In politics, to win an argument, your case needs to be believable just as much as it needs to be true. Right now, Republicans and Democrats are both pushing story lines that have little credibility. On the Republican side, it’s voter suppression laws. On the Democratic side, it’s the Koch brothers. I’ve written on both before but they are both under my skin right now. 

Republicans need to get past all of their voter fraud arguments and just own up to their shenanigans because, in politics, it’s better to be a Machiavellian asshole than a bald-faced liar. The only people who believe that the voter suppression laws have anything to do with combatting fraud are the people already who believe anything Fox News and the GOP feed them. These laws have nothing to with fraud and everything to do with shaping the electorate. 

But it’s not people like me that they need to convince. It’s the growing African-American community they need to persuade. For a hundred years after the end of slavery, white Southerners used voting laws, combined with terrorism, to deny black Southerners political power. It’s taken almost 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 for the percentage of African-Americans voting to match the percentage of African-Americans in the population. So forgive them if they think efforts to restrict access to the voting booth are directed at them.

Instead of trying to convince African-American voters that they aren’t trying to limit their voting strength, the GOP should try to convince them that their policies benefit the black community. That should be an easier argument to win. If it’s not, maybe the GOP should examine their platform.

The Koch brothers argument is a different animal all together. It’s an example of the political class living in a bubble and detached from the lives of real Americans. Whether it’s true or not, people aren’t going to believe that two billionaire brothers are going to buy the United States government for their own devious purposes.

A few months ago, we heard about the “Green Lantern Theory of the presidency.” Well, this the Lex Luthor theory of politics. It’s a comic book storyline and most people know that Lex Luther is not real. 

The strategy is not just unbelievable; it’s not capturing the imagination of the voters, I don’t care what polling or Harry Reid says. The Republicans tried the same tactics with George Soros a few cycles ago and we’ve tried it in North Carolina with Art Pope. It has never worked and it never will. 

Too many Democratic strategists only meet real people through polling numbers and focus groups. They need to meet them in the grocery store. As the “political guy” in town, I have a lot casual conversations about politics with people who aren’t really involved. I hear a lot about schools, a lot about making ends meet, some about Obamacare, a lot of general dissatisfaction with government and partisanship but never has anyone said to me, “Did you see what those Koch brothers are up to?” The only place I get that is on twitter and Facebook from the partisans in my feeds.

Strategists from both parties should get out a little more. They would learn that people don’t see politics from the perspective of politicians. They see it from the perspective of their own lives. Over 500 years of oppression has taught African-Americans to be wary of the power structure and they aren’t going to give up the rights they’ve fought for easily. And voters are going to vote for the people on the ballot, not some amorphous characters who star in a bunch of campaign ads. Neither strategy passes the believability test. It’s no wonder people are cynical about their leaders.

Thomas Mills

Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >