FREEDOM AND SAFETY FOR ALL
DON’T TAKE THE BAIT
We continue to be bombarded by our opposition’s dog whistles (or bull horns) and racially charged narratives around safety, hoping to make us fear each other so they can hold onto power. All across Wisconsin, millions of dollars in ads are flooding our airwaves, spreading lies about Wisconsin’s Black candidates and Black communities.
Paid for by billionaire donors and wealthy corporations on behalf of their hand-picked candidates, these ads have two goals: to divide us by where we live and what we look like; and to distract us as they attack our freedoms.
Fortunately, we know better.
We know what keeps us safe. It's living in communities where we look out for our neighbors, have the great schools and healthcare we need, and have leaders who fully fund our community — from violence prevention programs to mental healthcare.
As always, if our messages don’t spread, they don’t work. Our shared challenge is to break through the noise by pulling together with a narrative that inspires our communities to chime in and join us.
KEY GUIDANCE
As always, here’s how we express our most effective messages, step-by-step:
Lead with our values explicitly naming that they are shared across races, backgrounds, and genders
Name specific people who violate our values (ie. Trump Republicans, certain politicians) and expose their motivation for spreading lies and scapegoating people in our community
Inspire action with a clear call to action, like coming together as voters this November
Close with a positive vision of our future and how coming together makes that happen
And remember, some things that feel intuitive will set you back:
Negating our opposition’s falsehoods only reinforces their lie in voters’ minds, such as saying “they don’t want to ____,” or “the election wasn’t ____.”
Fact-checking or offering versions of our opponent’s frames centers their message. Voters want to hear what our values are and what the candidates we support stand for.
SAMPLE NARRATIVES
WE KNOW WHAT KEEPS US SAFE
From Up North to Milwaukee’s north side, we know what keeps us safe. It's living in communities where we look out for our neighbors, have the great schools and healthcare we need, and have leaders who fully fund our community — from violence prevention programs to mental healthcare.
But today, Trump Republicans block everything our families need from taking away Social Security and Medicare to obstructing common sense gun safety:
Trump Republicans tried and failed to block the American Rescue Plan. Democrats passed the ARA and Governor Evers and Lt. Governor Barnes then funded the violence prevention and victim services programs we need for communities across Wisconsin.
Trump Republicans have blocked the healthcare and mental healthcare treatment we need, while Governor Evers and Lt. Governor Barnes continue to fight to expand Badgercare.
And Trump Republicans have blocked much needed gun safety measures for Wisconsin, like universal background checks and “red flag” laws, that would remove weapons from people deemed a danger to our communities, their families or themselves. Governor Evers and Lt. Governor Barnes are fighting to protect our freedom to trust our kids come home safe at the end of the day.
Trump Republicans hope they can make us afraid with false claims about where Democrats stand on safety and crime. These certain politicians [or name specific people] are hoping to turn us against Democrats [or name specific people] who will protect our freedoms, families and futures.
In Wisconsin, we know better. Our vote is our power, and across race and place we’re coming together as voters to elect leaders who fight for all of us, no exceptions.
PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS
In Wisconsin, whether we’re Black, white or brown, we value our freedoms.
Freedom to retire in dignity, decide whether and when we grow our families, and know our kids will make it home safe.
But today, Trump Republicans want to take away our freedoms – ending Social Security and Medicare, outlawing abortion, and blocking gun safety – so they’re trying to scare us with false claims about where Democrats stand on crime.
We see through these lies and will vote for Democrats to protect our freedoms.
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON
From Up North to Milwaukee’s north side, most Wisconsinites believe in freedom, fairness and a better future.
But today, a powerful few want to take away our freedoms. These Trump Republicans planned and paid for the January 6th attack on our country and the ongoing criminal conspiracy to sabotage our elections. and their wealthy donors endanger our future.
We’ve seen what happens when Trump Republicans have claimed to be for freedom, only to take it away and impose their will.
This November, our vote is our power, and we are all part of the fight to protect our freedoms.
More on PROTECT OUR FREEDOMS
We know that freedom is a deeply felt value in our country, and we must claim it as our own because we all hold it so strongly in our hearts. We should not let our opposition own the narrative around what freedom is and we need to remind people that we can elect leaders who protect our freedoms. As a reminder, here are just some of the many ways we all are talking about freedom this cycle.
Abortion/Reproductive Justice: our freedom to decide if and when we grow our families / our freedom to decide whether we have kids
Democracy/Elections: our freedom to vote / our freedom to have an equal say in the decisions that impact our lives
Economic Well-being, Taxes and Social Supports, Wages and Jobs: our freedom to make a good living/ freedom to thrive / freedom to prosper/ freedom to care for our families/ freedom to retire in dignity [with programs we rely on, like Social Security]
Education: our children's freedom to learn
Guns: our freedom from gun violence / our freedom to trust our kids will come home safe at the end of the day
Healthcare: our freedom to get the care we need (without fearing we’ll go bankrupt to get it)
Paid Family and Medical Leave: our freedom to care for our loved ones/our freedom to be there for our loved ones/our freedom to recover from illness or injury
Police Brutality and Accountability: our freedom to breathe/our freedom to get home safe/our freedom from police brutality/our freedom to be treated with dignity by those sworn to protect and serve
Trans and Queer Youth: our children's freedom to be themselves and pursue their dreams / our freedom to be ourselves
SHARE THE MESSAGE
MEMES AND GIFS
Don’t forget, you can download and find Wisconsin-specific GIFs and memes here at this IntoAction library.
SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
Here are some sample messages you can edit and share!
From Up North to Milwaukee’s north side, we know what keeps us safe.
It's living in communities where we look out for our neighbors, have the great schools and healthcare we need, and leaders who fully fund our community — from violence prevention programs to mental healthcare.
We know @GovEvers + @TheOtherMandela have fought to deliver true safety for our communities.
They've funded violence prevention programs, fought for healthcare and mental healthcare for all of us, and championed gun safety to keep guns from people deemed a danger to our families
Trump Republicans like _______ block everything our families need, from trying to take away Social Security to obstructing common sense gun safety
They hope they can make us afraid with false claims about where Democrats stand on safety and crime.
We're not falling for it
Trump Republicans are hoping to turn us against Democrats who will protect our freedoms, families and futures.
We know better. Our vote is our power, and across our state we’re coming together as voters to elect leaders who fight for all of us, no exceptions.
VIDEOS TO SHARE!
Together, we can make this a country where everyone can
Breathe
Speak
Live
This November, vote to #ProtectOurFreedoms.
More sample content: For all of the content available, see here
WHY WE LAUNCHED THIS SERIES
This year is a pivotal crossroads for our state and our nation. In 2020, we came out in record numbers. We marched, we voted, we volunteered, and we elected new leaders to govern our interests.
But now, our time is running out to ensure that every person in Wisconsin knows how much they made a difference. If we cut through the noise, we can ensure they know that they changed the direction of our state, improved our lives, and will do it again.
Here’s the challenge: our collective knee-jerk reaction to disinformation and incorrect statements is to provide “enough” facts to win the day, argument and voter. But contrary to our instincts, this doesn’t work and can even strengthen our opponent’s narrative!
When we try to bust a falsehood, what ends up happening is:
We deepen the audience’s belief in the lie
We repeat and reinforce our opponent’s frame
We expose the lie to folks that might not have heard it before
At the same time, we know we can’t stay silent. This monthly newsletter will help inform how to dispel lies and call out dog whistles without repeating them.
