Democrats must be party of reason

Since Hillary Clinton’s loss last November, Democrats have been unified mostly by one thing — resisting Donald Trump. As unpopular as the nation’s 45th president may be (the latest Gallup polls puts his average approval rating at 38.8 percent in the second quarter, the lowest of any U.S. president in history), the post-Barack Obama party has been hampered by the lack of a standard-bearer and a clearly articulated and popular platform.

So what is this agenda that will turn the corner for the Democrats, that will match the simplicity of the GOP mantra of lower taxes and less regulation, that will not only excite their base but attract independents and crossover voters, that will change the public’s perception of them? Well, here is the meat of it: Create 10 million decent jobs by offering a tax credit to employers who train and hire workers at a “good” wage and invest more in apprenticeship programs; give Medicare the authority to negotiate lower drug prices and regulate drug companies more; and crack down on corporate mergers that are not in the best interests of consumers, workers or competition. Are you excited yet? It’s probably not fair to complain that what House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are offering familiar Democratic talking points from years past. But we’re having trouble imagining average Americans setting aside their daily struggles, putting on their “A Better Deal” rally caps and marching on Washington to plead with leadership to give Medicare authority to squeeze money out of Gilead Sciences. That’s not to suggest Gilead and other pharmaceutical companies don’t deserve the squeeze (that particular company is reportedly sitting on about $34.6 billion in cash and investments, by the way), but we’re not sure it’s a very effective rallying cry.

The same could be said of employer tax credits and regulating mergers. Has Amazon’s planned purchase of Whole Foods for a whopping $14 billion sent the general public (and not just certain Democrats in Washington) into a frenzy? If it did, we must have missed the excitement. The same with job training. These are worthwhile issues, but we have trouble imagining them capturing the public’s imagination at a time when President Trump’s family and staff are under investigation for possible collusion with Russian meddling in the last election, there’s a train wreck in the Affordable Care Act repeal in progress and the U.S. appears willing to expand its military presence in some worrisome places like Syria and North Korea.

All three biggies on the Democrats’ list also happen to have been planks in Hillary Clinton’s platform. You’ll recall how well that turned out.

The Democratic agenda is downright boring compared with the reality-TV administration, where lies, backstabbing and outrageous, often contradictory claims have become daily fare.

Here’s what we suspect voters are going to want to hear next year: We are the rational, cold-sober party that will listen to reason and public sentiment and exercise care in both domestic and foreign policy. That’s not exciting either, but it’s going to look awfully attractive after another few months of the fearsome chaos of the Trump administration.