By Joseph Sohm @ Shutterstock.com
No Coherent Message
There’s a new roadshow traveling around the country. Since late in March, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have drawn large, enthusiastic crowds in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, and Utah.
The odd couple promises more rallies soon. And, boy, can they raise money. AOC’s campaign reported it took in $9.6 million in the first quarter and has $8 million in cash on hand.
Should Republicans worry? To dismiss the roadshow would be notably reckless. The Bernie-AOC message, however, is unlikely to attract many new voters. Their audience is providing “a rallying place for rabid, totally committed progressives,” reports Karl Rove in the WSJ.
Another problem facing Democrats is that the Sanders/AOC duo makes the party appear even more out of touch with Americans, especially with those who helped flip the White House to Donald Trump.
Making Sanders/AOC the face of Democrats runs the risk of making the Dems appear even more out of touch with Americans who swung the last election to Mr. Trump. Those voters were looking for less inflation, lower taxes, secure borders, a stronger military, and an end to DEI nonsense. Bernie and AOC’s policies, however, would deliver the opposite.
Insecurity at the Base
The “Ragin’ Cajun,” strategist James Carville, often not considered the most stable Democrat, dismissed new DNC VP David Hogg’s voice as “the most insane thing” he’s ever heard. Carville raved, the 25-year-old Hogg, as DNC vice chairman, has “a fiduciary duty to the Democratic Party.” Mr. Carville scoffs, “Why don’t you take on a Republican? That’s your job.”
Yes, Donald Trump is facing a rocky time in the White House. Even so, claims Mr. Rove, Democrats won’t have an easy time and would be better off targeting a cogent message:
- The party’s base wants unrelenting war on the president. But over what?
- Democrats’ favorite topic seems to be the deportation to El Salvador of a Maryland man with alleged gang ties. The White House is happy to engage in a lengthy war of words there. The man’s removal presents serious due-process issues, but Team Trump doesn’t care. They know illegal immigration is a much stronger issue for them right now than much else.
- Fears of inflation are rising, the stock market and consumer confidence are cratering, and economic growth is likely slowing.
Where’s the Coherent Message
Democrats face another problem. How do they target Trump and Republicans for the bad things they have done? They need to be careful not to illuminate the good things that Democrats did not do. Poor execution has not helped Democrats convince America that the Party is not chaotic and out of touch.
Democrats need to present a compelling agenda on “kitchen-table issues” that sways “Americans who voted for Mr. Biden and other Democrats in 2020 but who turned to Mr. Trump and Republicans in 2024.”
Otherwise, continues Mr. Rove, Democrats will be betting that anger over Mr. Trump’s policies and a progressive agenda are enough to produce a massive midterm victory.
That would be a stupid wager. Something Dems will make anyway, reckons Mr. Rove, and Dems will make anyway.
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