Do Dems Really Suck at Messaging?
Plus how to avoid lying to voters about lowering prices
The first full week of 2026 has not been great.
It began with the illegal invasion of Venezuela, included the White House openly salivating over taking control of Greenland, and ended with ICE killing a mother of three in Minnesota.
It wasn’t all dark. The public is not buying Trump’s B.S. on Venezuela, and Trump suffered a couple of humiliating losses in Congress this week.
There is a lot to talk—and write—about, so let’s get into it.
Don’t forget to leave your questions for next week’s mailbag in the comments section.
Christy Ward
Hello, I really appreciate the sage and balanced insights you share with this community. In fact, every time I read TMB I find myself hoping that your readership includes many Dem party leaders and politicians because the lack of cohesive messaging in our party frustrates me to no end. I disagree with the vast majority of the GOP platform / ideology, but I am impressed by (and envious of) their message discipline. Why do you think Dems aren’t more in sync when it comes to messaging? Is there any hope for improvement, especially given that it’s an election year? Thank you.
Answer
In other words, you’re asking: why do Democrats suck at messaging?
I’ve been trying to answer that question for 25 years. It’s been a recurring theme in my writing, including across the three books I’ve written.
Let me give you three reasons Democrats struggle—and then a few reasons for hope.
As Democrats, our diversity is both our strength and our weakness. Our coalition is far more ideologically, geographically, and demographically diverse than the Republican Party’s. We need messages that can be amplified by everyone from AOC to Chuck Schumer to Jared Golden, who represents an overwhelmingly Republican district in Maine. That makes it very hard to sing from the same song sheet.
