The article at Poll reveals Democrats are struggling to regain voters' trust prompts me to recapitulate my efforts to persuade others about undertaking organized, targeted emailing to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
First I set out the full text of the article:
New poll delivers troubling signs for Democrats
by Amie Parnes 07/11/25 06:00 AM ET
The Democratic Party’s credibility with voters has plummeted even further since the 2024 election, raising alarm bells as the party looks to rebuild ahead of the midterms and the next presidential election, according to a poll obtained by The Hill.
The poll, conducted between May and June by Unite the Country, a Democratic super PAC, showed voters perceived the Democratic Party as “out of touch,” “woke” and “weak.”
The party has seen its support erode with white men, Hispanic men and working-class voters across the board, with approval ratings sitting below 35 percent across those demographics. And enthusiasm within the party continues to wane in the wake of 2024, the poll revealed.
“This is the reality of the perception of us as a party, and until we accept that, it’s going to be hard to move forward,” said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau, who serves as senior adviser to the super PAC. “There’s a perception out there, outside of Democratic elites, and it’s taken hold in not just the MAGA crowd but people that should be with us.”
“Democrats need to realize that in order to improve and get better to not only win in 2028 but to win in 2030 and 2032 and beyond,” Mollineau added.
Democrats have been searching for a way out of the wilderness since their devastating loss in November, when they not only lost the presidency once again to President Trump but also the House and Senate.
Since then, party officials have conducted a number of postmortems — including polls, focus groups and strategy sessions — as part of the party’s rebuilding effort.
But Democrats are still feeling dejected and rudderless in the early months of the Trump presidency. An AP-NORC poll out in May revealed that only 35 percent of surveyed Democrats are optimistic about the party’s future, compared with 57 percent in July 2024. And there is an overwhelming sense that the party lacks strong leaders, the same poll showed.
Democratic donors and bundlers have refused to cut checks for Democratic candidates, citing the party’s lack of enthusiasm and vision.
Unite the Country’s latest poll, which was conducted with voters in 21 battleground counties across 10 battleground states, revealed Democrats have not escaped the shadow of their loss in 2024. And voters’ perceptions of the party remain the same.
Democrats have had opportunities to hit back at the Trump administration, including on tariffs, immigration deportations and, most recently, Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
But political observers say those moments were wasted.
“I was frustrated during the ‘one big beautiful bill’ stuff,” said Steve Schale, Democratic strategist and CEO of Unite the Country. “We missed an opportunity to really define a different kind of vision.”
The super PAC’s poll revealed that Democrats’ prime emphasis on fighting for democracy — while still popular within the party — is no longer going to cut it with the general electorate, and soft-on-immigration policies turn too many voters away.
The party has some serious rethinking to do when it comes to their priorities and messaging, Mollineau said.
“It’s not about abandoning who we are. It’s not about leaving people behind. We are a big tent party. But it is about prioritizing the messages and starting where the majority of the people are,” Mollineau said.
“We do better when we first meet voters where they are and then bring them along on other issues. … And nine times out of 10, what they really care about is whether or not they’re going to be able to afford health care, whether or not their kids are going to be able to go to a good school, … housing, living paycheck to paycheck.”
Mollineau said Democrats should start with “good economic appeal, and then I think that allows us to broaden” the issues the party focuses on.
But Unite the Country’s poll revealed that for voters to even consider rejoining the party’s ranks, Democrats need to reestablish credibility. And political observers say a new generation of party leadership that can separate itself from the Washington establishment is critical.
“They want us to have different leaders,” Schale said. “There was this segment of voters … who said, ‘I voted for Barack Obama and I voted for Donald Trump because I thought they were going to stand up to Washington. … They have very different views on the world, but I … believed they would go to Washington and fight for me and not fight for Washington.’”
“It’s a good argument for more outside voices right now,” he continued. “If I could wave a magic wand, I’d love to see the money that gets spent on things like studying podcasts for young guys being spent on electing mayors and downballot city council members and nonpartisan Democrats and even state legislators … to begin the process of rebuilding that trust with voters.”
