Here's Why Democrats’ “Threat To Democracy” Mantra Is Genius
Liberals often value things that cannot be quantified, such as fairness, empathy, and justice. They believe that these things are more important than things that can be measured, such as gas prices, inflation, and unemployment.
When compared side-by-side, it's clear that Liberal solutions are for problems that can't be measured, while most Conservative solutions are for problems that can be measured.
It’s within this frame that Democrats “threat to democracy” talking point is created.
And wow - it’s powerful despite democracy not being something you can measure.
Let’s explore why.
Here's Why Democrats’ “Threat To Democracy” Mantra Is Powerful
Anecdotes
It is difficult to measure democracy, which gives the Democrats an advantage in persuasion. They cannot show voters statistics, numbers, or trends in data that show a decline in democracy. Instead, they can provide their base and the typical low-information voter with anecdotes. If their base and low-information voters hear the phrases “threat to democracy” or “democracy is on the ballot” enough times, they will be biased to interpret future events and observations as examples of democracy being under attack - whatever that means.
The reason that democrats and low-information voters view Republicans’ effort to strengthen election security as an attack on elections is because they are misinformed. Republican proposals to have better election transparency by conducting more regular and rigorous audits, voter ID, and signature matching are not attacks on democracy, but rather attempts to improve the security of our elections. If we want to protect the integrity of our democracy, we should support these measures.
The Democrats' "threat to democracy" mantra has caused millions of Americans to view election solutions as a threat to democracy. They have established an anchor in the minds of millions and used it to weaponize confirmation bias.
Fear
Fear is the ultimate persuader. Both Democrats and Republicans love America and want what is best for it, even if they have different ideas about what that is. For Democrats and the typical low-information voter, losing democracy has become what they fear the most.
The "threat to democracy" talking point is powerful, even if it resonates with only a small portion of the population. If you can get a significant portion of America to believe that "democracy is on the ballot" or that Republicans are a "threat to democracy", you can swing elections. I believe that a significant portion of America might buy into this mantra. We saw evidence of this in Fetterman (the stroke guy) became a senator.
The conservative movement is a threat to democracy, according to many Democrats. They believe that conservative policies and candidates will erode the foundations of democracy, and they are voting accordingly.
They are voting like their democracy depends on it.
The Nature of Liberals
Liberals are high in trait neuroticism and openness to experience (meaning they are prone to experiencing negative emotion and high in imagination and fantasy thinking). The “threat to democracy mantra” is vague and ambiguous. This is strategic. This allows and encourages Liberals to draw from their own observations and experiences to spot examples of what they consider to be threats to democracy. Anything that triggers Liberals into experiencing negative emotion - think anxiety or fear - is now going to look like an example of an attack on democracy.
Why Do Liberals Focus On That Which Can’t Be Measured?
It could be because Liberals have a natural interest towards that which can't be measured because they believe that these things are important and should be given attention even if they can't be quantified.
OR. OR. OR. It could also be because it allows Liberals to avoid criticism because they can't be held accountable for results that can't be measured. Yes - that and the fact they are neurotic and have a warped imagination.