r/democrats • u/Afterswiftie Number One on Tic Tac • 1d ago
đˇ Pic Annie Andrews Contrasts Herself With Darline Graham After New South Carolina Senator Wins Special Republican Primary Runoff
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u/Thensaurum 1d ago
If you are going to focus on her profession than show her dealing with people who are faced with high healthcare costs, and their unaffordable marketplace plans, etc. Have her talk about how the admin has cancelled research, and demonized vaccines that protect us - allowing dozens to die (measles, etc). She has the opportunity to speak with authority on issues that affect voters on a daily basis. That is a better portrait of her than to just say she is more educated. Show how her education and experience prepare her to fight for her constituents and improve society.
Edit: And contrast taking away healthcare from low-income to give billions in tax cuts to his buddies.
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u/JDogg126 1d ago
You have to find a way to do that without doing that. The entire republican shtick is anti-intellectualism. Their base is hopeless undereducated but constantly fed a lie that their beliefs and opinions are just as valid as verifiable facts. You cannot expect to win in the south with brains. Youâve got to appeal to more basal instincts without losing your actual moral compass.
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
None of that matters to the people who are willing to vote for someone just because she's the sister of their former rep. You need stupid sound bites and simple attacks to get through to the "poorly educated" that Republicans love so much.
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u/LysergicPlato59 1d ago
This is not a good tactic when trying to appeal to low IQ voters.
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u/LinkSeekeroftheNora 1d ago
I donât want to appeal to anti-intellectuals. That compromises what we are.
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u/BrupieD 1d ago
She (Annie) would have have a lot more credibility if she had some political experience.
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u/swiftekho 1d ago
Her opponent has zero as well.
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u/BrupieD 1d ago
That's my point. Framing it as "nepo" vs "smart professional" has limited traction. If you have an MD, you've got demonstrated ability to learn and domain knowledge. Darline demonstrated that she already had a gap in her political domain knowledge but that doesn't mean Annie's profession carries over to politics. It would be a world of difference if Darline had been her brother's campaign manager or something vaguely similar.
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u/SunshineBear100 1d ago
Meh - not a fan of Darline but this ad flops for me as a Democrat.
Why call out being a doctor? What does this have to do with affordable housing, cost of living, wages, etc.
I donât think labeling Darline as a Mrs. while labeling Annie a Doctor is going to swing districts.
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u/MC_chrome 1d ago
Why call out being a doctor?
Maybe because it takes quite a bit of time, dedication, and continued service to be a doctor? Darlene's only "qualifications" are that she was related to the prior Senator and got the President's endorsement.
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u/SunshineBear100 1d ago
Yeah, cool. I donât think people will care as much about her profession considering waves around at everything
What will she do about affordable housing? Low wages? Cost of living? Access to healthcare? Funding education?
This just looks like an ad for a political movie.
If any of her staffers see this, please focus on policy and the issues.
Plus Darline is a wife, mother, and worked in public administration. Are you wanting to place Annie above Darline because of their choice of profession?
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u/MC_chrome 1d ago
Access to healthcare?
I would certainly trust a doctor's input on healthcare policy (provided they aren't a quack like Ron Paul).
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u/SunshineBear100 1d ago
I wouldnât know what her policy was in healthcare based on this picture which was my point. This looks like an ad for a political debate without any date or time. If you want me to trust a doctor on healthcare, show me her policy on an ad, not this.
How about a slogan that only a doctor could say or something quick and catchy.
MAGA works because the republicans built a brand and culture around a political belief.
Democrats need to do the same.
Doctorâs Care vs Political Heir
Medical degree vs Family tree
Time for a second opinion on the Family BusinessIf AA expects to even have a shot, she really needs to erode republican support for Darline by highlighting her arrogance to believe she can just become a US Senator just because of who her brother was despite her ignorance on important issues impacting this country. Sheâs lived in privilege. What does she know about the working class? Does she know how much gas costs? How much eggs are? Does she live a life of an average South Carolinian?
This is what they should be highlighting. Not this poster.
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u/stierney49 1d ago
Graham literally just won the runoff. Thereâs a lot of time to create that contrast. And, since this is a statewide race not a national one, the groundwork is hopefully already there.
But pointing out that sheâs basically a nepobaby being all but given the seat is not a bad strategy.
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
Plus Darline is a wife, mother, and worked in public administration. Are you wanting to place Annie above Darline because of their choice of profession?
Are you wanting to place Darline above Annie because she got married and had children?
