Okay, serious talk from a Clinton perspective: I don't think her policies are particularly bad. They're not the ones I'd pick, but I don't think they're so terrible that they're the cause of her malaise. However, I don't think you can say it's a messaging issue, either. The fact that young voters are so disdainful of Clinton has nothing to do with a poor internet campaign or inability to find the right soundbites. I think the key problem she has is on her values - it's not that she can't make a message for them, it's that she's not even very clear on what they are herself. Fundamentally, the role of President is just completely unpredictable. The idea that anyone will be able to meet everything on their campaign manifesto is laughable. They'll do their best, of course, but ultimately selling your policies only has so much impact because people want to know not only what you'd do in the situations you expect, but ones you'd do in the situations you don't expect. That means they want to know the core principles that power you at your political genetic level. For Sanders, that's obvious: it's inequality. If you cut Sanders open, the fight against inequality would be running through him like a stick of rock.
Clinton? I don't really know what her basic moral stance or principle is. It's not LGBT rights - or minority issues in general. It's not campaign finance reform. It's not guns. She could try arguing it's any of those, but it just rings hollow because of her history - and I'm not saying that from a Sanders fan perspective, I'm saying that from the perspective of someone looking at other Sanders fans but also more generally people who are not already in the Clinton camp. This needs to be an authentic value, clearly communicated. I think her best shot is young children. It's definitely authentic - it's been her cause since her political career started. She doesn't have a varied history on this, it's one of the few issues she's been more or less consistent on from day 1. It's also a powerful message. People keep trying to reduce Sanders down to college liberals, but that's a stupid reductionism. He's winning the whole 25-45 block. That means he's almost certainly winning among first-time parents and parents of young children.
She needs to hit that hard. Frame her campaign as being forward looking. Talk about the kind of America she wants to see for young children now. Don't be afraid to sometimes have goals that aren't achievable. People don't care, they want to know your goals because your goals tell them what you're likely to do in the situations you can't predict or when the tables are down. Sell people on early childcare education, as a means to erasing inequality. Sanders is strong because he ties every issue to income inequality, it gives him a unifying theme. If you think that's bad for him, you need to really assess your political radar. Clinton needs the same thing. You can tie early childcare education as erasing racial inequality when targeted in poor African American communities, because it is, as tackling income inequality, because it does. She can branch out into describing why her policies then continue to have an impact all through life. In particular, she should just embrace free tuition. Her current plan is stupidly unappealing and given how unpragmatic half the stuff on her website is, it's not going to break the camel's back on her credibility claims. Win back the 25-45 block by talking about their kids, because that's the thing that any parent cares about more than anything else and it's an issue where Clinton can be authentic through and through. Talk about how you can't risk children, which is why ACA has to be protected first and foremost and that requires entrenching a consensus around it. Etc.
Right now, her campaign style is basically 'disappointed mom'. "Everything you want is never going to happen and is terrible and won't work, but when it all fails you can come back to me". That's awful, just awful. It's negatively inspiring. She'll win the nomination, sure, whatever, but I'm actually genuinely worried about how much support she'll carry with her. Back in October, only 9% of Sanders supporters said they wouldn't vote Clinton. By December, 14%. By January, it was 18%. The last CBS in February had it at 21%. Okay, many of those are exaggerating but Sanders is getting like half the Democratic party at this point. Even if only 10% don't vote that's 5% of the vote gone in the presidential. I don't like Clinton, I want Sanders to win, but given Clinton is going to be the nominee in all likelihood, I do hope she turns her campaign around.
