General Discussion

The GOP are able to frame the Democrats as whatever cultural outrage issue they (GOP) are manufacturing because Democrats keep taking the bait instead of remaining focused on what actually matters. By arguing "We're not that! ", the Dems immediately put themselves on the defensive. It's a game where they get outplayed over and over again.

That's why I like Newsom's approach of not getting dragged into the culture war debate; instead, he immediately diffuses whatever "outrage" the GOP is trying to gin up, laughing at it and giving it the due it deserves (which is none), then pivots to the issues the majority of Americans actually care about.

I'm no fan of Reagan, but I remember when Reagan immediately diffused the labeling of him being "too old" in the debate with Mondale, where he said: ""I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Imagine if, instead, Reagan had gone on the defensive and argued that his age wasn't a factor, trying to list all the reasons why...that would have kept that issue alive. Dems need to stop arguing the ridiculous and stay focused on what matters.