🧨 Define the Opposition—Before They Define You

Don't become a tagline or buzzword!

If you don’t tell voters who your opponent is, they’ll do it themselves—or worse, your opponent will. And by the time you're explaining, you're losing.

One of the reasons why it’s hard for past candidates to win is that the opposition has already defined them. You can see it in their comments on Social Media. The comments often repeat past election cycles, talking buzzwords that defined that candidate.

In a state like Texas—where the GOP has weaponized confusion, culture wars, and church pews—Democrats must define the opposition early, clearly, and ruthlessly. If you're not shaping the narrative, you're living in theirs.

Here’s how we flip the script:

---

1. 🕵️‍♀️ Know the Enemy Before They Know Themselves

Your opponent has a brand, even if it’s just cowboy boots and empty slogans. It’s your job to expose the gap between what they say and what they do.

Do the homework and make a spreadsheet with:

• Their voting record

• Watch their interviews and videos (especially the cringey ones)

• Dig into their donor list

• Study their "moderate" mask and see what’s really underneath

🔎 Ask:

• Are they preaching “family values” while cheating on their spouse?

• Claiming to support “public education” while voting for vouchers?

• Posing as patriots while working to dismantle democracy?

Find the contradiction. Widen the crack. Let the light shine in.

---

2. ⚔️ Strike First, Strike True

Don’t wait for them to go low. Get loud.

Define them before their buzzwords land:

“He’s not running to represent Texans. He’s running to represent billionaires.”

Create a one-line frame that captures the whole damn truth. Then hammer it to the ground like it owes you rent.

---

3. 📖 Make It a Story, Where They Are the Villain

Don’t just argue policy, build a narrative. We are wired for storytelling.

“When my sister couldn’t get healthcare in rural Texas, he voted against Medicaid expansion. For the fifth time. That’s not leadership. That’s cruelty in a tie.”

Villains aren’t just scary, they’re selfish. Frame your opponent as someone who hurts people to help themselves.

---

4. 🔁 Repeat. Reframe. Repost.

Once you define them, don’t stop. Own the message across every platform:

• Social posts

• Stump speeches

• Merch (you know we love a spicy t-shirt)

• Direct mail

• Video ads

• TikTok, Threads, IG, etc..

If they say "freedom," show how they vote against it.
If they say "family," show who they hurt Texas families.
If they say “Texas values,” fire back:

“You can’t call it Texas values when you’re cutting healthcare, defunding schools, and making life more expensive.”

Consistency beats volume. Stay on message until even their own voters are muttering your talking points in line at H-E-B with images of the story you painted about your opponent.

---

5. 😈 Be Spicy (But Keep It True)

Memes work. Nicknames stick. Humor disarms. And Texas voters do remember:

“Ted Cruz: Cancun’s Favorite Texan.”

Go bold—but stay grounded. Don’t lie. You don’t need to. The truth is outrageous enough.

---

6. 🎯 How to Define Texas Republicans Right Now

Let’s get specific. Here’s what voters need to hear:

• “Texas MAGA Republicans don’t serve their districts, they serve their Billionaire donors.”

• “They’re not walking with Jesus. They’re walking billionaire checks to the bank.”

• “Texas isn’t failing. It’s being sabotaged, so the rich can get richer.”

• “They’ve raised your property taxes, defunded your schools, and handed your future to lobbyists and billionaires.”

• “Texas Republicans broke this state. Democrats are here to fix it.”

And about Ken Paxton?

“Ken Paxton isn’t tough on crime. He is a crime.”

---

7. 🏛️ Now, Define Us

This part is just as important. Define the contrast clearly. Be bold, be proud, be loud:

• Texas Democrats are fighting for a higher minimum wage, stronger public schools, and a government that gives a damn.

• We’re not here for handouts, we’re here for a fair deal.

• We’re the party of working Texans, the folks who fix roads, teach kids, and work weekends.

• This isn’t left vs. right. It’s top vs. bottom, and we’re done being on the bottom.

“The billionaires bought the politicians. We’re here to buy them back, with your vote.”

---

8. 🪞Define Yourself Before They Distort You

The rule is simple: If you don’t tell voters who you are, your opponent will.
And they won’t be kind about it.

So don’t wait for someone to slap a “woke, radical, godless socialist groomer” label on you. Define yourself first, on your terms, in your voice, and rooted in the real lives of the community you’re fighting for.

🔨 Start with the basics:

• What do you stand for?

• What is your purpose?

• Why are you running?

• Who are you fighting for?

• What makes your life experience matter?

• What do you want to fix?

Your reasons “why” should be simple, clear, actionable, focused on how you will contribute to your community, and it should sound like you.

To______________, so that________________

I’m running to raise the minimum wage, so that working families can actually afford to live.

✊ Final Thought: If You Don’t Define the Opposition, You’ve Already Lost

Narratives win elections, not just policies. Texas Republicans are already out there branding you as “radical,” “woke,” “communist,” “godless,” “groomers,” “baby killers,” and “DEI hires.”

You can’t ignore it. You have to own the fight.

Define the opposition. Don’t let them define you. And never let them forget who really broke Texas.

Yours in resistance,

Nancy Thompson