1hundredsixty8

Disclaimer: I am a registered independent and not a member of any political party.

This being a Presidential election year, and despite having no serious interest in the nuts and bolts of electoral politics, I feel impelled to share some observations about what will be an election of consequence. For the record, I admit to not paying much attention to the Democratic horse race for the party’s nomination. I have not watched a single debate and have read very little. Sometime this summer, there will be a nominee. To date, a galvanizing, charismatic figure has not emerged and it seems likely none will. As Republican strategist Rick Wilson* puts it, “all elections are a referendum on the incumbent” and one would think that the Democrats’ highest priority would be to defeat the bloated inhabitant of the White House and deny him a second term. 

Wilson has also stated on more than one occasion his belief that the Democrats are “holistically bad at elections”. They seemed determined to prove him correct, as they continue to base their campaigns on complex policy prescriptions which they sometimes have a difficult time explaining. Medicare-for-all or free college education may draw praise in wonkish policy discussion groups, but, on the campaign trail, they lack the punching power of “Make America Great Again”, a meaningless slogan. One would think that having a simple message with which to engage voters would be a campaign priority for candidates. If you believe that there is a difference between electoral politics and governing politics, then pragmatism dictates doing what it takes to win. Do policy when you are in office. 

Trump, on the other hand, whose business history did not portend success at governance (and that has mostly proved to be the case**), is a skilled marketer who knows the effectiveness of identifying his audience and crafting a simple message. He mixes fear-mongering (who can forget the dystopian description of “American carnage” in his inaugural address) with appeals to the nativist proclivities of his supporters. His delivery can best be described as uncouth, even vulgar. He communicates via Twitter and stream-of-consciousness speeches at rallies. His contributions to the political lexicon include phrases such as “fake news” and “deep state” and the creation of childish nicknames to be used as taunts.  

So, here is my suggestion for a simple messaging tack for the Democrats: they should pound the Republicans- Senators and Representatives, as well as the President- on the issue of the Federal budget deficit and national debt. In a robust economy, the deficit will exceed one trillion dollars in fiscal year 2020. Debt is a term that most people understand on a personal, visceral level. The average citizen is not a student of macro economics and tends to view the debt as government living on a credit card. It should not be difficult to package fear of the increasing debt, the potential of increased taxes in the future to pay it down (already baked into the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017), and the idea that much of the government’s debt is held by foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia. And then there is the fact that during the first years of the Obama Administration, the Republicans pounded on the deficit/debt issue, riding on the back of the Tea Party revolt to gain control of the House in 2010. Turnabout is fair play.

Here are some suggestions.

“Choose one: Democrats or Debt”

“We owe $23,000,000,000,000. Thank you, GOP.”

“What did we get for $23,000,000,000,000?”

I leave it to the professionals to do better.

*Wilson’s recently-released book, “Running Against the Devil”, lays out a strategy to defeat Donald Trump in November. His previous book, “Everything Trump Touches Dies”, was a best-seller.

**Trump governs through the use of executive orders. He has not been effective in dealing with the legislature, even during his first two years when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. His major legislative achievements were baked into the cake before he was elected: House Republicans under both John Boehner and Paul Ryan had wanted to cut taxes, but were thwarted by Obama and Democratic control of the Senate. The appointments of conservative-minded judges would likely have been made by any Republican President with a Republican-controlled Senate.