What's In? What's Out?

Whats In: Progressive Economic Messaging

What's Out: Ridiculing Rural Trump Voters

How can we win enough votes in rural and small towns this fall to Kamala Harris and save our Democracy? A recent webcast from the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative urges activists to focus on kitchen table issues, such as:

• Anti-corporate populism

• Supporting a strong middle class

• Medicare and Social Security

And it argues that we should avoid:

• Denigrating rural Trump voters (or rural areas in general)

• Ignoring how Democratic policies and policymakers have hurt rural areas

• Pushing too hard on gender identity issues that threaten traditional values

In its webcast (which we encourage you to watch, link here), RUBI makes a convincing case that both urban and rural working class voters have moved to Trump largely because of:

• legitimate economic grievances (see: NAFTA),

• suspicion of experts (see: Oxycontin and vaccine skepticism),

• and of government regulations that have failed them (see: coal mine disasters).

And it points the finger at liberal activists—legitimately—for shaming or ridiculing working class voters as backwards, uneducated, or simply racist.

With Pennsylvania and other swing states hanging by a thread due to inflation and the Israel/Hamas war, we need to double down on messaging that wins in rural and small manufacturing counties. That includes holding big business accountable for price gouging, and focusing on federal programs that help working class voters, like retirement and caring for sick family members.

And the messaging must come from trusted, local, community messengers, via both old-fashioned local community organizing and more modern social media.

We at MAFlipPA are helping by gathering news about the local benefits of Democratic policies (email us if you’d like to be on our mailing list).

We still have five months to create the right messaging that will lead to progressive wins in November. Is this “economy” messaging on the right track? Let us know what you think and why.

Refer also to the Tools and Tips page on the MA Flip PA website for useful resources, and/or

in our mission ensure Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes go to a progressive candidate!