The Purple Project and You—On the Offense

Alert: Impending Medicaid Disaster. Act now. Create billboards, radio ads, YouTube ads and leaflets to reach voters in purple and red districts. Free design and technical assistance available.

By Steve Schear

A winning strategy in a battle is to attack the enemy at its weakest point. The Republicans’ budget bill looks like their weakest point. A recent Navigator poll found that 80% of Americans oppose cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich. Duh.

MAGA leaders understand that if people find out what the budget bill does, they really don’t like it. That’s why Trump and Republican leaders have rushed to get it passed by July 4. We won’t be able to stop it, but now is the time to start educating the public about what they have done so we can defeat Republican incumbents in 2026.

If we focus now on educating Americans about the budget bill, we can make it a winning issue for Democrats in 2026. We have our work cut out for us because Trump and his enablers are using attacks on immigrants to distract from the budget bill.

46% don’t know

One poll showed 46% of Americans don’t know about the Medicaid cuts. In a recent episode of Pod Save America (PSA), Erica Chenoweth, a Harvard expert on overthrowing authoritarian regimes, said, “One of the things that strikes me as a very promising sign is that people are getting a little analog.” Chenoweth is on to something. Although the digital information world is largely dominated by companies controlled by billionaires who support MAGA, there are inexpensive channels that bypass right-wing controlled algorithms.

Strategically Speaking

Every strategy needs people with the ability to communicate effectively and our side has them. The Rural Freedom Network, a grassroots media organization supporting Democratic candidates to reclaim our Democracy, has expertise and experience in political messaging and design. The Purple Project, a group of grassroots activists helping local leaders in purple congressional districts with organizing, can provide assistance to groups who initiate a billboard, radio, YouTube, or leafletting campaign. Here are some of the relatively inexpensive, doable, and mostly low-tech ways we can get our messages out. Hats off to the groups that are already actively working in these ways.

Billboards

After Iowa Senator Joni Ernst made her now infamous “We’re all going to die” comment defending cuts to Medicaid, Indivisible created a billboard that is on view in busy downtown Des Moines. Others are set to go up in bellwether counties.

After Rep. David Valadao (CA-CD22) repeatedly said he would oppose cuts to Medicaid, he then voted to cut almost $800 billion from the program, even though two-thirds of his constituents are on Medicaid. The Rural Freedom Network then created this billboard for the Kings County Democratic Party:

Putting up a billboard is easy and cost effective. The price depends on location. In Kings County, it cost $750 for the setup, and then $1,000 a month for the rental. It reaches people on highways where there is nothing else to distract from their message.

Radio Ads

California’s Fight For Our Health coalition is running a 30-second radio ad in CA-CD22 calling out Valadao as a liar. The Rural Freedom Network is producing a similar ad in Spanish to air soon.

When I was canvassing for Jon Tester in Montana last year, one independent told me, “You guys need to be on the radio. All we hear on the radio is Republican talk shows.” Especially in rural areas, people listen to the radio a lot, while both driving and working.

Costs will vary depending on the size of the market. In California’s Central Valley, $2,000 can buy 85 thirty-second ads that play throughout the day on two popular Spanish-language radio stations.

Leafletting

Rural Action Network created a leaflet designed to pressure Rep. Jeff Hurd in CO-CD3 to vote against the Medicaid cuts. A simple handwritten note on a small pad of white paper can be effective too. Virginia Senator Danica Roem does this when she is door knocking, reaching people where they live.

YouTube Ads

The Rural Freedom Network also creates short YouTube ads, such as this video of Iowa Rep. Miller-Meeks fleeing from questions about her vote to cut Medicaid. Then they made another powerful YouTube Ad targeting Valadao’s lies and the impact the Medicaid cuts will have. Posting YouTube ads on social media sites is FREE. If money is available, the ads can be boosted or placed on sites that provide high visibility for a price.

The Purple Project Is Here to Help

Grassroots groups around the country do not have to undertake this critical educational work in a vacuum. The Purple Project is here to help. It works with the Rural Freedom Network to provide free technical and design assistance with the creation of billboards, radio ads, YouTube ads and leaflets for use in purple or red congressional districts.

With a small budget, or even without a budget, any group can damage the reelection prospects of Republican House members simply by educating their constituents about what the budget bill does. The more voters hear about the budget bill now, the more likely it will be a difference-making issue in November, 2026.

For technical and design help with communications, contact the Purple Project with an email to steveschear@gmail.com

Steve Schear is an activist committed to taking power from those who endanger the health and well-being of fellow Americans.

For more on this topic, see Montana Dispatch -Truth, Beauty & Resistance - by Ryan Busse. His latest post is Republicans Are Cutting Medicaid - We Already Ran The Experiment - It Failed!