"He spoke in generalities that everyone found agreeable at first and meaningless upon reflection."  That is one summary of Democrat icon Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speaking style. 

Last week's Democratic National Convention shows how little Democrats have changed — a beautiful outer shell with nothing inside.  Professions of equality, justice, compassion, and empathy are precisely the types of slogans many of us find initially agreeable but too vague and empty to warrant additional thought.  The only difference is that today's Democrats bring a parade of celebrities to play the part of aesthetically pleasing decorations on the outer walls of their empty shell.

Democrats have built their brand on proclamations of benevolence.  They've successfully branded themselves to many Americans as the party who cares about others, the tolerant people, the non-racist party, and the party for good-hearted people who want us all to get along.  This brand image was mostly built on the backs of tie-dye-shirted, pacifist 1960s hippies.  Educators romanticized the sit-ins and protests for decades, which calcified the left as the brand of non-violence.  After all, the pacifist hippie is a much better brand spokesman than the Black Panthers or the Weather Underground, who routinely committed terrorist attacks in the 1960s.

To be fair to Democrats, they have no choice but to be disingenuous.  They are beholden to a brand image that doesn't accurately depict who they are.  For decades, the left's monopoly on mass communication systems concealed its true character.  Today, ubiquitous camera phones and social media have made leftists' hate and violence impossible to hide.  Their only option is pretending to align with the existing Democrat brand and hoping we forget the last ten years.

Democrats approve of burning cities, mass riots, and hundreds of beatings for those willing to wear Trump-branded clothing.  Surveys show that nearly half of leftists won't even be friends with Trump-supporters.  There are also countless examples of Trump-supporters blacklisted for incorrect political viewpoints.  None of this is congruent with a kind, tolerant, peaceful brand.  Perhaps the pinnacle of the left's false brand image happened at a Minnesota high school when students violently beat another student for carrying a Trump flag during a protest — against gun violence.

It's hard for someone to be likable when any level of disagreement is anathema to him.  The same applies to the Democrat brand.  Hollywood has resorted to rewriting existing superheroes to be more woke because it can't create woke heroes.  That's because there is nothing admirable about wokeness.  Children don't aspire to be perpetual complainers who thrive on destroying people for typos.  There is nothing likable about paranoid malcontents, who see racism and Russian assets everywhere they look.  Nobody wants to be a leftist because it sounds miserable, and multiple polls prove that Democrats are less happy than Republicans.  Democrats can create superheroes — just not in their own image, because there is nothing honorable or likeable about the left.  Its brand is dead.

The Democrats' brand has collapsed beyond repair and they know it.  The current strategy to prevent the flock from fleeing the pasture is not preserving their brand, but branding the alternative option as so deplorable that it's beneath consideration.  The only way to cover up the noxious fumes of leftism is to double down on the negative branding of Republicans as a party of hate.  

"Love Trumps Hate," "Make America Hate Again," "Hate Has No Home Here" — these are merely a few of the slogans attempting to link hate to the conservative brand.  Hate speech, hate crimes, hate groups — everything is "hate." 

The dominance of the Democrat brand throughout mass media, education, and American culture successfully branded the left as the default way to vote — especially for young people.  But Democrat branding efforts are most effective when they're the only show in town.  For years, the left has bullied Republicans to preserve its brand monopoly.

If conservatives are scared to share their political beliefs, it makes those flamboyant about their left-wing politics seem like the morally superior choice.  If Republicans were morally superior, why would they hide their views?  Threats, intimidation, and doxxing are the primary reasons for the silence, and this bullying has prevented Republicans from taking pride in their brand.

The real cause for the vitriol toward Trump-supporters is that this new Republican pride is symbolic of the left's brand decline.  With every MAGA hat is the realization of the left's intimidation and propaganda not working as effectively as they once did.  The rage that follows is a panicked leftist struggling to understand why the left's efforts aren't working.  Leftists have inundated Americans with leftism at every turn but can't understand why some people still don't convert.  Every sighting of a MAGA hat is a reminder that the Democrats' brand is fading fast.   

The only solution is to take the conservative brand down to their level and regain the advantage of the default vote.  Their desperation is obvious when they compare Donald Trump to Democrat segregationists like George Wallace, often incorrectly labeling Wallace as a Republican to strengthen the lie.  It no longer matters if lies, censorship, and cancel culture further damage the Democrat brand  — their brand has already collapsed.  Efforts must focus solely on damaging the conservative brand.  Besides, if they win one more election, they won't need to rely on branding anymore.  

A Democrat sweep in November will provide amnesty to 20 million illegal aliens, plus another five to ten million immigrants imported over the next four years through our new open borders policy.  These new American citizens will be bribed with our tax dollars to vote away our rights.  A Somalian immigrant isn't going to turn down a monthly paycheck to preserve your Second Amendment rights.  Antifa will help draft public policy; they'll abolish the Electoral College and pack the SCOTUS with leftists.  That's not hyperbole, either — they are open about all of this.  Under such circumstances, it will be difficult for Republicans to win an election anytime soon. 

They know how close they are to reaching their goals — which is why the Democrats no longer even try to defend their brand.  Democrats have sacrificed their brand to win in 2020 without any contingency plan.  Their lust for power has blinded them to the consequences of destroying their brand in a losing effort.  

When Trump wins in November, the death of their brand will finally sink in.  

Bode Lang is a conservative blogger who produces conservative videos on YouTube.  You can find him at  https://www.youtube.com/c/Bodelang.