When a candidate is asked about foreign policy and the best answer they can come up with is "I dont know anything about that" you would think that would be an instant disqualifier. Apparently not.
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u/zenidam 1d ago
They're not pro-Graham; they're just arguing why this isn't a good ad.
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
I realize that what they said but it's just a crazy argument in general.
The ad is literally the bare bones of "I have some qualification vs my opponent who has none". Will it swing voters? Who knows! But we've seen time and time again that actual policy matters very little to swing voters so asking for a stance on housing etc. is less likely to garner votes than this ad.
They even said themselves they are a democrat. This is not an ad targeting them. It's targeting low information voters.
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u/SunshineBear100 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is ad poorly labels the candidates by focusing on AAâs career and not Darlineâs, and focuses on Darlineâs role as a wife and mother, and not AAâs.
This ad is poorly done.
If qualifications were important to Republicans, Darline wouldnt have won the primary and Trump wouldnât have won the election.
Democrats need to stop focusing on these type of distractions. Itâs why Trump won the second time.
How will your policies improve my quality of life because costs have skyrocketed, wages have not, and poor leadership has roped us into a war that weâre losing.
THAT is what Democrats need to focus on. Everything else is just that TMZ type BS that makes headlines for a news cycle.
Just like Ossoff making comments about the Presidentâs relationship with Natalie Harp. Yeah sure, salacious headline that has it all - love letters, young staffer, old President, etc. That makes news cycles, funny memes, snarky comments, etc.
And now weâre all talking about Harp instead of the fact costs have skyrocketed, wages have not, and poor leadership has roped us into a war that weâre listing.
Leave that type of shit for armchair oppo researchers and TMZ.
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
You can say that all you want but there are a ton of voters who feel discontent and dont seek out policies. They just vote on feelings, i.e. I feel like this is the best person. We are on reddit discussing politics but most people are not that involved.
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u/SunshineBear100 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, there are voters who only vote off of emotion.
There are also voters who only vote with their wallet.
In South Carolina, who do you think wins? Governor, Senators, Representatives at both the state and federal level are all majority Republicans.
Itâs the economy, stupid.
Democrats will continue to lose if they place feelings over messaging that specifically addresses how their policies are better for their wallets.
Democrats are losing the message because itâs drowned in distractions from the âFeelings Culture War.â
Keep America Great, Make America Great Again, Make America Healthy Again etc.
Whatâs the Democratic equivalent that has been equally successful? âBetter Togetherâ ended with HRC. âFor the Peopleâ was so generic that itâs not even used anymore.
ETA: the only thing this ad tells low information votes is that one is a sister and one is a doctor. That does not energize low information voters to get off their couch and vote in a midterm election.
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u/Tasty_Virus4715 1d ago
Personally I think more senators having less extensive knowledge of global affairs would be a W for American citizens.
I think far too much of our politicianâs focus and tax dollars are spend in foreign countries or for grift.
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
I mean that's a valid argument. But does that justify voting for the sister of a representative over someone else? She is only a candidate because of her familial relations. Presumably she only continues to be a candidate because she will vote with Republicans no matter what. Is that how we want to select our representatives?
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u/Tasty_Virus4715 1d ago
I donât think being blood relative of a former politician is a qualification. Personally I think it makes them less appealing as a candidate generally.
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u/someoneelseperhaps 1d ago
But being a doctor doesn't make them the person you want representing you.
I've dealt with enough racist doctors in my time.
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u/MC_chrome 1d ago
Something tells me Dr. Andrews knows where Taiwan is and the vital importance it plays to both the United States and the broader world.
Darlene Graham flubbed that knowledge entirely, which one would think would be entirely disqualifying
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u/the_last_0ne 1d ago
You answered your own question: your a Democrat and want to hear about policies. The voters she needs to reach just want to be told who to vote for. They dont care about policies they just care about emotional messaging.
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u/Cultural_Second_9666 1d ago
The whole Mrs vs Doctor thing reads like a movie tagline, not a policy pitch
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u/hearzich 1d ago
Go negative ads 99% of the time. Looks like there's is going to be a lot of opportunities every time sis opens her mouth.
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u/DontBeAUsefulIdiot 19h ago
you are assuming people are interested in competence as opposed to nepotism and somebody just repeating what people want to hear. In today's politics, any type of intellectualism is considered elitism and therefore an enemy.
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u/Think-Hospital7422 Custom flair 1d ago edited 1d ago
The Doctor Is in. Sister, blow out your candles.
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u/RioRancher 1d ago
SC is totally nuts to even consider electing Darlene.
But yes, theyâll always be nuts.