Back to basics: Democrats must alleviate stress, not cause it

I used to talk politics with my father all the time before he passed away. The Trump era provided us with a lot of OMG moments, as it did for everyone else. “Can you believe Trump did X?” he’d ask. “Yes, Dad, I definitely can,” was my usual response.

It was, though, far from all surface jabber about the news of the day. My dad was always trying to impress upon me that the key to good governance — and winning elections — is to recognize the core function of government: to take care of its citizenry and alleviate as much anxiety as possible. 

That’s true of governments of any size. While Republicans rail against the perils of big government, their voters expect virtually the same things from government as liberal voters. They, too, care about the quality of their schools and health care, infrastructure, and security, even if they prefer taking different approaches to achieve it.

Taking this into account, as well as President Biden’s falling approval ratings, the time is now for a Democratic branding overhaul with renewed focus on the caretaker messaging that won us the White House in 2020.

There are four areas of focus that will support this pursuit. They include the war on terror, COVID-19 and health care overall, immigration and law and order, and infrastructure. 

Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan by the end of August, even with some Americans and special immigrant visa holders left behind, has been widely panned. It also arguably caused the steepest decline in his approval rating. But another side to the troop removal is a persistent fear of terror attacks. 

Pew Research Center’s annual survey of policy priorities finds that Americans rank terrorism at the top or near top of their list, and as recently as last year 74 percent ranked defending against terrorism the top priority for Congress and the president. FiveThirtyEight found that fear of terror attacks rarely dips below 50 percent overall, and that the lasting impact of 9/11 is well documented on the American psyche. As a result — and as analysts such as the Atlantic Council’s William Wechsler argues — our national security interest has shifted to preventing Afghanistan from becoming a terror hub from which Americans can be attacked. 

Biden and the Democrats must be forthcoming with plans to protect Americans from newly invigorated terrorists. Even with widespread support for the withdrawal overall, Americans harbor very real fears of an attack from abroad, on top of the domestic threats that have become even more prominent.

We just passed another grim milestone. Today, one in 500 Americans has died from COVID-19 and the death toll is inching near to the losses we suffered in the 1918 flu pandemic. At the same time, Biden’s approval rating on handling of the coronavirus has dipped from the low 60s down 10-15 points, depending on the poll. While three in five Americans support Biden’s vaccine mandates and voters in California’s gubernatorial recall election were overwhelmingly supportive of Democratic COVID policies, most think the worst is still to come as cases and hospitalizations spike — a shift from earlier this year.  

While Americans are largely against another nationwide lockdown, they are looking for cogent policy that both protects them and gets the economy going again. Furthermore, there is great opportunity to bring the discussion back to Democratic positioning on health care more generally. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that those without insurance make up 24 percent of the unvaccinated population, versus 12 percent of people with insurance. Further, two-fifths of all unvaccinated adults earn less than $40,000 per year. There is no better time to extol the benefits of ObamaCare, which has gotten millions insured and expands coverage to the working poor. 

Law and order isn’t just an issue for Republicans. A recent Monmouth survey found that 65 percent of Americans believe maintaining law and order is a “major problem.” This includes 61 percent of Blacks and 71 percent of Hispanics, Asians and other minorities. Democrats such as Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor Eric Adams embraced this concern as a core component of his campaign, calling out New York as a “lawless” city and placing blame on the courts for contributing to the overflow of crime. His agenda, which marries criminal justice reform with tough policing, is a roadmap for Democrats across the country who need to prove that the push to “defund the police” is a fringe position and that we are focused on protecting Americans in major cities, as well as containing the overflow of migrants at the southern border. The public favors a humanitarian approach to immigration, but with border Democrats speaking out against Biden’s policies, there is work to be done to assuage safety concerns.

Only one party apparently believes in climate change and the deleterious impact it’s having on the country. From a rash of intense hurricanes to wildfires to flooding, we’ve seen better days. The Democrats’ infrastructure package and reconciliation bill contains key provisions to combat climate change and rebuild our crumbling country. In contrast, the Republicans appear to remain unconcerned, even when asking for huge bailouts after these natural disasters. Americans know the truth and are poised to support Democrats in efforts to preserve our planet — and the country. This support can be solidified through more talk about the practical ways everyday people’s lives will be improved, versus over-the-top policy such as the Green New Deal.

There are certainly more stressors affecting Americans, but these issues are just a snapshot look at how Democrats can take control of the anxiety game and present themselves as the adults in the room. Midterms are historically bad for the party in power, but these remain extraordinary times. Leveraging a message of “we got you” is a way to improve standing and get some much-needed policy enacted. 

Jessica Tarlov is head of research at Bustle Digital Group and a Fox News contributor. She earned her Ph.D. at the London School of Economics in political science. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaTarlov.