First look: Third Way's plan for Dems to fight back
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Third Way, the well-connected center-left Democratic think tank, today will launch an 18-month Signal Project, including polling, to identify Trump administration actions "that are most relevant to key voters and how best to frame those issues."
- Why it matters: Anything "that seems performative will be tuned out or backfire," Third Way says. "It is a painful irony that while our very democracy is at stake, a focus on 'democracy' (and the trashing of democratic norms) simply won't save it."
In unveiling the project, Third Way says: "Shuttering USAID, using government power to attack political opponents, firing indiscriminately, degrading the civil service, releasing J6ers, or blaming Ukraine for the Russian invasion all are a combination of unwise, unethical, illegal, or unconstitutional. But none resonate much with key voters."
- So as an opening frame, the project will focus on "Risking Americans' Safety and Security."
Between the lines: Matt Bennett, a Third Way co-founder, told Axios that there's "real concern among Democrats that the Trump/Musk attacks were coming so fast and so arbitrarily that the opposition was having trouble with a coherent response.
- "The things we believe to be important — like foreign aid, or Trump actions that violate the law — don't always line up with voters' concerns," Bennett added. "We can fight back effectively ... but only if we are creating a singular narrative that is simple, memorable, and resonant. If we do that, Trump's allies will feel the heat."
🐘 The other side: Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita, who run Trump's outside political operation, told us in response to the Third Way plan that "no matter the approach, Americans know that for the last four years their safety — economically and physically — has been put in jeopardy."
- "One glaring flaw in their strategy: What happens when President Trump's policies work and deliver the change voters voted for? Once again, the Democrats — much like the Harris campaign — will be left having no position or a positive agenda for America."
