I'm No DC Consultant, But...

The edict to not speak on Trump's guilty verdict is going to haunt us.

“When in doubt, tell the truth.” ~Mark Twain

You know me…I’m a nobody from nowhere. A hick from the sticks. My high school mascot was a literal hillbilly. So, why would anyone listen to me on Democratic messaging?

Because I know rural. I also know Republicans — a lot of them. I know what’s going on in the heartland. I live in a Midwestern farming community and I talk to my neighbors. I travel the country speaking in rural spaces. I understand rural folks. I am one.

Rural Messaging — an abortion rights rally. Maryville, MO courthouse, 2022.

I also don’t like to tangle with the Democratic Party in any state or at the Federal level — we are on the same team. But, I have had several Missouri candidates, and those from outside of the state, reach out and say that the Democratic Party has decided it’s best for state level candidates to not speak on Donald Trump’s guilty verdict.

Wait, what?

No. We aren’t going to do that. I have been quiet on missteps in Democratic messaging in the past, because I felt like I am not a consultant, and I’m not trained in messaging. I have imposter syndrome creep up, so I’ve kept quiet for years.

Then, I realized something just the other day…I have been a progressive organizer in rural spaces for nearly a decade. I am a former English teacher for goodness sake — I know a good message when I hear one. I raised more than any other State Representative nominee in the entire state of Missouri in 2022— more than $270K. And, I raised it in a district that hadn’t elected a Democrat in over three decades, and never a woman. That must mean I can craft messages…so, here I go.

Speak on the Trump guilty verdict. Say it loud. Knock doors and tell the folks about it.

I don’t think we should rub Republican noses in a guilty verdict, but my god, to remain silent on it makes us look complicit. Or like Biden had something to do with the verdict. Or like it was truly “rigged.”

If we don’t speak on it, we seem guilty as well, and that gives the purveyors of right-wing propaganda the inch they need to run a mile with absolute lies. We have to get out there with our message of truth, or we have folks thinking the Dems had something to do with the guilty verdict or the case being brought in the first place.

My niece lives in Arkansas. She called me a day ago to talk about what she sees and hears from relatives and Facebook posts and her friends. She talked to a family member who told her that Biden’s DOJ went after Trump because they didn’t want him to win in November. That is not at all what happened.

Here’s what we say to that talking point: Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, which is a felony in New York. Biden’s DOJ declined to bring charges against Trump for the hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. The state of New York brought the charges. Trump was found guilty by a jury of his peers…his lawyers were able to help seat the jury. They helped pick the jury who found Trump guilty. It had nothing to do with “Biden’s DOJ.”

Here is a message that even rural Republicans will agree with…rich folks tend to get away with everything. They walk out of a courthouse free on charges that would land the rest of us not only in custody, but probably in jail. They can pay for lawyers the rest of us would have no access to, and they can even buy politicians to plead their cases to the public. That’s not how the justice system works for any of us…why do rich people not have to play by the same rules?

You can tell right-leaning or Independent voters about Trump’s past.

He’s a rich guy who has never had to play by the same rules as the rest of us. He conned people who could not afford the con. He scammed real people hoping to make it in real estate with his courses at his “university.” He ripped off contractors and builders and house cleaners and all the folks who needed the money for the work they completed.

Can you imagine hiring someone to remodel your bathroom and then not paying them? Hiring a local company to put a roof on your house and stiffing them? He’s not a good guy, and we all know someone who builds or roofs or does general contracting. He didn’t pay people like my neighbors, and then he laughed about it all the way to the bank.

But, the biggest con of all? The voters in 2016 were cheated out of the truth.

Trump and his campaign sent hush money to a woman Trump had sex with — that little part ought to make those Evangelicals a little queasy — you know the same religious folks who demand perfection from the rest of us? He paid hush money to keep the incident quiet after the Access Hollywood “grab them by the pussy” tape was discovered. It might have been a bit too much for some Republican women to vote for a man who not only participated in “locker room talk” but also paid hush money for sexual relationships with at least one woman while his wife was pregnant. And, I haven’t even mentioned E. Jean Carroll.

The point of my essay? Talk about the verdict. If I were a candidate today, I wouldn’t take any advice to stay quiet — not on this point. Candidates have to have a message.

I also wouldn’t argue with anyone at a door about Trump’s guilty verdict, but then again, I wouldn’t argue with anyone at a door on any topic. Heated or argumentative doors don’t result in votes. Plus, it’s rude, but calmly stating the truth isn’t an argument.

It just seems suspicious to our neighbors when they hear nothing from the Democrats on the guilty verdict. Some people are predisposed to conspiracy theories and you can’t break through to anyone in an information silo without speaking truth to lies.

Like I said, I’m not a consultant, but I do understand my community. They need to hear a message that they can hang on to, and also use to tell their friends and family. A straightforward, simple message.

Trump is guilty of paying hush money and didn’t want voters to find out. He was elected telling us lies. He conned every single one of us by not telling the truth and hiding what he did by paying off folks to remain silent.

Finally, we can say a rich guy got what he had coming. The guilty verdict proves that no one is above the law.

Now, go tell your neighbors.

~Jess

Post-script: I made a correction to the original essay. I corrected a sentence that made it appear that Trump initially paid for sex with Stormy Daniels. My apology for any confusion.