How to Handle the Tough Questions

Canvassers and candidates, this is for you.

Sep 13, 2024

This election will be won one conversation at a time. THIS IS FOR YOU, so you can handle all the weirdness you encounter with skill and grace! Here is what to say about the economy, inflation, housing, schools, abortion, the climate, voting, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, crime, immigrants and the border! Plus: send me your toughest questions!

Bill George Canvassing, Creative Commons 2.0

Canvassing is Everything

No pressure or anything, but we have reached the point in the campaign where advertising all blends together and people filter it out. That means that every vote we gain from now until November 5th is a vote YOU got through your personal effort, at the doors or with your hand written postcards, or even at the line at the grocery store. This is for you.

How to Redirect the Conversation

Voters are hit with so much disinformation that they often open a conversation from a conservative perspective. Our goal is not to prove them wrong, but to engage them in a conversation about the topic from our point of view, or at the very least, plant a seed that could lead to a change of heart later on.

We do this by making a strong empathy-based value statement: something that expresses what we Democrats believe to be right and wrong. To do that, you have to find or create an opening in the conversation where you can appropriately insert that value statement.

First, dismiss or deflect the conservative position with something like,

“Well, that doesn’t sound quite right to me,” or

“Hmm, none of the Democrats I know think that.”

Then redirect it by saying something like,

“The way I see it…” or

“All the Democrats I know believe…” or

“Kamala Harris believes that…”

Then follow with your strong values-based statement, such as,

“Everybody should be able to walk through their neighborhood and feel safe, right?”

Before you follow up with a supporting fact, wait a moment and listen. Give them some space to agree with you or ask a question about what you just said. Then you can have a real conversation into which you can add more information about where your candidate stands.

Note to candidates: In a debate, your mission is still to get in that values-based statement, but you are more free to call out B.S. when you hear it. Just don’t waste your time explaining why it’s B.S. The sooner you can get to that values based statement, the better, and then follow up with that supporting info. Remember, you are talking to the audience, not the moderator or your opponent.

Strong Values-Based Statements

You can put these into your own voice, into language you would use naturally in conversation. What matters is that you express what’s right and wrong. You can even write these for yourself! You just have to spend some time thinking deeply about why you really care.

ECONOMIC FAIRNESS

“This is how it’s supposed to be: We work hard, they pay us enough to raise a family on. It’s time we made owners hold up their end of the deal.”

“When we talk about an economy that works for everyone, we mean keeping the economy stable and making it fair, giving everybody real security.”

“Workers create the profits, but they’re not getting to keep their fair share. That’s why we need unions. Workers should be able to negotiate as equals.”

“Corporations and the rich have benefitted the most from government resources (like infrastructure, education, the legal system, financial incentives, and scientific research,) all of which are paid for by the American people. The least they can do is pay their fair share.”

“Trickle-down Reaganomics is a bunch of B.S. Increasing the wages of working people is what drives our economy. Democrats understand that.”

INFLATION

“We need to reduce the cost of living and raise wages.”

“We’re dealing with out-of-control corporate greed. Massive corporations are using their monopoly power to collude on price hikes, extort suppliers and suppress wages.”

“The Biden-Harris administration is standing up to them and cracking down on this price gouging, but Republican appointed judges are fighting them every step of the way.”

HOUSING

“Everyone should be able to afford a home, for themselves and their family.”

“We need to increase the supply of homes, but we also have to stop market speculators from buying up all the houses and stop corporate landlords from colluding to hike rents.”

“Houses are for people to live in and build generational wealth, not for banks to gamble on. They crashed the housing market in 2008. Now they want to turn us all into renters and keep all the investment benefits for themselves.”

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

“Public funds belong in public schools, because we have an obligation to educate every child.”

“Education is how our kids learn all the options available to them in life, and get prepared to succeed in whichever path they choose.”

“Everyone should be able to get the education or training they need to live a successful and fulfilling life.”

