoric and anger is at the core of the MAGA movement. However, Democrats are in the minority in Kansas and the rules will be interpreted differently for them. Republicans will not hesitate to energize law enforcement or change the rules to persecute or gaslight the minority party whenever possible. Don't give them an opening.

In general, Democrats have always been the party of hope, dreams, and possibilities. Even though this is a time for resistance, Democrats must keep hope and a better future alive.

Violence has no place in politics, on either side. Always focus on policies, actions, consequences, and elections.

In this case the phrase "old white men" may play well with your base, but instead focus on the zoning issues and how it will affect landowners/residents and taxpayers.

Republicans are hyper focused on identity politics and will be actively looking to discredit your arguments, using identity, if they can. Be precise in how you frame your positions.

Conversely, if the issue IS identity, such as discrimination against LGBTQ+ folks or ethnic minorities, don't hesitate to focus on identity. Speak truthfully, frankly, and directly about it and how it affects the groups targeted.