A Failure of Communication
Democrats caved in the worst possible way
Like many, I was angered and disgusted by the abject capitulation of Senate Democrats to the intransigent GOP, with nothing to show after 40 days of government shutdown.
Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, however, I’m more frustrated by the fact that the Democrats completely missed the opportunity to end the shutdown as winners, rather than losers.
The blowback from rank-and-file Democrats has been harsh, with many calling for Sen. Schumer to resign. I agree with these calls; the Democratic leadership has demonstrated again and again that they are not fitted to this moment.
In particular, Chuck Schumer’s inability to see beyond political polling has led to one Democratic (and democratic) defeat after another. He is a man who has no idea what an average American thinks and feels, one who views people only as numbers, averages, and bullet points generated by the surveys, polls, and focus groups in which he places all his trust.
Chuck Schumer has got to go.
Why didn’t Democrats declare victory?
As a professional communicator, my primary complaint isn’t that seven Democrats voted to end the shutdown with nothing except a promise of future failure. My frustration is with the complete inability to message the capitulation properly.
A capable leader, one who understands how the Party’s rank-and-file feel, would have recognized that Democrats could have reopened government while declaring victory instead of defeat. It boggles my mind that no one in Schumer’s office thought of this, and it confirms the theory that he and his staff are completely out of touch with Americans.
The strategy and messaging wouldn’t have been that complex:
Republicans would rather inflict pain on you and your loved ones than negotiate to end that pain.
We’re better than that. We care about you. We’re going to reopen the government to ensure hungry people can get their SNAP benefits. We’re going to reopen the government to ensure our servicemembers, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and all the other government employees serving you can get paid. We’re going to reopen the government because we recognize the significant impact the government has on improving the lives of all Americans.
The fight to provide all Americans with affordable health care is not over. The battle against Republican authoritarianism is not done. We will continue to fight for you every day, just as you came out to fight for Democracy and a better way last Tuesday.
We are the Democratic Party, and we stand with you.
Messaging like that would have inspired me. It would have made me proud of the Democratic Party. It would have energized me to do more to fight the fascists in Congress and the White House.
But Chuck Schumer wasn’t capable of messaging like that. Senate Democrats aren’t capable of developing strategies without polling, message testing, and focus groups. They don’t know how to communicate without a list of talking points that have been worked and re-worked by consultants and pundits who think they understand Americans.
They know nothing.