Democrats Don’t Need a Message. They Have Trump.
In midterm elections, negativity is usually enough.
Enough said.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesSenator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has warned fellow Democrats that they shouldn't just oppose Trump in the midterm elections; she thinks they need a substantive alternative policy message. Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio, who runs the House Republican Campaign Committee, has the same advice for his Democratic rivals: to avoid making the same mistake in November that his party made in 1998 by stressing the negatives of a Democratic president.
That sounds good. It's wrong. Midterm elections are about grievances, often directed against an incumbent president. There are more than four-dozen competitive House races, and Democrats may settle on similar themes. But they don't need a single agenda.