Moving forward with D, E, and I: hindsight is 20/20.

DEI has become the whipping boy of the right. As always, while the left was busy telling everyone: DEI GOOD! DEI GOOD!, without actually defining DEI, the right gladly took the cue and defined it for them, into an electoral and policy cudgel with which they continue to effectively pound Democrats at this writing.

[Hint: if you have to use an acronym in your campaign, you really have TWO campaigns: a campaign defining THE ACRONYM, and then the subsequent campaign USING the acronym]

The same has happened with the concept of being "woke." Each perfectly describes something clear FROM THE INDOCTRINATED, ACTIVIST LEFT, but not from other, more pedestrian, less activist perspectives. Without some kind of "rollout," to bring others up-to-speed, lefties hamstrung themselves for a race they ought to have won, easily.

What DEI-allied interests might have done all along was to roll it out, one letter at a time, in a marketing campaign. Kind of like the old Ad Council sort of ads. First cycle: Diversity (1-to-3, 15-second commercials), with examples. Second cycle: Equity (1-to-3, 15-second commercials), with examples. Third cycle: Inclusion (1-to-3, 15-second commercials), with examples.

Roll it out over a year or two, so people understand some simple examples from above, and are able to internalize them. Evaluate the results and gear it up for campaign time.

Would it work?

People of a certain age: how many of us remember "Give a hoot, don't pollute," "The Crying Indian," Smokey Bear, and others like that? Schoolhouse Rock?

Do we still trash the highways and rivers, or burn down forests regularly?

And it has been, what, fifty years since they initially played?

In addition to leaning far too heavily into identity politics (culture war bullshit, instead of the actual, unfolding class war at-hand), there has been an enormous failure on the part of the left to coherently advocate and promote novel concepts to new and disaffected voters.

It has been foolish for progressives and other activist lefties to assume that the center (and other generally-disaffected factions) share their lexicon and read from the same newsletters. Thus, in their use of DEI as shorthand, which has been given no linguistic value to other voters, they go into battle unarmed and unarmored. A complete "self-own."

So, how much is a basic, national, public interest ad campaign of maybe three-to-nine, fifteen-second commercials, spread over a one-or two-year campaign?

Tell me. I don't know. Then maybe we start a gofundme and recruit production staff.

There, that's three grand for my consultation fee. Thank you, I'll take cash or venmo.