WILL THE DEMOCRATS EVER WIN AGAIN?

DNC: ‘(We) lack a clear message about what unites and animates’ us. So, now what?

DEMOCRATS have hit rock bottom.

We keep losing elections because voters aren’t buying what we’re selling. This isn’t just a partisan concern. Our nation has had enough of “us vs. them.” Having two strong political parties is what keeps our democracy working well. Making public policy should not be a one-sided deal, as it was for many key issues in the recent session of the Texas Legislature.

Texas Democrats, of course, have been in the wilderness for decades, some still licking wounds from the 20-point loss in the Greg Abbott-Wendy Davis race for governor.

But the rest of the country is waking up to this reality as more than 900 Democratic candidates have come up short in the past few election cycles. Republicans now run the show nationally and in 25 states, with Democrats dominating in only six.

No single reason explains these losses. But one thing I learned from my 12 years in Washington, D.C. is that the winner in politics is often the better communicator.

And Democrats have a communications problem.

National party leaders acknowledge the blind spot. Following the 2016 election, President Barack Obama urged Democrats to “rethink our storytelling, the messaging … so that we can make a persuasive case to the country.” In its autopsy following the 2014 midterms, the Democratic National Committee admitted we didn’t connect with voters. And the loss in Georgia’s special congressional election last week pretty much drove home the point.

The problem? Progressives tend to be obsessed — obsessed — with making logical, fact-driven, even haughty, arguments around five-point policy proposals. But that isn’t the stuff of winning an election. Big-brand concepts and simple storytelling do.

Think Obama’s hope and change, Donald Trump’s railing against the D.C. establishment, George W. Bush’s use of fear around terrorism. Each settled on a single, memorable narrative that stirred emotions and eschewed policy.

It’s not clear what the Big Brand

is for Democrats — something that persuades people to vote for us, not just against Republicans. Even years after that DNC autopsy noted that “[W]e lack a clear message about what unites and animates” us, Democrats can’t seem to answer the question: What do we stand for? So, what now? A strong brand — whether a company or candidate — conveys credibility, clarity and connection. It pulls people in. And it sure helps if the brand conveys action, not just emotion.

In Texas, we have to connect with folks by meeting them where they are. And jobs, jobs, jobs are on Texans’ minds. Statewide public polling consistently shows people here prioritize the economy/jobs over many other things, including social issues (which sometimes seems to be the only emphasis of Texas Democrats.)

The Democratic Party has a rich history as job creators — see Bill Clinton — that continues today. Recently, Democratic leaders in Texas tried to increase the state’s minimum wage to get people off government assistance. They also effectively approved responsible fracking, the drilling-technology and jobs boon. But we need to do much more — in message and deed — on employment for all Texans.

And let’s go further than that. Democrats have a unique opportunity to win over the Texas business community, historically tucked tightly in bed with the Republican Party. Dennis Nixon, CEO of the ninth-largest bank in Texas and campaign fundraiser for then-candidate Trump, told the Houston Chronicle that during the regular session of the Legislature, the Texas GOP “disregarded the business community of Texas, just threw us under the bus.”

Hard-right GOP leaders pushed forward measures on immigration and transgender bathroom use, despite fierce objections from blue-chip corporations.

The emerging wedge here is a gift. Let’s use it.

Texas has become stronger — and more appealing to younger generations, I would suspect — now that Democrats are winning in our big cities, including Houston. It’s good to see some blue on the map, but we need much more of it for balanced decisionmaking.

Until then, in the absence of the checks and balances that two strong political parties historically have provided, our nation faces a great threat from the growing political instability. In 2011, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ credit rating for the first time in history because “the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened.” I can’t imagine what the S&P view is now.

The lack of leadership from both parties — sorry, this is one of those rare true equivalencies — is tearing this country apart (well before President Trump entered the picture), while little is getting done to actually fix problems affecting lives and livelihoods.

It’s time for real leaders, not prickly partisans, to step up on the Democratic side of the aisle and lead us out of this hot political mess. This means persuading non-ideological voters — including some of the 38 percent of Texas voters who say their political views are “in the middle” and the 44 percent who described themselves as “independent” — to come on over into the tent.

Today’s “Resistance” movement against President Trump is critically important and has a growing audience. But it’s not enough to win at the ballot box.

We need to make our politics — and our democracy — work again.