Congressional Democrats are not changing their economic message to appeal to red district voters this summer; they say President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have done that work for them.
Armed with talking points highlighting the cuts to health programs, social services and climate efforts in Trump’s domestic policy megabill, progressives this August recess are touring deep red and in-play GOP districts. They’ll be making the same pitch they’ve been touting for months: Republicans want to, and have already, cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans at the expense of public benefits.
“Donald Trump ran for office promising to lower costs on day one,” Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in an interview. “Our secret, super-duper strategy is to get out there and tell the truth … that Donald Trump has taken a bad situation and made it worse.”
Warren is among several high-profile progressives participating in the “Won’t Back Down Tour.” It’s a project of the political action arm of the left-leaning grassroots advocacy group MoveOn, which will host rallies in competitive GOP districts headlined by Democratic elected officials.
MoveOn will begin with gatherings in the districts of GOP Reps. Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert of Arizona, and Don Bacon of Nebraska. The tagline for the series of events: “F*** around and flip the House.”
Other Democrats are planning similar travels to hammer Republicans in their own backyards for voting to pass Trump’s party-line tax and spending package. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has his “Benefits Over Billionaires” tour, where the message he’ll bring into GOP strongholds “is simple: repeal the bill.”
“The working class don’t want to lose Medicaid, they don’t want to lose food assistance and they don’t want tax breaks for the billionaires,” he added in an interview.
Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari will hit the road throughout her state of Arizona, holding a series of town halls in the districts of Republicans in her congressional delegation under the banner of “Accountability Summer.”
She said in an interview she hopes to talk about state-specific issues that are breaking through across party lines, including the high energy costs of trying to keep people cool in Arizona’s extreme heat.
Republicans will be ready to argue that their megabill will safeguard taxpayer dollars against waste, fraud and abuse. But in many parts of the country this summer, Democratic messaging might go unchallenged, as National Republican Campaign Committee Chair Richard Hudson has urged his House GOP colleagues to shy away from town halls rather than risk constituent ire.
Hudson, of North Carolina, told reporters this week he’d “love for [Democrats] to come to my district” and defend their own party’s voting record.
Yet while Hudson also said he wants members of his party to engage with voters this August, his warning against the town hall’s open, interactive format still stands: “I would encourage them to use other means.”