(Re “CRT” or attacks on transgender kids.)“No child should ever be told that there’s something wrong with them because of who they are.”

“People come from everywhere, but public school is what makes us all Americans. It’s where we learn common American values like cooperation, respect, equality, and responsibility. It’s where we learn the truth about our shared history – good and bad.”

ABORTION

“Physical liberty is our first and most fundamental freedom.” (No, they probably won’t have heard the term before, but it will make them think. Follow with:)

“To be free, you have to have the right to control your own body according to your own beliefs. Women do not have that freedom without access to reproductive health care.”

“This is supposed to be a free country. We don’t use other people’s bodies against their will.”

CLIMATE

“We need to stabilize the climate and reduce dangerous and destructive weather.”

“This isn’t about the ‘planet.’ The planet will be fine without us. This is about people and what we need.”

“We know that the conversion to clean, unlimited energy will create jobs and reduce energy costs. But even if it didn’t, even if it cost every penny we had, we’d still have to do it. Our lives depend on maintaining this very delicate balance of conditions. We have to do whatever it takes to protect that, for ourselves and for our children.”

“We can do this. We’re already doing it! We just need to keep pushing forward.”

VOTING AND DEMOCRACY

“If you cannot vote, you aren’t free.”

“To be free, you have to have an equal say in who represents you in making the decisions that impact your life. That’s why we fight for your right to vote and to have your vote counted.”

UKRAINE AND NATO

“The people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom and their democracy, against an invasion by Russia whose citizens have neither.”

“The Ukrainian people are fighting Russian aggression so that we don’t have to. Making sure they win is a great investment in our national security. Plus, it’s the right thing to do.”

“NATO is the number one thing preventing our enemies from attacking Europe and America. It is an agreement among countries that if you attack one of us, you attack all of us and it has only been used once. When we were attacked on 9-11, every other country fought beside us. What would it say about us if we did not honor that agreement?”

It’s not enough to just say that Trump doesn’t support Ukraine or NATO. We have to express why supporting Ukraine and NATO is morally right. Not everybody knows.

ISRAEL AND GAZA

“The people of both Israel and Gaza have the right to be safe and the right to political self-determination. The hard part is figuring out how to make that happen.”

“It is the leaders of both Israel and Gaza who are keeping this going for their own political reasons.”

“The suffering is horrific. Even the people of Israel believe that it is time for a cease fire, and nobody is doing more than the Biden-Harris administration to make that happen.”

You might have to figure out your own “right answer” on this one, depending on how you feel.

CRIME

“Everybody deserves to be free to walk through their neighborhood and feel safe, to not have to live in fear of crime or gun violence.”

“Democrats are serious about making our communities safe, and that means investing in crime prevention.”

More on crime, immigration and the border.

IMMIGRATION

“Immigrants have always been essential to our culture and our economy. Americans come from everywhere. That’s what makes us great.”

“Most of us are descended from immigrants, people who took the initiative to find a better life for their families. They’re just the latest round of us.”

THE BORDER

“We all want a border that is secure and orderly, but it can’t just be sealed. It has to actually work. We need to let trade and tourism flow AND stop the drugs, terrorists and traffickers.”

“It’s time to stop playing politics and get serious about our security, and that means modernizing our immigration system. The bipartisan bill would have helped a lot.”

Should I stay or should I go?

People have asked me, “How do I know if it’s worth the time to keep talking with someone, or should just write it off and move to the next door?” If the person ignores what you just said and doubles down on their disinformation, you can probably move on and hope they think about your statement after you leave!

Give me your toughest questions!

Please put into the comments the toughest questions you have run into at the door or in a debate, and I will do my best to help you find a good way to respond!

THANK YOU, as always, for reading, subscribing, and all that you do to make our world a better place!

In solidarity,

Antonia

Contact me with any questions about language use and attribution, consulting and custom content at: antonia@antoniascatton.com or (202) 922-6647‬.