Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / 2014 Campaign / Democrats Find a Message That Works
Members should sign in for the full experience.

Democrats Find a Message That Works

October 16, 2014 at 7:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

National Journal: “Of all the negative campaign messages that Democrats have used this midterm election, the most effective one is a time-tested line of attack: hitting Republican businessmen for being exorbitantly wealthy while outsourcing jobs overseas and laying off employees. It was President Obama’s central argument in his reelection campaign against Mitt Romney, and it is being put to devastating use again in a handful of close gubernatorial and congressional races this year.”

“More than any of the other well-worn Democratic arguments–Republicans want to restrict access to abortion, they’re beholden to the agenda of the Koch brothers, and so on–this argument is successfully persuading undecided voters in close races.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: 2014 Campaign


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, a trending news page, a private podcast, no advertising and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

Inside the Plot to Push Ayatollah Khamenei Aside

June 23, 2025 at 10:23 am EDT

Iranian officials are considering removing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the Supreme Leader of Iran after the country endured airstrikes by Israel and the United States, The Atlantic reports. The plot…

Republicans Get Ready to Walk the Plank

June 23, 2025 at 10:14 am EDT

Senate Republicans are aiming to vote this week on what President Trump has dubbed his “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” but public opinion is firmly against it—and growing worse. A series…

New York to Build New Nuclear Power Plant

June 23, 2025 at 10:12 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 10:17 am EDT

“New York intends to build a large nuclear-power facility, the first major new U.S. plant undertaken in more than 15 years and a big test of President Trump’s promise to…

When You Come at the King

June 23, 2025 at 10:02 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 10:02 am EDT

Coming this fall: When You Come at the King by Elie Honig. “You might unearth information that will be politically, professionally, and personally devastating to your subject, and you alone hold…

U.S. Tells Citizens in Qatar to Shelter in Place

June 23, 2025 at 8:38 am EDT

“The U.S. Embassy in Qatar told Americans in the country to shelter in place until further notice, without providing a reason, as the region anticipates possible Iranian attacks on American…

Iran’s Nuclear Dreams May Survive Devastating U.S. Blow

June 23, 2025 at 8:35 am EDT

New York Times: “Since Iran first embarked on an ambitious civilian nuclear program in 1974 under the shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s leaders have viewed it as a proud symbol…

Senate Parliamentarian Rejects More from GOP Megabill

June 23, 2025 at 8:32 am EDT

“The Senate parliamentarian has rejected several more provisions in the Republican megabill to enact President Trump’s agenda, including language authorizing states to conduct border security and immigration enforcement, which traditionally…

Israel Keeps Up Iran Attacks

June 23, 2025 at 8:00 am EDT

“Israeli warplanes kept up their attacks on Iranian missiles systems, airfields and the Fordow nuclear site following U.S. strikes at the weekend, as debate raged in the country over how…

Giuliani Says Calls for Impeachment are Treasonous

June 23, 2025 at 7:47 am EDT

Rudy Giuliani said that Democrats calling for President Trump to be impeached over the U.S.’s military strikes on Iran — like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — should be “tried for…

Mixed Messages and Mission Creep

June 23, 2025 at 7:17 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 8:03 am EDT

Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all delivered a carefully coordinated message on the Sunday talk shows: The U.S. airstrikes on Iran…

Putin Says Russia Will ‘Provide Assistance’ to Iran

June 23, 2025 at 7:11 am EDT

Vladimir Putin has called the U.S. strikes on Iran an “unprovoked aggression” in his first comments on President Trump’s military action, Newsweek reports. He added that Russia was “making efforts…

Can American Intelligence Be Trusted?

June 23, 2025 at 6:50 am EDT

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified before Congress in March that the U.S. intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.” It was a…

Mamdani Catches Cuomo In Rank Choice Voting

June 23, 2025 at 6:29 am EDT

The final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary finds Andrew Cuomo leading with 35% support, followed closely by Zohran Mamdani at 32%, and…

Rahm Emanuel vs. JB Pritzker Would Be ‘Awkward’

June 23, 2025 at 6:23 am EDT

Rahm Emanuel admits the potential of taking on JB Pritzker in a 2028 presidential run is “going to be awkward,” NBC News reports. Asked to expound on what would make…

The Response to the Response Could Get Ugly

June 23, 2025 at 6:15 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 6:16 am EDT

Wall Street Journal: “A decision by Iran to expand the war by targeting U.S. forces or assets would all but ensure a violent U.S. response that could drag out the…

Iran Threatened to Unleash Attacks by Sleeper Cells

June 23, 2025 at 6:09 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 6:10 am EDT

“Iran sent a communiqué to Trump in the days before last night’s strikes on its nuclear facilities threatening to activate sleeper-cell terror inside the United States if it were attacked,”…

A Big Week for Trump’s Agenda

June 23, 2025 at 5:28 am EDTJune 23, 2025 at 6:18 am EDT

Punchbowl News: “Domestically, this is a massive week for Trump and his legislative agenda in Washington. There are just 11 days until July 4. That’s Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority…

Nasty Texas Primary Has Republicans in a Panic

June 23, 2025 at 5:19 am EDT

Wall Street Journal: “Texans are gearing up for an ugly primary between Cornyn, a two-decade senator arguably associated with the GOP of another era, and Paxton, a MAGA combatant who…

Alaska Just Got Its First-Ever Heat Advisory

June 23, 2025 at 5:15 am EDT

“In the high glare of a summer evening in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ciara Santiago watched the mercury climb. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service office, she had the dubious honor…

Officials Don’t Know Fate of Iran’s Uranium Stockpile

June 23, 2025 at 5:10 am EDT

“A day after President Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear program had been ‘completely and totally obliterated’ by American bunker-busting bombs and a barrage of missiles, the actual state of the…

« Ready for Hillary Raises More
Republicans Get Late Surge of Cash »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Republicans Get Ready to Walk the Plank
  • Mixed Messages and Mission Creep
  • Can American Intelligence Be Trusted?
  • Ranked-Choice Voting Is Not Undemocratic
  • Some Early Thoughts on War with Iran

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC