Why weren’t the Democrats effective in countering that misinformation or handling the angry mobs?
The Democrats, instead of being prepared, did not take steps to turn out their own base. They didn’t have a coherent plan to give to the average person. It’s appalling how the left has been out-organized by the right on this. Obama has done it right, but a lot of others have done it wrong. They are unprepared for the anger; they let the meetings collapse in chaos. Obama does what a good community organizer does. You do the three Rs: respect, rebut, rebuke. You treat people respectfully, then you rebut the false information, but you don’t call them stupid or a wing-nut. Then you move on to part three: rebuke the forces that provided the false information. You say, ‘The person who told you that is wrong.’ That leaves the person who leaves with skepticism about information. How do you stop the growing division and anger behind this populism? It’s not easy. You have to pick it apart piece by piece. You need people across the political spectrum saying, ‘We need this demonization to stop.’ T
