How to Engage Undecided Voters & Disarm Common MAGA Complaints

Well, we know some things. We know she took her time getting her policies up on her website, to ensure they were done right, not just fast. We know she's for unity, supporting the middle class and securing freedoms that ensure all people can pursue their American dream.

We know that if we want leaders who work for the long arc toward justice, there's no other way to vote in 2024.

And, here's a few things NPR thinks you should know about her.

If you hear someone say: “she’s had the job for 3 years, why hasn’t she done all this already?” you might ask…

Which things in particular are you thinking she hasn’t done? It’s important to remember the job distinctions between VP and president. A president has executive orders at their disposal, but neither one writes or passes laws. That’s for congress. But they both bring a tone to the government and the country. Harris will bring decency, calm and focus to the office. Just as she has with Biden for 4 years. Not to mention her plans for the future!

Looking at a few specific topics: 

• Secure the border? She supported a bi-partisan bill that was blocked by republicans. And still, thanks to the Biden administration, undocumented border crossings are going down. 

• The economy? It's actually doing really well right now. Inflation was an unfortunately necessary byproduct of the economic stimulus that avoided a COVID era recession. Inflation numbers are going down, and prices are slowly following. To help provide relief for Americans, she has a plan to stop companies from price gouging.  

• Climate? She and Biden passed the largest climate legislation in history. And she’s going to stay the course. 

• Voting rights? The voting rights legislation — which went through several iterations but was ultimately blocked in the Senate — would have countered voting restrictions in Republican-led states, limited gerrymandering and regulated campaign finance more strictly.

Want more on her record as VP? You got it.

When you hear someone lament about how much cheaper things were before the Biden/Harris administration, you could say…

1. The economy is actually in really good shape. This video does a good job explaining.

2. Inflation is complicated. Something I just re-learned for the first time since middle school econ was that economists actually want prices to be going up about 2% / year. So it’s actually a relief that stuff is more expensive today than it was in 2019.  

3. Yep, President Biden did err on the side of stimulus. He inherited an economy that was reeling from COVID shut downs, and the stimulus did cause a jump in prices. But it also saved us from a depression. And now, inflation is going down, and prices on things like gas and furniture are also already going down on their own*, because of a variety of reasons, including the fact that our economy is actually quite healthy. 

4. If prices suddenly plummet so will wages. What we need is for companies to stop price gouging, and for the economy to grow at a steady pace so that wages can increase. **

THE RECIEPTS

Remember: Trump's only economic record is price cuts for the ultra-wealthy, which did not trickle down to help the middle class. And he's promised to keep up that record if re-elected.

*Gasoline prices are more than 40 cents cheaper than this point last year, according to AAA. Over the past 12 months, prices have dropped for everything from appliances (-3.3%), furniture (-5.2%) and men’s suits (-12%), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the overall inflation rate has dropped, too. It fell to 2.9% in July, the lowest rate in more than three years.

** Trump’s plan to impose new tariffs on all US imports and 60% tariffs on Chinese goods would cost the typical middle-income household at least $1,700 a year, according to research from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “A deflationary environment would be a prescription for a very weak and recessionary economy,” said Zandi, who served as an economic adviser to former GOP Sen. John McCain when he ran for president in 2008.

Likewise, Trump’s vow to deport millions of people would hurt the supply of workers, threatening to drive up wages and prices.

And history shows that allowing politicians to influence central bank decisions – an idea Trump strongly supports – can also be inflationary.

That’s why 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists warned earlier this summer that the Trump agenda won’t just fail to fix inflation, it will “reignite” it.

When someone’s main issue is gun rights, and they use that as a reason to vote against Harris/Walz, you might ask: 

• Did someone tell you they want to erase all legal gun ownership?  Red flag laws, background checks and removing assault weapons are focused on public safety. 

• Isn’t it worth considering some new gun laws if it means gun violence is no longer the #1 killer of kids in America? Shouldn't we do everything we can (least of all, vote) to ensure no kids or teachers or coaches are afraid to go to school?!
  
  SOME RESEARCH:
  The Biden-Harris record on gun control
  
  According to the Rockefeller Institute: There were 109 public mass shootings in the United States and 35 public mass shootings in 35 other economically and politically comparative countries between 2000 and 2022.

  The United States makes up 33 percent of the combined population of these 36 countries; however, it also accounts for 76 percent of public mass shooting incidents and 70 percent of victim fatalities in these countries.

Yep. it’s the hottest of the hot topics. One Harris/Walz are very open to discussing. And one just about everyone has a highly personal reason for falling where they fall on the choice spectrum.

All that said, our advice is to find ways to state what likely feels obvious: Choice.

Truly. I recently had a very productive conversation with someone that ended just this way. We traded personal anecdotes and faith stories, etc. and were nearly about to move on when I just said:

At the end of the day, I think it comes down to the fact that while we may make different decisions for ourselves, it just can’t be up to the government to decide. No one else can make that call on my behalf. Or yours. Or anyone’s.

And their response? No one has ever put it to me quite like that before. Boom. End of discussion.

SOME RESOURCES:
- It might be helpful to point out how forced birth has super long-lasting impact on the mother's economic outlook/career.
- It might also be helpful to expand the definition of "pro-life" to ensure it doesn't stop at birth, but includes affordable childcare, paid parental leave policies, schools safe for every child (regardless of gender identity) and gun laws that decrease school shootings.

If you hear someone equating immigrants and criminals you might ask:

1. Have you seen the statistics that violent crime has actually been going down since 2020?

2. Did you know that according to Stanford, immigrants are between 60 and 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated than are U.S.-born individuals?

3. Did you know that immigrants pay taxes, serve in our military and do three quarters of the agricultural work across the country? We would be in an economic and military crisis without immigrants.

4. Did you know that Harris wants to pass immigration reform? Republicans actually helped write a bi-partisan immigration bill that would have helped secure our border, and help fix our broken immigration system, but they pulled their support at the last minute*. Harris/Walz will bring that back.

*Because Trump told them to. (Because he wasn’t willing to give the Biden/Harris administration the political win).

If you hear someone using transphobic language, you might ask:

1. When did it become ok for someone’s personal identity to be used by politicians?

2. Kids have trans teachers and friends, and have never struggled with using pronouns that they’ve been asked to use. I wonder why it’s so upsetting to you?

3. I’m guessing you’re making fun of trans folks because you don’t understand. Can I help?

I hope you can see how calling into question whether or not a single person (or group of people) is deserving of dignity, respect, and privacy is a slippery slope we don’t want our government to go down.

Really? She went to law school, served several governmental posts before becoming VP. Take a peek at how her experience compares with Trump's.

Even if you don't love either candidate, there's more than the president on the ballot. Maybe you have local candidates you can get excited about?

It's hard, I agree, but to believe in the greatness of America is to believe in the vote.

Remember: Your vote is your voice. If you don’t vote, other people with power and money will make the policies - and who do you think will benefit then? Probably not everyday folks.

We know Trump & his allies are already sowing doubt about the fairness of our elections and plan to refuse to acknowledge a loss. Staying home helps them win. Democracy wins when our voter turnout blows them away.

• What do you like about his policies?

• What makes you trust him as a leader?

• Are you concerned about the way he talks about scrapping the constitution and becoming a dictator?

To me, that isn't strength, it's un-American.