Voters also say they are, first and foremost, concerned about common sense in a political party, something Democrats evidently see as an afterthought, the poll revealed. The party needs to align its messaging with the commonsense rhetoric and policies voters are looking for, political observers say.
“We as a party oftentimes are getting nuanced in the way that we look at the world, and I don’t think voters are looking for nuance,” Mollineau said. “They’re looking for straightforward communication on identifying the problem and then fixing the problem.”
“Whether you’re talking about the New York mayor’s race or AOC or Trump or Bernie Sanders, the thing that all those folks have in common is voters know where they stand on issues,” Mollineau added, using an abbreviation for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “There is no nuance there. … People know where they stand, and when they say something, voters believe it.”
To: Dana Ellis
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 06:49:47 PM CDT
Subject: Emailing Alabama lawyers to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump
Thank you for our phone conversation, Dana.
Please submit to the Birmingham Indivisible steering committee this email as a "plan" for organized, targeted emailing to get the Alabama legal profession to speak publicly about the damage Trump is doing to the rule of law in the United States, with a view to such public speaking by the Alabama legal profession contributing to growing Alabama public opinion against Trump.
The "plan" entails first reviewing the emailing I have done that is set out at Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: The January 6th lawbreaker President, day 109.
Such emailing is my emailing, and the "plan" is to get others to join in the emailing to have more effectiveness.
If others join in the emailing, the "organized" part of the "plan" is for the group of emailers to discuss and develop the emailing, including senders and recipients and email content, that the group thinks will be most effective.
I hope the foregoing sufficiently sets for this "plan", so that it may be submitted to the steering committee. If you think the "plan" needs more specificity. please let me know.
Thank you, Dana.
Rob
From: membership@birminghamindivisible.org <membership@birminghamindivisible.org>
To: Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2025 at 01:30:50 PM CDT
Subject: Re: University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump admin over DEI initiatives
Rob,
At the steering committee meeting we discussed your desire that we join your targeted email campaign. The decision was made that we will not add this action at this time.
Please remove us from your email list.
Thanks so much,
Dana
On Sun, Jun 29, 2025 at 10:50 AM Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com> wrote:
On Wednesday I emailed you John Archibald's op/ed about UAB's cowardice in the wake of Trump and DOGE's NIH cuts. Congresswoman Terri Sewell ghosted? UAB shows the cowardice in the wake of Trump, DOGE - al.com.
On Friday I emailed you about Donald Trump and Joseph McCarthy per Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: Have you no sense of decency
Yesterday I emailed you about Trump boasts record $1.4 billion in fundraising; GOP readies for 2026 midterms | Fox News.
Today I email you the news University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump admin over DEI initiatives.
As with the matters my previous emails were about, I think this today's news about the University of Virginia president builds the case for the need for Alabama Trump resisters to break out of their Facebook silos and take up, among other things, the organized, targeted emailing I am pushing for in order to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
I am sure there will further news and developments that will prompt me to send you more emails to add to the foregoing case.
If you wish to be removed from the above email list, please let me know and I will remove you.
Thank you.
(for filing in Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: What to do after yesterday)
My reply back to Birmingham Indivisible
From: Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com>
To: membership@birminghamindivisible.org <membership@birminghamindivisible.org>
Cc: purplepeopleresistance@gmail.com <purplepeopleresistance@gmail.com>; hivealabama@gmail.com <hivealabama@gmail.com>; shelbycountydems65@gmail.com <shelbycountydems65@gmail.com>; NAYoungDems@Gmail.com <nayoungdems@gmail.com>; "nayoungdems@gmail.com" <nayoungdems@gmail.com>; Blueprintalabama Info <info@blueprintalabama.com>; Laurie Beth Kesterson <lauriebethkesterson@gmail.com>; Barry Marks <barry@leaselawyer.com>; rudipa@yahoo.com <rudipa@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 06:26:33 PM CDT
Subject: Re: University of Virginia president resigns amid pressure from Trump admin over DEI initiatives
Dana,
I have a couple of follow up points, if I may.
