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BETHESDA, Md. (Reuters) – Beyond vegan meatballs and "Medicare for All" t-shirts, there was something remarkable at a Democratic rally held last week in Bethesda, in Maryland, in Washington State: Direct and unreserved condemnation of the President.
"We need someone who can resist Trump!" a candidate at a local station told the crowd. Another compared Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But it was only warm preparations for the main event, the former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, who, technically independent, defends the causes dear progressive liberal Democrats.
Sanders said Trump was "the most racist, sexist, homophobic and bigot president of history," adding later that he was a "pathological liar".
The crowd was thundering with approval.
Sanders, a US Liberal Vermont senator, is expected to be easily reelected in Tuesday's congressional elections. He therefore took little political risk to hit the president. Nevertheless, his rhetoric on the stump contrasted sharply with most of the Democratic candidates.
The Democrats largely resisted exonerating Trump on his words and actions, although he denounced the party at his political rallies as an angry and dangerous "crowd".
Just last week, when Trump was accused of dividing the country in retaliation for the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and the harsh rhetoric about migrants coming from Central America to the US border, voters have heard little about it.
Democratic candidates were much more likely to talk about health care or economic inequality. This was on purpose. The party, at the beginning of this election season in Congress, took the collective determination not to confront the president regularly, according to several sources of the party.
This has frustrated many Democrats, especially those in the liberal progressive party wing. They accuse the party of being too shy, fearing to alienate moderate voters. They argue that the party must find its critical voice in what it sees as a national crisis – and that they may not clearly explain to voters the values for which they defend their rights.
"It's a sign of their weakness – it's a sign of their ineffectiveness, they're afraid to do it," said Ed Mattos, 70, of Rockville, Maryland, who attended the rally. Sanders.
Linda Sarsour, a party activist and organizer of the National March of Women, fueled by the wrath of Trump's victory in 2016, said the Democrats should "shamelessly call the president" while proposing their own vision of the country.
"We need to have a very clear alternative," she said. "We have to give America two choices here."
Oven-baked
However, on the whole, Democratic candidates and former political parties, such as David Axelrod, the former senior campaigning aide of President Barack Obama, say that sticking to the questions of the "kitchen table" is a better way to win voters than to get dragged into the wars of culture. and the whirlwind of controversy that Trump regularly generates.
Independents and moderates, they say, want candidates who are mature and stable.
In addition, Trump is certainly never far from the minds of voters, they add.
"Trump is so caught up in the equation," said a Democratic strategist working on the campaigns of the House of Representatives, who asked to remain anonymous so as to freely discuss the party's thinking. "The candidates have been remarkably disciplined not to be distracted by shiny objects."
Frank Sharry, a long-time advocate of immigrant rights in the America's Voice advocacy group, said the candidates "are in a very difficult situation." If you agree, you give Trump what's wrong. 39 he wants, a debate on a subject that he wants to discuss ".
Despite everything, Sharry said that he would like to see more Democrats approach Trump's "division and demagoguery."
Beto O 'Rourke, Democrat candidate for the US Senate in Texas, and Andrew Gillum, Democratic nominee for Florida's governorship, have been judged. They regularly criticize the president's policy and tone.
Nevertheless, the electoral projections support the restricted approach. Polls show Democrats should win Tuesday the 23 seats they need to take control of the House of Representatives, even 15 or 20 seats beyond. Democrats should not have the two seats needed to reach a majority in the Senate.
New road map
The party believes it has drawn lessons from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, which is now seen by strategists as too focused on finding fault against Trump rather than on the assertion of Clinton's program.
Last year, Virginia Democratic nominee Ralph Northam laid out the roadmap to defeat Republican Ed Gillespie by highlighting economic issues, while Gillespie exacerbated voters' fear of the future. 39, immigration and crime, like Trump during his last campaigns. .
With every provocative word from Trump apparently appearing daily in cable news, the strategy has often led to jarring juxtaposition outside of Washington. It is not unusual for a democratic campaign event to occur without any reference to the president.
The Wesleyan Media Project, which follows the campaign ads by topic, said in September that the president had been negatively mentioned in less than 5% of TV commercials until now, which was rarer than in the previous three elections in mid-term Congress.
The small minority of commercials that attack Trump include "Need to Impeach", a defense group founded by California billionaire Tom Steyer.
Kevin Mack, the group's chief strategist, said the polled voters were more motivated by Trump's dislike than anything else and that Democrats were too "risk-averse".
If they are not up to par in all respects, he said, it will be because they held their tongue on Trump.
"You can hold the president to account and tell him you will repair health care at the same time," said Mack.
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