We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

A Democrat Party communications strategist has warned that the party’s brand is “in the toilet,” as she put it in a New York Times interview.

“The Democratic brand is in the toilet,” strategist Lis Smith bluntly told the Times this week. “Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle — our best over-performers in House races, for instance — are people who ran against the Democratic Party brand.”

“Trump tore down the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he also expanded his vote the most in our bluest and most urban areas,” she added.

Stunned by what she said, Times interviewer Frank Bruni then asked, “The toilet? Yikes, Lis, that’s severe. Do you really think it’s that bad?”

“When the best way to win as a candidate is to run against your own party, it’s that bad,” Smith replied. “Our candidates down ballot are good. It’s what the ‘D’ next to their name means (the status quo) that people don’t like.”

This phenomenon played out earlier this year when many Democrats began distancing themselves from then-Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, especially after his disastrous debate performance against then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Bruni then asked former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and Democrat campaign consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio whether they agreed with Smith.

“The Dems got pinned as the status quo party on inflation, instability, insecurity, and every other issue facing working people,” Ryan responded. “Trump was the change candidate in a year when 65 percent of people thought we are on the wrong track.”

“And they failed to redefine themselves on the culture issues on which they were on the other side of 60 percent to 70 percent of Americans,” he added.

Shenker-Osorio agreed even more so, going so far as to suggest that comparing the Democrat Party’s branding to a toilet is, if anything, an understatement.

“Well … toilets have clear utility, so perhaps the comparison is even ‘generous,’” she said.

The comparison prompted Bruni to ask how Democrats can redeem themselves.

“How did it end up wherever it is — toilet, urinal, bucolic outhouse — and, most important of all, can you give me the script for brand redemption?” he said.

Turning his attention specifically to Ryan, he added, “You recently wrote in Newsweek and said on ‘Morning Joe’ that the Democratic Party should move its headquarters to Youngstown, Ohio. I get that you were speaking somewhat metaphorically, but round out that plan. What does the sign outside headquarters say? Do they prohibit a Starbucks from opening beside the lobby?”

“The sign outside HQ now should say ‘Beware: Entering an Echo Chamber,’” Ryan replied. “I said move to Youngstown, but it could be Pittsburgh or Cleveland or Toledo or Detroit or Milwaukee. But I am dead serious that it should not be in Washington or anywhere on the coasts. We need to send a bold signal that we are committed to reconnecting to people out in the real world.”

Smith strongly concurred with this point.

“I agree with Tim that our party has fallen victim to its echo chamber,” she said. “If I were going to make a requirement of anyone working at the Democratic National Committee or on a presidential campaign, it would first be that they have at least one cycle of experience on a campaign in a red-swing area.”

“You’re less likely to use terms like ‘justice-involved individuals’ and embrace policies like the Green New Deal if you’ve spent a day or two talking to people who aren’t 100 percent down-the-line progressives like you,” she added.

Speaking of which, Bruni then asked the trio whether Democrats should “stop mooning over Hollywood celebrities and tugging them en masse onto the stage?”

Ryan said absolutely yes.

“Yes, we need to move away from the celebrities,” he said. “Look how Trump campaigned: He went to a mixed martial arts match and brought Hulk Hogan and Dana White to speak at his Madison Square Garden rally. I have a picture in my office of Bobby Kennedy with dirty coal miners. We’re a long, long way from that.”

Smith meanwhile called for more reflection and soul-searching.

“We need to look to who succeeded and overperformed this cycle and why,” she said. “Some of the top overperformers in House races couldn’t have had more disparate profiles.”

“What they had in common was that they were willing to run against the party brand, they met voters where they are on their frustrations with the border and public safety issues, and they talked more about their vision for the future than how bad Donald Trump is,” she added.

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.