Can the Democrats regain the “trust” of voters?

RUN IT DOWN: Democrats are on a complicated side of a culture war, with a set of talking points about it that doesn’t resonate with some of the voters whom the party needs and with an aura of arrogance that turns plenty of voters off. Simply put, the Democrats do not promise a sell their accomplishments.

Elections are still almost a year away. You’d never know it from the frequency with which they’re mentioned in the news media, which has made them the dominant and sometimes sole lens through which everything in Washington is viewed. The furious metabolism of the news and the unpredictability of events (pandemic, anyone?) suggest that the situation in November 2022 won’t precisely mirror the position in November 2021. But we blithely ignore that.

The infrastructure bill that was just passed is enormous, but like a rock thrown in the water, the ripples from the bill will take time to reach anxious voters.

The most pressing issue facing voters is inflation because it hits them in the wallets. The biggest driver of inflation is gasoline prices which have jumped in recent months. However, there is an indication that the costs of oil are starting to decline. President Biden has also requested an SEC investigation in oil company’s manipulation of prices as they report record profits.

President Biden can hit the road to talk about his infrastructure bill and what it means for everyone, but voters want relief from inflation. That’s likely to happen very soon as the supply chains improve. The fact remains that consumers have a lot of money, jobs are plentiful, and there are new treatments for COVID.

As a marketing person, I know the importance of staying on relevant messages. The Republicans know it too. The message, however, about the infrastructure bill is not enough. Democrats need to remind voters of Republican hypocrisy. The Trump tax cuts were a failure. As a candidate and president, Trump promised the nation’s economy would grow on an annual basis by 4% to 6%. But it never topped 3%.

Today, smart Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump because he is toxic. As more information comes out about his last days in office, it’s clear he tried to remain in office via a coup. Those aligned with Trump are psychos and, in all likelihood, will be voted out of office.

There is still a lot of danger. Gerrymandering is going to pay off for Republicans in some states. Democrats are not vocal enough when it comes to this hijacking of votes.

Every Democrat needs to remind voters just how dangerous a Republican Congress will be and how they could throw the economy in reverse.

Originally published at https://commonsenseandpolitics.com on November 20, 2021.