Press: Fixing the Democratic message machine [View all]

[Klaralven]

Democrats are good at a lot of things. They have a lot of good ideas, like child care, universal pre-K, cheaper prescription drugs, and family and medical leave.

But here’s one thing they’re not good at: selling their own story.

The Democratic Party’s message machine sucks! Just look back at the last three months, ever since Aug. 10, when the Senate voted 69-30 to pass President Biden’s $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, soon known as the “BIF.” Ever since then, every story’s been about the chaos among House Democrats.

Progressives refused to vote for the so-called hard infrastructure bill unless they could vote on the companion “soft” infrastructure measure at the same time. Moderate Democrats insisted on voting for the physical infrastructure bill before even considering the human infrastructure bill. And, of course, the media loved nothing more than fanning the flames of a civil war among Democrats – ignoring the fact that Republicans had simply checked out, refusing to support any infrastructure bill, no matter what was in it nor how much it cost.

Meanwhile, nobody was talking about content. Democrats were so busy fighting over how to deliver the product, they spent no time selling the product itself. When the BIF finally passed the House 228-206, with the help of 13 Republicans, only a small percentage of Americans knew what was actually in the bill: what it meant to them or how it would help their state or community. And yet it will reach every corner of the country and totally transform the American economy.

https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/580578-press-fixing-the-democratic-message-machine