Democrats in Congress fail the sales pitch

They have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their economic and healthcare policies — a big problem for the party as the midterm election nears.

By Janet Hook,
Tribune Washington Bureau

4:04 PM PDT, June 2, 2010

Congress is shattering its longstanding reputation for being a gridlocked, lethargic, "do-nothing" institution, instead compiling a record of landmark policy changes in healthcare, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more.

But at the same time, Congress is suffering sky-high levels of public disapproval, signaling a big problem for Democrats as they head into the closing months of the midterm election campaign.

They are doing a lot of big things, but a lot of people do not like what they are doing. Others do not know what they are doing. And hardly anyone likes the way they are doing it.

That points up what may be a surprising failing for Democrats. For all President Obama's skills as a communicator and party leaders' skills inside the Beltway, they have not done a good job communicating the virtues of their policies, even to potentially receptive voters.

(More here.)