Dem
53
Ties
1
GOP
46
Everyone knows that MS NOW is the liberal news network. However, they sometimes perform balance, to make their coverage appear "down the middle." So it was yesterday, when DNC Chair Ken Martin—aka The Most Boring Man in the World—was interviewed by anchor Peter Alexander. As part of that interview, Alexander asked "One, obviously Americans are fed up with Donald Trump, but they're not exactly glowing in their reviews of Democrats. The polls show 53% unfavorable in their view of Democrats, with 41% having a favorable view. How do you overcome that brand with Democrats?" This question, in various forms, is a fairly common one, one regularly asked of Democratic muckety-mucks like Martin, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), etc. And wow, do we really hate it.
The first reason is that we are not thrilled by references to the Democratic "brand" or the Republican "brand." It's possible that, once or twice in the past, we ourselves have fallen victim to this bad habit. But thinking about it, such language feeds into the general notion—central to Donald Trump's campaign pitch—that the federal government is USA Inc. It is not, as Trump himself has proven, and we would prefer to see everyone move away from any verbiage that suggests that the government, the various organs of government, the various parties and party organizations, are business concerns.
Second, this is sloppy and misleading political analysis. When one choice on the ballot is "good" or "popular" and the other is "bad" or "unpopular" then it's an easy choice. But as everyone reading this knows, it's often a choice between the lesser of two evils. We are reminded of the old joke about the two guys who are camping. One of them goes to get water and, after a few minutes returns in a panic, and starts furiously lacing up his boots:
Second Guy: What's wrong?
First Guy: There's a bear down by the river, and he's headed this way!
Second Guy: What's the point of putting your boots on? You won't be able to outrun him either way.
First Guy: I don't have to outrun him. I just have to outrun you.
In other words, it is too bad for the Democrats that they are underwater, approval-wise. But what really matters is that they are less underwater than the Republicans are. And don't forget that more people identify as Democrats right now than at any point since the Barack Obama honeymoon era in 2008-09.
Third, there is absolutely nothing the Democrats can do before November 3 to "solve" this problem. There is no campaign ad, or slogan, or political position they can take that will magically change those approval numbers. We are very clearly living in an era where people are angry and frustrated with the entire power structure—the government, and the partisan actors who make up the government. People will continue to be angry and frustrated until one party or the other can show that they can make the government work for the people, and can actually solve some problems. It is at least possible that if the blue team gains control of at least one chamber of Congress, then passing some meaty bills will help improve people's opinions of the Party, even if they are filibustered in the Senate or Trump refuses to sign. That might give some people hope. More likely, however, is that the Democrats' numbers won't improve until they have the trifecta, and even then only if they get something meaningful done.
Fourth, and finally, the very worst thing that the Democrats could do is to lurch around wildly, trying to do things that will be "popular." This is the Donald Trump approach, and we are seeing the results in real time: Disastrous franken-government in which a policy is implemented in search of approval, and then a second policy is implemented to try to fix the problems the first policy created, and so forth. Again, the only option here is to pursue substantive change. Then, the Party can hope the popularity will flow from there.
In short, it's a stupid and un-illuminating question, and one that risks incentivizing bad behavior from the politicos. And now, we will climb down off our soapbox. (Z)