Every reader here understands it is hard to overstate the importance of November's midterm elections. The GOP controls every branch in our Constitutional framework, and the vast majority of Americans agree that the nation is in crisis, providing Democrats with fertile ground on which to harvest winning issues, perhaps combining victories in both Houses of Congress. Ironically, the sheer number of problems angering voters created by the terrifying authoritarian White House presents a difficulty, a good difficulty, but a difficulty nonetheless. Standing ankle deep in red political muck, what is the single most powerful message to squeeze out the most blue political juice?
According to recent reports, leading Dems believe the answer lies in highlighting and taking up the fight against the GOP's blatant corruption.
Yeah, but...
Americans vote first and foremost with their pocketbooks. An infinitely qualified Kamala Harris is unforgiveably not president right now, primarily because of moderates' misconceptions and misrememberings regarding the economy under President Trump 1.0 — an economy that mostly rode the stable Obama wave after the Great Recession. With the economy now looking vulnerable at the very least, better understood to be failing fast by many, why would Democrats not lead with what has traditionally been the political focus in nearly every election and certainly seems to be in this one?
Thankfully, Democrats do apparently somewhat understand the dynamic, or at least mostly, and plan to link the corruption as an emotionally evocative and easily understood subset or adjunct to economic pain and fear. As explained in a report by NBC News:
“We’re doing it in every corner of the country,” said a national Democratic strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And the idea is it’s an affordability cycle, and so everybody cares about affordability, No. 1, when you pair the message with the reason that your costs are going up is because politicians care more about themselves, they’re corrupt, they’re bought by corporate donors or they’re lining their own pockets, and that’s why they’re not looking out for you, that’s the most potent mix of the two arguments.”
Yeah.
Mostly.
Or one could say that the most potent mix of "any" argument is "Gas is $5.00 a gallon, making everything more expensive, and the Trump regime spends more time making life easier for people building data centers than those dropping off kids at daycare centers."
But, okay - Dems are close.
Anyone who has read this column at all for the last few months knows that if there is a central theme, it is that Trump has never had to do anything, much less explain himself about Epstein matters or wars that push prices to the brink, amidst an unstable or teetering economy, thus now making him infinitely more vulnerable on every issue. Donald Trump and his blood red army in Congress are uniquely adept at finding a stupifying number of issues they created in what was just three years ago a well-functioning, well-respected nation. Voters understand that.
Voters also understand that, even though Trump gave himself a new 747, openly obstructed an investigation into the world's most notorious child-sex trafficker, found time to engage in open day trading on stocks that just happen to move up quickly after he impacts the company's fortunes, and has a saintly sensitive side for convicted rich people crying out for mercy in the form of pardons, that by all appearances, Trump and the Republicans fail to notice that things are getting tough out here, where a pound of hamburger costs twice the amount of a gallon of gas, and both costs rose way too fast against wages that refuse to rise. It would seem imperative that first, before lobbing criticism at the corruption, or pointing to corruption as the primary culprit causing the economic pain, Democrats must start by telling voters how much we understand that pain, we see and feel the devastation, share the concerns, and aim to do something about it — and only then, after establishing that everyone is on the same page, at that point, note, "And who could keep track of an economy anyway when one's first and only priority is enriching oneself?"
This is not necessarily a criticism of the Democrats' strategy; it's more cautionary. Yes, they must make a nuclear-powered run against MAGA. They must list the reasons they oppose this administration's zoo-break when it comes to selling the nation for scrap. But it's never enough to solely be "against" something or someone; it is just as critical that candidates fight "for" their vision, the one that begins — and perhaps ends — with "I see how hard things have become and unlike the folks in charge now, my first priority will be doing something about making life economically easier here for you, my ideas include, ABC-123, and the reason none of those things are getting done right now is the administration is too busy getting rich abusing their positions. You will never get help from someone too busy helping themselves.
The issues do go hand in hand, but it may not be the best idea to wave the "Corruption" flag as the key to winning. It makes more sense to integrate the corruption as a prominent prong within an umbrella message that says, "I'm for helping you get through this economic pain by getting your healthcare back, increasing wages, scaling back A.I., all the things that will never get done by a regime too busy buying itself luxury airplanes with luxury beds for... reasons, along with insider trading, managing the non-Epstein investigation by the hour, it's no wonder they don't have any concern for you, they haven't had time to ask how you're doing. Not that they ever cared to begin with."
A word to the highly sophisticated and politically astute progressives here. Yes, when one gets right down to it, the real issue in this upcoming election is whether we want to continue this experiment in democracy or not, because authoritarianism has set in and gets increasingly entrenched by the day. Understood, 100%.
But that is not understood, at least not well enough, by voters who don't pay as much attention to politics as you but know infinitely more about programming language, irrigating, firefighting, teaching trigonometry, or ICU nursing than you, but they do share your frustration with prices and jobs. Those people may not yet know just how dangerous the situation has become, and in an ideal world, one could sit down and describe the ways this nation is in far more trouble than mere troubling inflation. There simply isn't time — not to persuade the 20% of the people in this country who decide control of the government in purple districts and states.
Yes, it is unfair. No, it doesn't make sense. Sure, it makes one long for a parliamentary system where a vote of no confidence could be had, and the entire lot knocked out, but we're here, and thus charged with the duty to do the best we can with what we have in the time we have it.
Additionally, we have every right to demand we live in a nation that doesn't always lead with its wallet and personal economic concerns. We should create a nation in which the majority cares about climate change, cares about getting that transitioning kid medical coverage rather than mocking or making a monster out of him, a nation that sees healthcare as an obvious basic human right, demands its DEI initiatives, and is already grappling with impending AI dangers to employment and society writ large, with talk of universal basic income and other such mature planning. We have every right to that country, we just don't live in it — not yet.
Yes, Democrats - please do make sure that this regime's corruption is put forth front and center. But please make sure it is exhibit "C" under Argument I: "The economy is hurting you and will hurt you more unless you allow me to help fix it by ABC - 123, and you know that the Republicans won't do those things because they've been fully in charge two years now and things have gotten noticeably worse, meanwhile we see a regime committed to little more than breathless corruption, enriching themselves as priority one, priority two, and every priority thereafter ending in a number.
Bonus round. The more stable the economy becomes for everyone, the more wages keep up with prices, and the more contentment the lower and middle class, the more open we all are to discussions about climate, about LGBTQ concerns, why DEI makes the nation stronger, why ICE is a crime against humanity, and so much more.
It is really hard to get voters to care about much of anything when they're busy caring about buying food that month, and the maxim holds true even with a president who steals 747s, probably sells pardons, and engages in insider trading.
Thankfully, these issues all harmonize, in part because the GOP has ever only known one political riff. We just have to make sure the lyrics hit the heart, head, and the wallet, just not necessarily in that order.
Jason Miciak is a Rawstory Columnist, past editor of Occupy Democrats, an author, political consultant, attorney, and a single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com, and does read the comments with interest, having learned a great deal from readers.