The Democrats’ Messaging Problem

Since Obama left the White House in 2016, Democrats have suffered an identity crisis as their partisan counterparts have abandoned principles and values for shock jock-like candidates and vitriolic rhetoric. 

As the Republicans have honed their message and embraced Trumpism, the Democrats are still working to find their footing after peaking with Obama’s presidency. Aside from the Democrats’ problem of not grooming notable candidates to fill the Obama-size hole left in the party, they also have a messaging problem. 

Over the past few election cycles, Democrats have failed to create messaging that resonates with voters while at the same time fending off accusations of being socialists from their Republican counterparts. 

In Miami, Florida, a strong Democratic district, the Democrats lost two Congressional seats because Republicans messaged to the Cuban population that Biden was a socialist. For the Cuban community in Miami, many of them came to America to flee a socialist regime. Democratic candidates didn’t push back or try to debunk the messaging. 

The Republican socialist messaging played on the fears of many Cuban voters, and in an exit poll, Trump won roughly 55% of the Cuban American vote in Florida as well as 30% of Puerto Rican voters and 48% of “other latinos” in the Sunshine state. These electoral gains proved the socialist messaging put enough fear in the Cuban and Latino communities to turn out the vote in the Republicans’ favor.

While the GOP messaging and labeling of Democrats as socialist is not steeped in truth or fact, the Democrats struggle with pushing back on the narrative. It’s not because they are socialists, it’s because they don’t know who they are as a party. 

Across the aisle, Republicans know exactly who they are, the party of Trump, and they’ve doubled down on the “Save America” agenda by positioning any Democratic challenger as a “Pelosi Puppet” who will hurt American families and make the country more dangerous. This is a rebranding of the 2020 messaging that all Democrats want to defund the police and are socialists whose only aim is to turn America into a socialist state.

As Republicans look to take back control of the House in 2022, Democrats are going to have to learn how to play offense instead of defense. Because let’s face it, Republicans excel at playing defense and they will do whatever it takes to bring the Democrats down to their level of politicking only to beat them with experience. 

The Democrats’ messaging to voters should offer broad appeal and seek to unify a fractured electorate. The problem for Democrats is they are spending too much time trying to figure out how to combat Republican messaging. Democrats, let it go. You’ll never be able to come up with messaging that proportionately fights back against the GOPs ill-painted branding of your party. However, the opportunity lies with using forward thinking branding that evokes the promise of protecting the soul of America and mending the torn fabric of our democracy. 

All hope for the Democrats isn’t lost unless they continue to fumble the messaging ball on the 10 yard line. Biden’s presidential win wasn’t by accident. It was based on the branding of his campaign being embroiled in the battle for the soul of our nation. Voters identified with this and after four tumultuous years under the Trump presidency, Americans were ready to reclaim the country from the crazy Uncle in the White House who was being advised by extremists who embraced conspiracy theories in place of public policy. 

Biden’s campaign, much like Obama’s, offered succinct messaging that voters understood and allowed them to feel as though they were part of the campaign and they had a stake in the outcome of both Biden and Obama’s election. 

If the Democrats don’t figure out who they are and what their brand is, they will lose in 2022. In fact, I would contend they’re already losing. Republicans have spent their time since losing the White House, by peddling a BIG lie and continuing to spread conspiracy theories to keep their base riled up and ready to right the wrongs of the 2020 election when they watched their president lose his reelection. 

Meanwhile, Democrats offer tepid responses and display exasperated sighs in interviews, throwing their hands in the air as though they aren’t the majority party in Congress. The Democrats’ focus isn’t on holding the Republican’s accountable for poor governance and their gaslighting of the American people. Their focus is passing an infrastructure bill for the president and blaming the GOP for refusing to compromise. Unfortunately, their messaging isn’t compelling enough for the average voter to care about helping them keep the House. 

For the general electorate, governance isn’t sexy enough to woo voters to the polls. Messaging matters and in the upcoming election it will not be a battle of public policy, but a battle of words. Unless the Democrats can nail down a succinct message that evokes an emotional response where the voter feels compelled to show up and vote Democrat, the GOP will flip the House next November. 

Words matter and the Republicans have learned that the words which elicit fear and anger, regardless of truth or merit, turn out voters in droves. Democrats can take the high road on the messaging front but first they need to figure out who they are and focus on what matters the most, connecting with voters.