We were reminded of a continuing problem for Democrats when we read this:
Americans think the GOP would do a better job than Democrats handling the terrorist threat (46 percent to 34 percent) and the economy (42 percent to 37 percent). [December 2015 Pew Research Center poll]Gulp. Wow.
When you're dealing with a population whose memory apparently spans weeks rather than years, the tendency to forget that such apocalyptic events as 9/ 11 and the market crash and Great Recession occurred on a Republican's watch might be expected. Or that Bin Laden and 30,000- 33,000 terrorists have been killed since Obama took office. Or that since Obama took office, unemployment is down to 4.9%, 9.265 million jobs have been created, the stock market is up 139% and weekly earnings are up 3.4%. Could we have done better? Perhaps with a Congress that wasn't hamstrung by reactionary obstructionist Republicans. So, while there's still a mixed bag on the economy, the notion that the trickle- down, tax- cuts- for- the- rich Republicans would produce better results is risible.
But that just highlights the fact that, compared to laser- focused Republican messaging, the Democrats are shockingly poor at message focus and repetition. That focus and repetition is critical when you've got dedicated right wing media outlets as well as corporate "mainstream" media shilling for Republicans day in and day out. One of the "narratives" the media is apparently eager to play out in this election is that of surging "populist anger" at "the establishment," and at grievances real or imagined. When you're an incumbent (White House) party, that's a potentially self- fulfilling narrative you need to push back against -- hard. E.J. Dionne, Jr., echoes that concern, a problem we think goes back far beyond the Obama administration:
Democrats need to insist that while much work remains to be done, the United States is in far better shape economically than most other countries in the world. The nation is better off for the reforms in health care, financial regulation and environmental protection enacted during Obama’s term and should be proud of its energetic, entrepreneurial and diverse citizenry.
If Clinton, Sanders and their party don’t provide a forceful response to the wildly inaccurate and ridiculously bleak characterization of Obama’s presidency that the Republicans are offering, nobody will. And if this parody is allowed to stand as reality, the Democrats will lose. (our emphasis)Not only will lose, but will deserve to lose. It's political malpractice to have accomplished what the Obama administration has accomplished and still have nearly half of the general public believe the do- nothing party is the better option on terrorism and the economy. Democrats have to get into the same 24/ 7 campaign mode the Republicans operate in (they don't know how to govern, only campaign). Otherwise, a failure to communicate for Democrats can have disastrous effects in 2016.
UPDATE: What we've also got are some in the entertainment industry that view "The Donald" as some kind of mischievous rascal to be humored and humanized.
