Vaughan Emsley

Join The Next 'No Kings' March. Your Feet Might Get Sore But Your Spirits Will Soar There are two places I hate to be.

Join The Next 'No Kings' March. Your Feet Might Get Sore But Your Spirits Will Soar
open.substack.com/pub/vaughane...

My latest Substack post on why everyone needs to join the next 'No Kings' march in their neighborhood. Please subscribe ! It's free!

There is no more over-used, tired, threadbare statement than 'stand up for working families'. It is the line of a campaign on autopilot, of a candidate who thinks in cliches. Give us an idea about outcomes not about how virtuous you are. What, for heaven's sake, is going to change for the citizenry?

Even better!

10 out of 10!

Note to consultants: values and stories are more important than facts and policies.

A good communication strategy, if you want to suppress vote son the other side, is to use humor. Particularly if it is visual. This will work well with low involvement voters who watch and read no news. This is the group that broke for Trump in 2024. Don't get all wonky with them. Make them laugh.

This is a brilliant thrust. It means Fox can't get the footage it wants. The government is made to look ridiculous. The ICE agents are frozen. After all no one wants to get into a fight with a plastic frog on national television. The next stage is diaper clad plastic Donald Trumps. Go, Portland!

I gave up all TV news in 2011. Better informed as a result. Blood pressure benefits as well.

The Mamdani campaign impresses with its trifecta of modernity, lightness of touch and relentless relevance. Compare with the traditional, clunky, predictable consultant driven spot. He is in another league. One reason will be he has really creative people working for him. He is a hack-free zone.

An Oyster Farmer From Maine Has Marked X On the Treasure Map. Democrats Start Digging There is a lot of strategic debate among Democrats.Thanks for reading vaughan’s Substack!

An Oyster Farmer From Maine Has Marked X On the Treasure Map. Democrats Start Digging
open.substack.com/pub/vaughane...

Latest Substack post with simple marketing advice to Dems on how they can win. Please subscribe! It's free!

Cause and effect. This people can understand. This is now a story not a process.

If the shut down is going to get results then it has to have meaning. It has to be more than a dispute over a number. A fight to stop healthcare being more expensive, hospitals closing, research ending, makes the battle relevant. It makes it laudable rather than business as usual.

This is the contrast that needs to be made for the corruption to ha e meaning for most . A simple visual is needed.

It's a sign of a strong brand if you can describe it in one word. Of course that word is usually positive.

Pictures worth more than a thousand words. When you don't have to say anything use it!

Susan Collins Is Drowning. It's All A Question of Character. ‘Watch your character, it becomes your destiny’ is the end line of a longer quotation from the Chinese philosopher Lau Tzu.

Susan Collins Is Drowning. It's All A Question of Character.
open.substack.com/pub/vaughane...

My latest Substack. Character counts which is why Susan Collins is in trouble. Please subscribe .It's free.

This is the way to go as long as you can recall that someone who is weak can by very dangerous BECAUSE they feel the walls closing in . A cornered rat will bite.

Today's winner!

Insurgent Democrats need to do more of this. Establishment consultants don't understand it. Nor is it in their interests to understand it. The consultant business model depends on millions being spent on costly TV commercials. Short , sharp, memorable bites like this are their kryptonite.

Branding is everything , so yes.

This is the story.. 'they are taking it from you' This simple statement tells people all they want to know.

She can take whatever money she wants from whomever offers it ,but none of it will save her. The party's over, Susan, say goodbye.

How is it that a political neophyte whose day job is being an oyster farmer, has more power, clarity and impact than all of the Democratic party establishment? Two guesses. He does not listen to focus groups. He is not driven by donors.

Margaret Chase Smith is turning in her grave.

Am excellent observation. Story telling not debate is how you persuade . People easily are carried off by a story. Less so by 'rational debate'. Along with if you can't show it don't say it, always figure out what story you are telling and how compelling it is.

Along with pictures , visual metaphors are powerful weapons. They are easy to understand and easy to remember. Dems are not good at using images. I can't recall the last time any of them used a good metaphor. Too many lawyers, I think. Simple rule: if you can't show it , don't say it.

Pictures are more powerful than words. People are wired to dispute facts but register images. They don't argue with pictures . Pictures are also stories. They get burnt into the brain and later, subtly, influence action. Dems should be looking for split second visuals like this. Once seen....

Any Republican who voted for his confirmation who is running for re-election in 2026 needs to be known to have done that. It is going to be a dead weight round their ankles. Or worse.

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."

It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...