Ben Wickler

sports, beauty, fashion, like the whole world of culture, the world that people actually inhabit when they're not thinking about how they're going to vote, the conversations that happen in those places are the things that are sort of, you know, cultures upstream from politics. The places where those nonpolitical conversations take place shape the landscape in which political dramas play out.

sports, beauty, fashion, like the whole world of culture, the world that people actually inhabit when they're not thinking about how they're going to vote, the conversations that happen in those places are the things that are sort of, you know, cultures upstream from politics. The places where those nonpolitical conversations take place shape the landscape in which political dramas play out.

And this is something that I think Trump has a particular talent and knack for, but also people like Roger Ailes and a lot of other Republicans. They think about how to push narratives that affect the broader culture. And as Democrats, I think we need an intentional cultural strategy. And some of that can happen and should happen at the party. Some of that should happen outside the party.

And this is something that I think Trump has a particular talent and knack for, but also people like Roger Ailes and a lot of other Republicans. They think about how to push narratives that affect the broader culture. And as Democrats, I think we need an intentional cultural strategy. And some of that can happen and should happen at the party. Some of that should happen outside the party.

But as a Democratic Party, we should be working to help get folks – to get Democratic candidates and elected officials and communicators and storytellers into places that shape the broader conversation across the country. That means having dinners where people can meet each other. Influencers can meet elected officials and learn about the things that they're working on.

But as a Democratic Party, we should be working to help get folks – to get Democratic candidates and elected officials and communicators and storytellers into places that shape the broader conversation across the country. That means having dinners where people can meet each other. Influencers can meet elected officials and learn about the things that they're working on.

A lot of this stuff is a total black box to people that are outside of politics. And you actually have to demystify it and put a human face on things and build relationships so people make a phone call to see if something's true before they go out and say it. And that's work that has to happen before elections so you don't get to the final 107 days and have culture already swung away from you.

A lot of this stuff is a total black box to people that are outside of politics. And you actually have to demystify it and put a human face on things and build relationships so people make a phone call to see if something's true before they go out and say it. And that's work that has to happen before elections so you don't get to the final 107 days and have culture already swung away from you.

That work should start right now. And the DNC chair's election is February 1st. So I will be on day one. It's a very public commitment. We'll start an audit of every consulting contract that the Democratic Party has, and we will actually choose where to spend our money based on our values and the path to victory, not relationships or old political debts that someone incurred a long time ago.

That work should start right now. And the DNC chair's election is February 1st. So I will be on day one. It's a very public commitment. We'll start an audit of every consulting contract that the Democratic Party has, and we will actually choose where to spend our money based on our values and the path to victory, not relationships or old political debts that someone incurred a long time ago.

But the other thing that we'll start doing is building a battle plan in each state and a strategy around attention and communication that shifts where these conversations are taking place. It's just, we don't live in In the 90s or the 2000s or the 2010s, like this is now attention is fragmented into a million different places.

But the other thing that we'll start doing is building a battle plan in each state and a strategy around attention and communication that shifts where these conversations are taking place. It's just, we don't live in In the 90s or the 2000s or the 2010s, like this is now attention is fragmented into a million different places.

Half the electorate doesn't watch TV and we need to look to where attention is going and then actually build relationships that are based on common values and shared interests and make sure that Democrats are talking about why their values as a –

Half the electorate doesn't watch TV and we need to look to where attention is going and then actually build relationships that are based on common values and shared interests and make sure that Democrats are talking about why their values as a –

as a hunter and sports person, lead them to want to make sure that we don't destroy the natural resources across the state of Wisconsin, to take one close to home example, across all the different dimensions, because people care about a million things, but they have a common set of values that are fundamentally about the idea that everyone should have freedom and dignity and respect and be able to afford the basic things that everyone needs in life.

as a hunter and sports person, lead them to want to make sure that we don't destroy the natural resources across the state of Wisconsin, to take one close to home example, across all the different dimensions, because people care about a million things, but they have a common set of values that are fundamentally about the idea that everyone should have freedom and dignity and respect and be able to afford the basic things that everyone needs in life.

That's universal stuff that touches just about everything that people do.

That's universal stuff that touches just about everything that people do.

Well, we know that... We are losing ground with folks across race and ethnicity and across geography, across the country. And so we should be working with ad makers, with communicators, with pollsters and researchers that reflect the full diversity of our coalition that understand the communities that they're trying to work in.

Well, we know that... We are losing ground with folks across race and ethnicity and across geography, across the country. And so we should be working with ad makers, with communicators, with pollsters and researchers that reflect the full diversity of our coalition that understand the communities that they're trying to work in.