I like this question because it forces you to think about Republicans and Democrats in context. It is a question that deserves a lot more time than I have today, because of FuBball! (GO USMNT!)

While I will write a more detailed post for each party on messaging challenges, I think I can answer top-level the challenge for BOTH sides – do not allow the other side to define you as their straw-man or caricature.

Spend 15 minutes watching Hannity/Tucker or Maddow and you will see what I am talking about.

I listen to Tucker or Hannity and then look at my wife and I don’t see someone wanting to kill me (most of the time) or doing anything the ‘Radical Left’ is allegedly doing. She is literally just sitting there trying again to figure out a way to close our her day and make sure tomorrow will be a good one also.

We will then switch to Maddow. She looks at me and notices my knuckles aren’t dragging while I strut to my weekly Klan meeting covering up corruption.

(We turn it all off normally for some type of murder show.)

The partisan opinion media excels at setting up straw-men and expertly knocking them down. Straw-men and caricature are what drives “viewer engagement” and viral clips. We rejoice in their set up and then watching the other-side get “destroyed”.

That’s the high level biggest challenge for each party: pushing back on the caricatures put forth.

More to follow, but for now, GO USA!