My journey to Substack--the final chapter

The Congressman

“A citizen is someone who shows up, gives back, speaks out, and lifts others—building a better world, one choice at a time.”

Following my "Oh Canada!" moment, I finally put on my big-boy pants (33” or so, if you're curious)

With my freshly upgraded ChatGPT subscription (hey, I use it a lot!) and decades of experience at the crossroads of media, comms, and tech (thank you, YouTube years!), I dove deep into diagnosing what's ailing the Democrats today:

The Wrong Message: Stuck on identity politics and divisive "wokeness," turning off moderate voters.

The Wrong Messengers: Biden and Harris were cautious, scripted, uninspiring. Bernie and the progressive wing are energized but struggle nationally. We desperately need new moderate voices—yet no one's stepped up to the mic.

Outdated Machinery: Democrats are stuck in legacy media silos. With few exceptions, seem oblivious and ill-equipped in today's "attention economy." Honestly, watching Democrats face Trump's relentless media blitzkrieg is downright painful. Can you believe this? Embarrassing doesn't even cover it...

Trump has mastered attention, narrative control, and constant engagement (selling snake oil is his superpower). With Musk’s X, deepfakes, bots, and algorithm-driven amplification, Trump’s tactics have reached peak effectiveness..

Professor Charles Lipson nailed it recently in the Wall Street Journal:

"Trump didn’t just break the system—he rebuilt it around direct, unfiltered communication."

Forget traditional spin. Trump’s team embraces raw, unapologetic messaging. Notice how they always sound angry?

Trump remains accessible, fielding hundreds of unscripted questions, while Biden often appeared overly cautious and downright hard to follow. Trump is the hub, and the spokes amplify his every word.

Meanwhile, Democrats seem fractured, stuck defending unpopular positions on crucial "80/20" issues like crime, immigration, and women's sports.

Trump’s reality show runs 24/7—good, bad, indifferent, he doesn't care. He consumes all the oxygen in the room.

This is how bad things have gotten and just how dominant Maga media has become in the attention eco-system:

I decided Democrats needed a complete communications overhaul. It was time for a bold move—I would secure an in-person meeting with my Congressman, speak frankly, and offer my help.

So began my email blitz to land this meeting, rallying support from my dream team, all serendipitously from the same district: Here they are:

The Venture Capitalist, Coach and registered Republican

The brilliant Professor and Mathematician

The Brainiac, Publisher, and Ivy Leaguer

After weeks of prep, including multiple email exchanges with the Congressman’s office, our key messages were clear:

• Democrats are losing the narrative war to Trump’s relentless media machine.

• Courts alone can't safeguard democracy—public perception shapes reality faster.

• Scrappy, grassroots outfits succeed because they show up consistently, speak plainly, and own their stories.

The solution was simple:

• Daily, direct, visually compelling briefings—think Cuomo’s COVID briefings + Steve Rattner’s charts + Daniel Dale’s CNN fact checks).

• Since the moderates in the party don’t have a distinct leader, rotate your best communicators, amplify messages through local news, podcasts, TikTok, and emphasize a positive agenda of your own (similar to Gingrich’s Contract with America). You can’t win simply being against Trump and his Maga movement.

• Keep it simple, clear, and real. Use authentic, grassroots storytelling, "man on the street" interviews to reveal Trump’s and Musk’s harmful agenda.

Finally, the big day came. I was ready. And then the Congressman’s aide informed us we had 15 minutes—big victory, we got 20! The meeting was cordial but anticlimactic. I genuinely like this Congressman; he's capable and effective but clearly safe and comfortable. I’d summarize the meeting as follows:

Honestly, all this stuff about how to win in todays’ attention economy is just too overwhelming. His mental model was, “I don’t want to become AOC and I don’t have a clue how to do that anyway.” I tried to stress it was not about becoming a star influencer himself, but more about the need for the moderate wing of the party to step up and fight like hell for our future, which would require a completely new communications architecture and machinery—NOT MY JOB, he said!

Frustrated but not defeated, I took a break with my grandson (pure joy!) and pondered: what's next?

Then, clarity struck through the MeidasTouch—three brothers combining legal, marketing, and social media skills to build a grassroots media powerhouse. Here's what I learned (thanks, ChatGPT!):

The MeidasTouch Podcast soared past "The Joe Rogan Experience," hitting 125 million monthly downloads in March 2025. Their secret sauce:

• Authenticity & Purpose: Pro-democracy, anti-MAGA, outsider positioning.

• Social Media Mastery: Viral videos on Twitter, YouTube, TikTok.

• Volume & Consistency: Daily engaging content, heightened around major political events.

• Community-Driven: Loyal grassroots base, active participation.

• Leveraging Disruption: Capitalizing on declining trust in mainstream media.

Here’s an example of one of their YouTube video podcasts:

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Conclusions:

• Grassroots movements are now scalable through modern digital tools (social media, podcasts).

• Authenticity and compelling narratives often outperform high production value.

• Community-focused media drives organic distribution and loyalty.

• Speed and frequency of content production are crucial to capturing and maintaining audience attention.

This is precisely what I tried (unsuccessfully) to convey to the Congressman. But now I see clearly—we don't need politicians to lead this charge. WE ARE NOT POWERLESS.

People often ask, "What can I do to help?" Previously, I suggested volunteering and donating to elect good candidates. While still vital, it's not enough. Each of us can individually and collectively:

• Educate and inform

• Counter MAGA disinformation

• Speak truth to power

We can’t wait for a top-down solution from the political class. Change must happen from the bottom up, through grassroots efforts. Nobody's coming to save us—we must save ourselves.

While I buy Carville’s notion that the Republicans don’t know how to govern, that Trump is incompetent as a Chief Executive, but I don’t buy that we should simply sit back and watch this train wreck happen on it’s own and put up limited resistance. Too much damage is being done!

A Recent Vanderbilt University study suggest the MAGA base makes up roughly 12-15% of the public. That leaves many traditional Republicans, independents, and Democrats to convince. Sitting back isn't an option—we must actively resist, not passively observe.

So here begins a new chapter—my journey continues on Substack. I'm no delusional influencer; it takes a massive cross-platform effort to replicate MeidasTouch's success. But I'm determined to at least do my part—to contribute as "The Citizen."

Abraham Lincoln famously said:

"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed."

If direct engagement isn't your thing, please share these insights widely.

And, if you want to be a consistent reader, please:

I aim to post content weekly.

My next post: "The 80/20 Rule: Redefined"—then onto lighter fare...Travel!

Thank you for joining my journey—let’s make a difference together!