On Messages Days Late
Three pieces of news yesterday were cause for cheer around the nation. Pfizer announced it had applied for government approval of a pill for infected COVID patients that has been shown to dramatically reduce illness and death. “The Labor Department reported Friday that payrolls in October jumped by 531,000, the best showing since July.” (NYT). Late last night the House passed and sent to the President’s desk the long-awaited physical infrastructure bill. A bill stalled in the House as, progressives used it as leverage to gain support for the human infrastructure bill. The takeaway from these pieces of news is that COVID fears will be reduced, the economy is on the rebound and the Democrats are getting down to business. All messages that would have been extremely helpful had they arrived prior to last Tuesday’s elections. Timing is everything.

From a political perspective, all eyes are on the 2022 mid-terms. The Republican’s are joyful that their refusal to participate in governing, along with the Democrats internal disarray, have put them in the catbirds seat to retake the House and Senate majorities. To do that, they need to continue to portray the Democrats as incompetent stewards of the public’s business while pouring salt into the nation’s cultural wounds.

The timing of the good news is not only too late, but too early as well. It’s a long time to the 2020 elections. Unless the Democrats can continue to rack up legislative victories, the economy continues to improve, COVID stops interrupting everyone’s lives and a general sense that the nation is heading in a good direction permeates the public mood, the R’s will do well. Some of this is out of the D’s control. But they have enough power and position to pull it out.

The real issue is, did the D’s get the message? They’ve got to stop sweating the details and get broad strokes of solutions moving. They’ve got to focus on the immediate economic stressors people are experiencing. The Trump “scarecrow”, didn’t play all that much in Tuesdays reversals. They have to accept that they’re in charge and they’re being held responsible.

The second part of staving off a mid-term loss of power, is also timing and good messaging. Even if the D’s succeed in quelling their internal discord, they can’t assume people are going to be all that impressed. America is the “show me” nation, and it’s “show me NOW”. Even though Trump and McConnel knew their 2017 “tax reform” would mostly benefit the already wealthy and would only create a temporary surge in the economy, it happened at a politically opportune time. Had COVID, and Trump’s mishandling of the economic fallout not happened, it likely would have carried him into a second term. It passed soon enough to have an impact, and close enough to the election for people to still appreciate it. That’s the current sweet spot for voting strategy in America today.

Lastly, the D’s have to show they live on the same block as working America. An increase in the federal minimum wage would make a direct connection. Directing money and the media to solving the plight of single parents and the children of single parents, would be both economically uplifting and refocus the crime debate on root causes. Leadership around policing reforms that pull communities together can bridge one of our significant divides. People want to see the money people held responsible, made uneasy, and pushed to respond. This means supporting higher wages, cracking down on employer abuse in the workplace and demanding business look at its socially eroding practices.
The D’s may not get immediate results, but America wants to see their fighters in the ring, taking hits and hitting back. It’s fight night for the D’s and the crowd has yet to loyal become fans.

ihg 11-6-2021
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