Dear Democrats: Fight Back!

A storyteller’s plea for better political storytelling.

The government is still shut down. And yesterday, the Cabinet reportedly spent time discussing a supposed link between circumcision and autism. Let that sink in. Military families are missing paychecks, small businesses that rely on federal operations are struggling, and the people in charge are playing science fair with conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, folks at home are shrugging, scrolling, and saying “eh, both sides are messy.”

If that’s not public conditioning I don’t know what to call it. 

Republicans have spent years packaging chaos and dysfunction as leadership and strength. Democrats? Still out here pretending that logic and decency will do the heavy lifting. Spoiler: they won’t.

Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. They have the votes. They set the agenda. They could have kept the government open. Instead, they chose theater over leadership — and yet, somehow, Democrats are still taking the blame.

Why? Because Republicans are telling a story that sticks.

They’ve mastered the art of the emotional frame: “We’re fighting for the people.” “We’re defending America.” “We’re standing on principle.” Never mind that their “principles” often hurt the very people they claim to protect. Their story lands because it feels like a fight.

Democrats, meanwhile, lean on morality. On reason. On decency. They’re typically in the right, but they’re so boring about it that no one really cares.

A moral argument isn’t a movement. A story is. And right now, the party that actually believes in governance, functional democracy, in public service, and in basic dignity is struggling to tell a story that makes people care.

Democrats can’t “reason” Republicans into governing — they have to make it politically costly not to. That means strategic humiliation through legislation and framing.

Examples:

• Whenever the government reopens, continually put bipartisan bills on the floor and let Republicans vote against veterans, teachers, or parents on camera.
• Simplify the stakes: “You either voted to reopen the government, or you didn’t.” No nuance.
• Own the press narrative with phrases like: “Republicans chose Twitter over teachers again today.”

This shutdown is about power not a budget. 

It’s about whether we continue to allow chaos to be a governing strategy.

And don’t get me wrong there are Democratic leaders who are connecting the dots between policy and people — between the single mom who’s missing a paycheck and the veteran who can’t access care because the offices are closed.

But a handful of voices isn’t enough. This moment demands message discipline. Democrats need to create a cultural war room and unify behind ONE clear, powerful story where they:

• Clearly define the villains and heroes early on.
• Create repeatable mantras.
• Push emotional consistency.

If Democrats don’t make their story loud, emotional, and relentless, they’ll keep losing the war for the American imagination. Because make no mistake — politics aren’t as much about winning a news cycle as they are about surviving one.

Republicans understand that politics is storytelling. Democrats still act like it’s a debate club. Until that changes, truth will keep losing to theater — and the people will keep losing, too.

The government isn’t closed because of “both sides.” It’s closed because one side is obsessed with chaos — and the other still hasn’t branded competence as power.

It’s time for Democrats to fight back like they mean it.

Not just with talking points, but with a story the people can feel.