On a Swing and a Prayer

Because elusive swing voters wield outsized influence over elections, different candidates try different things to motivate and reach them. Democrats believe sticking to bread-and-butter issues is strategically optimal, while Republicans focus on fabricating spectacles that dominate the media ahead of elections. And the only thing we can say for sure is that some Republican spectacles, like the Ebola blitz, work like a charm. What can Democrats learn from their opponents? And how can they anticipate and neutralize Republican propaganda blitzes? Where should Democrats be trying harder to draw attention to real things? And shouldn’t Democrats have the upperhand, as Republicans criminalize abortion, engage in wild corruption scandals, and have dinner with Nazis? Crooked Media’s own Jon Favreau joins to talk about the challenge of reaching swing voters, how the two parties approach that challenge differently, and what, if anything, Democrats could do better since so much turns on how well they perform in elections.