Dems flop in bid to fashion message
Lurch left on single-payer won’t fly in Trump states
There’s a saying in politics that perception is reality, regardless of the truth. Since their loss last year, there’s been a perception that the Democratic Party has no message. In this case, it’s not only the perception and reality, but also the truth.
Don’t take my word for it. Ahead of this week’s rollout of their “Better Deal” agenda that marked their party’s attempt at rebranding, Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer took a shot at Hillary Clinton by admitting his party was too “nambypamby” in 2016. He joined the growing chorus of liberals, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who have been blaming Democrats’ electoral misfortunes less on interference from foreign governments and more on a muddled economic message.
Acknowledging the problem is an important first step in any recovery, and especially applicable here. The Democrats have spent the first six months of the Trump presidency doing very little beyond opposing Trump. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed 52 percent of voters believe the Democratic Party only stands for being against President Trump. Only 37 percent think Democrats stand for anything other than that. That’s not the only troubling polling development, but more on that later.
The Democrats’ reboot got off to a rocky start. First, their tagline of “better jobs, better wages, better future” was mocked for its resemblance to the Papa John’s pizza slogan. Even fellow Democrats piled on. Jon Favreau, who was President Obama’s top speechwriter, urged the party to go “back to the drawing board.”
Then the actual substance of the plan came under the microscope. It turns out their three core “new” ideas — higher wages, lower drug prices and attacking private companies — were all staples of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 old platform.
Democrats can’t seem to make up their minds when it comes to Clinton. The rollout started by blaming Clinton, and ended up copying her.
The focus of the political world then shifted to health care, and the GOP’s ongoing effort to repeal Obamacare. Even there, the Democrats couldn’t find common ground. Instead of hammering their opponents, they wasted precious political capital squabbling among themselves about the need for a single-payer health care system.
Obamacare used to be a uniter for the Democratic Party. After all, it passed the Democratic-controlled Congress without any Republican support and it became one of the few lasting legacies of the Obama years. Seven years later, Obamacare is no longer enough for the left-wingers who are now demanding a European style system that goes even further. Pushed by their leaders Warren and Sanders, single-payer health care has become the litmus test for Democratic membership. Most of the leading presidential 2020 contenders are embracing the idea, wary of being viewed as insufficiently liberal and distrusted by their base and developing a Hillary Clinton problem. A single-payer litmus test is not a welcoming development if you’re a Democrat officeholder in Trump country, where your voters want the existing health care problems fixed, not a new extreme system implemented. That brings us back to the polls. Opponents of President Trump point to his sagging approval numbers in nationwide surveys. But the Electoral College, which is made up of the votes of the individual states, determines our presidential elections, not national popularity contests. National polls are nothing more than a fleeting snapshot of the country’s mood at any given time.
But according to a new poll from Gallup, the president’s numbers remain above 50 percent in 17 states, including three — Montana, West Virginia and North Dakota — that have Democratic senators up for re-election next year. To stop Trump, Democrats need to win back the Senate, and that path is murky without those numbers coming down.
Six months into Donald Trump’s America, Democrats remain out of power and without a plan. That’s the truth. And as another old saying goes, the truth hurts.
Colin Reed is a senior adviser of America Rising, a Republican communications Super PAC. Talk back at letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com.