JUST DO THINGS

I'm mildly annoyed by this Politico story:

Dems refuse to make 2024 mistakes in the wake of tariff ruling

What's the 2024 mistake Democrats aren't making, according to Politico?

The Supreme Court’s tariff decision left the door wide open for Democrats to hammer President Donald Trump for violating the law. This time, they’re not taking the bait.

Instead, Democratic campaigns are leaning into an argument they have been making for months: Trump’s tariffs are coming out of voters’ pockets. Some Democrats can’t help but hit the tariffs as “unlawful,” but they’re pivoting quickly back to affordability....

“People aren’t going to care whether that’s under an IEEPA regulation or Section 122,” said Gabe Horwitz, senior vice president at center-left group Third Way. “The fact is, the Trump administration continues to push tariffs that hurt consumers.”

There's a belief out there that it was a massive error to say Trump was a criminal in 2024. I agree that this might have been ineffective, especially a focus on January 6, which, to most voters, probably seemed like old news, an event remote from their lives, and one that ended with no real damage to democracy. But I see no evidence that talking about Trump's criminality was a major factor in Kamala Harris's loss.

Here's the Democrats' message now about the Supreme Court ruling, one we're supposed to believe is a vast improvement over 2024 messaging:

“The decision is a significant development, but prices are still high for folks across the country, and the administration is determined to keep them high,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.,) chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We are laser focused on affordability and holding Republicans accountable for raising prices on families across the country.”

Okay, fine, but ... how? Being "laser focused on affordability" is awesome, but what does that mean Democrats are doing?

I worry that mainstream Democrats think this kind of verbal mush is actually effective. I don't think it is, and that might help explain why, in the recent Washington Post/ABC poll, President Trump gets bad marks (39% job approval, 60% disapproval), but Democrats in Congress don't look much better:

Asked whether they trust Trump or Democrats in Congress to handle major issues, 33 percent cite the president, 31 percent say Democrats, 4 percent say both equally and a crucial 31 percent say neither....

Asked whom they trust to deal with reducing the cost of living, for example, about one-third of Americans say Trump, one-third say Democrats and one-third say neither.

Democrats need to be more specific. They need to have ideas, and communicate those ideas to voters.

I'll acknowledge that many Democrats offer something more concrete than "We're laser focused!" when they're actually running. Mikie Sherrill, for instance, told New Jersey voters during her run for governor last year that she'd freeze utility rates. She won by double digits (and then did what she promised).

As the Politico story notes, several Democrats are demanding something specific: a tariff refund.

Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.), who both represent battleground districts, introduced legislation Friday that would require Customs and Border Patrol to refund tariffs collected over the past year to small and independent businesses. A group of Democratic senators — led by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire — introduced a similar bill Monday with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The legislation is likely a nonstarter in the GOP-controlled Congress, but gives Democrats a way to put pressure on Republicans....

Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois demanded the federal government refund families $1,700 per household. California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters that Trump has an “obligation” to return the money to consumers who paid more for goods as a result of the tariffs....

At least one Democrat in a key Senate race is also embracing the demand for a tariff refund. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is trying to unseat Jon Husted, said on X that he wanted a refund for every Ohio household and that Husted supported the tariffs “at every turn.”

More of this, please. Every Democrat should be saying this. It won't solve the affordability crisis, but it's a concrete step. Voters will respond to concrete steps much more than to "laser focused."

But the Politico story ends the way so many of these stories end -- with a Democrat essentially telling the reporter that Democrats haven't done a very good job at messaging:

“We can’t communicate episodically. We need to be communicating constantly,” said Will Robinson, a Democratic consultant and ad-maker. “I think the theoretical thing about the Supreme Court and tariffs is less impactful than what’s actually going on in the grocery basket.”

Republicans don't do this! They don't say, Wow, we've sucked at messaging lately and we need to suck less. I know that it's always easy for mainstream reporters to get a Here's how Democrats are sucking now story published (or Here's how how Democrats are making a valiant effort not to suck), but if you're a Democrat, you don't have to give reporters quotes that reinforce the message of their stories. Just refuse to acknowledge the party's mistakes. The stories might still be written, but you don't need to make it easy.