I will continue to advocate for organized, targeted emailing by Alabama Trump resisters to try to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
This will include my commenting to persons who comment on Birmingham Indivisible posts (such as a comment I see made by one Jenny Crumpler),
Further, I think Birmingham Indivisible's choice not to take up organized, targeted emailing might be relevant to other groups in making their own decisions, so I am passing such information on to them.
In our phone conversation the other day, I brought up organized, targeted emailing directed towards Alabama TV stations.
My recollection is you thought emailing TV stations was a waste of time.
WVTM anchor Sheri Falk announced she is stepping away from WVTM and is embarking on a new chapter. I sent Sheri an email urging her to consider how, in her new chapter, she might contribute to Alabama TV stations better performing their journalistic obligations to their viewers and thereby improve the workings of our democracy. My email is posted at Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: What to do after yesterday, if you have any interest in this.
Finally, please get back in touch if Birmingham Indivisible should change its mind on this matter.
Thanks.
Rob
I posted individual comments on Facebook saying, "Please, please, break out of your Facebook silo. Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: Last week.
One person messaged me on Facebook this
I messaged back
A Facebook interchange about Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: Are we disabled in our self-governance?
From other person
Rob Shattuck sorry, I don’t get it. The article is about apathy in Madison County. There is apathy in the entire country. It appears to me that a majority of people in Alabama are either too lazy or too ignorant to do any research into who they vote for. I'm from Pennsylvania and when I moved down here, just about everyone I met and would talk to about voting would tell me, "my daddy voted republican, I have to vote republican". Not interested in using their brains to think for themselves. I still hear that from people. Or they think voting is a waste of time since most of the time there is no one running against the republican incombent. Republicans have NEVER given a rats a$$ about their constituents in any state. If your plan is to have us all contact the local media and tell them to call out that our electeds are selling us out, I doubt they would do it. I'd be willing to bet the"power" in every local tv station is pro trump or afraid that trump would have them shut down. The Democrats in this state that do vote don't vote for a republican even if there is no other choice. The split in this state is 65% republican to 35% democrat. The only hope we have to maybe wake up the republicans and the nonvoters this go around, in my opinion, is to heavily "litter" the state with bill boards that call out every single federal elected in this state and let it be known that every single one of them voted for that horrendous bill and that the only person the republicans care about is the idiot in the Whitehouse. The Shelby County Democrats put up billboards before the 2024 election, but only 4 and there may not have been any anywhere else. The National Indivisible organization is trying to raise funds for billboards around the country. There are 2000 indivisible groups in the country. I think that would more likely make an impact. If you want to do something get involved with the Birmingham Indivisible group. They are well organized and have some media connections, I think.
Yes you are correct about my plan and I want to test out what you say "If your plan is to have us all contact the local media and tell them to call out that our electeds are selling us out, I doubt they would do it."
Call a friend to join. Stand on a corner. Chalk the sidewalk. Hang a flag upside down. Wear your protest tee. Put a message in your yard. Send emails or postcards to elected officials. Make a few calls. Boycott red-backed corporations. Shop local and blue. Back striking workers. Donate to a local cause. Volunteer your time. Make art. Share joy. Be loud on social media.
Here’s something you can do now:
From: Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com>
To: purplepeopleresistance@gmail.com <purplepeopleresistance@gmail.com>; hivealabama@gmail.com <hivealabama@gmail.com>; shelbycountydems65@gmail.com <shelbycountydems65@gmail.com>; NAYoungDems@Gmail.com <nayoungdems@gmail.com>; Blueprintalabama Info <info@blueprintalabama.com>
Cc: Indivisible Birmingham <indivisiblebirmingham@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2025 at 06:50:59 PM CDT
Subject: "New poll delivers troubling signs for Democrats"
The article at Poll reveals Democrats are struggling to regain voters' trust prompts me to press more my efforts to persuade others about undertaking organized, targeted emailing to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
Please, if you will, read Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: "New poll delivers troubling signs for Democrats".
