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Dems Need To Emphasize PARTY And POLICIES, Not Just Individual Candidates [1]

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Date: 2024-10-22  

If elections in the U.S. focused on the specific policy differences between the two parties, Democrats would win in a landslide. On everything from protecting Social Security and Medicare, to taxing billionaires, to the environment, to reducing prescription drug costs… the public overwhelmingly supports the Democratic policy positions. Instead, U.S. elections tend to overwhelmingly focus on the individual candidate, which exceedingly favors the Republicans in two ways.

First, it distracts attention from the actual important core policy differences (which would favor Democrats) and instead focuses voter choices on isolated actions or statements that an individual may have made (often taken out of context). Second, it greatly favors Republicans and their billionaire donors who pour literally hundreds of millions of dollars into attack ads. Anyone who turns on the tv lately has no doubt seen a barrage of these ads, and I expect that is a major factor in the recent movement in the polls away from Democrats in both the presidential and important senate and house races.

The difference between the Democratic and Republican parties on multiple key issues has never been this stark, and the public overwhelmingly supports the position that the Democrats support on almost all of them. But the Democrats have done a very poor job in communicating their position on these issues.

What I am unfortunately seeing on the airwaves lately are commercials by individual Democratic candidates playing a catch-up game, trying to respond to the latest scurrilous personal charge from their Republican opponent. Dems do not have enough money or time to ever win that game.

Instead, Dems need to boldly and repeatedly publicize the stark difference between the parties, and why it is so crucial to elect the Democrat up and down the ticket. Here are a few major examples.

During 2017 and 2018, the Republicans controlled everything in the federal government. Trump was President, and Republicans controlled the House and Senate. They literally passed only one major legislative accomplishment, Trump’s 2017 Tax legislation, which made huge tax cuts for the rich and large corporations. The legislation overwhelmingly favored the top 1%, and it slashed the top corporate tax rate from 35% down to only 21%. (The fact that those big tax cuts expire in 2025 is the prime reason why billionaires are pouring unprecedented amounts of money into Trump’s and Republican’s 2024 campaign.)

In contrast, during 2021 and 2022, the Democrats controlled the presidency and the House and Senate. Under the Biden/Harris Administration, Democrats passed several major pieces of positive legislation…each one with little or no Republican support. Here are just a few key examples.

The American Rescue Plan in response to COVID-19. The White House sent Americans in the low-to-medium income range a $1,400 payment to help fund basic necessities like rent and groceries. Biden also extended a $300 a week federal unemployment benefit for some 9.7 million people out of work at the time, temporarily expanded the child tax credit program, allotted $7.25 billion for small business loans and $128 billion in grants for state educational agencies. The bill passed the Senate 50-49 and the House 220 to 211, with no Republican votes in either chamber.

in response to COVID-19. The White House sent Americans in the low-to-medium income range a $1,400 payment to help fund basic necessities like rent and groceries. Biden also extended a $300 a week federal unemployment benefit for some 9.7 million people out of work at the time, temporarily expanded the child tax credit program, allotted $7.25 billion for small business loans and $128 billion in grants for state educational agencies. The bill passed the Senate 50-49 and the House 220 to 211, with no Republican votes in either chamber. The bipartisan infrastructure bill . Democrats led on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, passed in November 2021. That law included $284 billion for transportation needs, which includes repairing bridges and roadways, public transit and airports, electric vehicles and low emission public transportation; $65 billion for broadband internet; $73 billion for power infrastructure; and $55 billion for clean drinking water. The legislation was a major bipartisan achievement for Biden, made possible by 32 Republicans — 13 in the House and 19 in the Senate — who crossed the aisle to ensure it passed. Former President Donald Trump had pressed conservatives to vote against the bill , but enough Republicans held firm and supported the legislation.

. Democrats led on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, passed in November 2021. That law included $284 billion for transportation needs, which includes repairing bridges and roadways, public transit and airports, electric vehicles and low emission public transportation; $65 billion for broadband internet; $73 billion for power infrastructure; and $55 billion for clean drinking water. The legislation was a major bipartisan achievement for Biden, made possible by 32 Republicans — 13 in the House and 19 in the Senate — who crossed the aisle to ensure it passed. , but enough Republicans held firm and supported the legislation. The CHIPS Act to build semiconductors in the U.S. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 passed in August, which allocated roughly $53 billion in federal funding to manufacture semiconductor chips in the U.S. instead of relying on China to produce them. The bill originally passed the House with just one Republican vote. In the Senate, all Democrats plus 17 Republicans voted in favor.

to build semiconductors in the U.S. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 passed in August, which allocated roughly $53 billion in federal funding to manufacture semiconductor chips in the U.S. instead of relying on China to produce them. The bill originally passed the House with just one Republican vote. In the Senate, all Democrats plus 17 Republicans voted in favor. The Inflation Reduction Act . Biden's ambitious package took a lot of work to pass through Congress, with Vice President Harris' vote breaking the Senate's 50-50 party line vote . It also cleared the House in a 220-207 vote along party lines, without a single Republican voting in favor. In addition to being by far the most serious federal legislation to ever address the climate crisis , the bill aims to tackle inflation by reducing the federal deficit, promote production of certain goods and limit the cost of some prescription drugs. Some specifics of the package include: $369 billion for a climate initiative to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote lean energy technologies. $300 billion in new revenue through a corporate tax increase. $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to hire new agents, modernize its technology, audit the wealthy and more. A $2,000 annual cap for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for those insured by Medicare.

. Biden's ambitious package took a lot of work to pass through Congress, with . It also cleared the House in a 220-207 vote along party lines, without a single Republican voting in favor. In addition to being by far , the bill aims to tackle inflation by reducing the federal deficit, promote production of certain goods and limit the cost of some prescription drugs. Some specifics of the package include:

It is surprising and disappointing that much of the public seems oblivious to this huge difference in federal government priorities and achievements under Democratic vs . Republican rule . This is no doubt in part due to the failure by our mainstream news media. But the Democratic Party must also share some of the blame. They have a tremendous story to tell…and have simply not been effectively telling it. (The one exception I would note is the issue of reproductive rights. On that subject the Democrats have done a good job of emphasizing the clear policy differences between the parties…much to their benefit.)

So the recommendation here is clear. The Democratic Party (and especially the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee… because these billionaire attack ads are particularly prevalent and difficult to respond to in those down-ballot races) must focus a significant effort at incorporating the “party and policy” differences into their campaign messaging. In addition to re-focusing attention to policies… things on which Democrats have a clear public opinion advantage… it will also have the advantage of spillover messaging that should benefit all Democrats on the ballot. (For example, in a media market where a tv ad reaches across multiple districts, an ad emphasizing the importance of voting for candidate x because he/she will help Democrats achieve important Y and Z policies, will have spillover benefits to other Democratic candidates up and down the ballot that an ad just defending individual candidate x against some recent attack will not.)

Democrats, you have some huge public favorability advantages on many important policies. Please put more effort into drawing the party and policy contrasts.

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