Please, if you will, note in the above link that Indivisible Birmingham expressly declined to undertake organized, targeted emailing to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
Please, if you would, expressly say one way or the other whether your group would be willing to undertake organized, targeted emailing to grow Alabama public opinion against Trump.
Thank you.
Rob Shattuck
Email to Alabama lawyers re "What would William W. Horton say to the Alabama legal profession today"
To: Brannon Buck <bbuck@badhambuck.com>; Terri B. Lovell <terri.lovell@alabar.org>; mckinney@watsonmckinney.com <mckinney@watsonmckinney.com>; suzanneduffey@mc-ala.org <suzanneduffey@mc-ala.org>; flatta@burr.com <flatta@burr.com>; wbrewbak@law.ua.edu <wbrewbak@law.ua.edu>; sgarrett@bsol.com <sgarrett@bsol.com>; ccampbell@faulkner.edu <ccampbell@faulkner.edu>; blakehudson@samford.edu <blakehudson@samford.edu>; christy.crow@jinkscrow.com <christy.crow@jinkscrow.com>; richard.raleigh@wbd-us.com <richard.raleigh@wbd-us.com>; daoffice@baldwincountyal.gov <daoffice@baldwincountyal.gov>; baldwinDA@baldwincountyal.gov <baldwinda@baldwincountyal.gov>; "baldwinda@baldwincountyal.gov" <baldwinda@baldwincountyal.gov>; bob@schreiberadr.com <bob@schreiberadr.com>; jvance@law.ua.edu <jvance@law.ua.edu>; jws@willsellers.com <jws@willsellers.com>; cdobson@maynardnexsen.com <cdobson@maynardnexsen.com>; jwilson@birminghambar.org <jwilson@birminghambar.org>; Ross Cohen <rcohen@bakerdonelson.com>; spratling@wskllp.com <spratling@wskllp.com>; Mark Ezell <mee@ezell-law-llc.com>; John Steiner <john@steinerlawllc.com>; spoer@scottdukeslaw.com <spoer@scottdukeslaw.com>; ddowd@burr.com <ddowd@burr.com>; Chris Christie <chris.christie@dentons.com>; Gwen Windle <gwindle@charter.net>; hello@waterssullivan.com <hello@waterssullivan.com>; ryeilding@bradley.com <ryeilding@bradley.com>; glondon@burr.com <glondon@burr.com>; katherine.robertson@alabamaag.gov <katherine.robertson@alabamaag.gov>; Barry Marks <barry@leaselawyer.com>; Fasking Info <info@fasking.law>
Cc: [Sent to 51 members of Alabama State Bar Bench & Bar Relations Committee. Email addresses were obtained from Alabama State Bar website. It is believed the email address information is not available to general public, and email addresses are omitted here.]
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2025 at 07:37:58 AM CDT
Subject: "What would William W. Horton say to the Alabama legal profession today"
Alabama lawyer Kristin Waters recently shared on Facebook a 2019 Facebook post made by deceased Alabama lawyer William W. Horton.
Kristin Waters said she missed William W. Horton's voice (his 2019 post was about immigrants) and she "can only imagine what he'd have to say about what's going on in our country right now".
I commented back, asking "What would Bill Horton say to the Alabama legal profession today?", giving a link to Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: The January 6th lawbreaker President, day 109, which sets out my asking the Alabama legal profession about Trump and the rule of law.
The Facebook posts and comment are copied and pasted below.
It is to be fervently wished that what Bill Horton said in his 2019 Facebook post about immigrants and what I have said about Trump and the rule of law be the subject of conversations among Alabama lawyers who are gathered this weekend at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, for the Alabama State Bar annual meeting.
Thank you.
Rob Shattuck
(for filing in Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: The January 6th lawbreaker President, day 109 and in Citizens Acting to End the Trump Presidency: "New poll delivers troubling signs for Democrats")
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