The party of "trying" just can't seem to escape the old "ineffective liberal" trope. Is this shutdown supposed to be helping?

It’s been 14 years since the Third Way Think Tank published the above infographic. Even during the Democratic Party glory days of President Barack Obama’s two-term reign, persuadable voters described Congressional Democrats with words like “Ineffective” and “Stubborn.”

Liberal, confused, trying, untrustworthy, and irresponsible: Congressional Democrats weren’t impressing persuadable voters in 2011.

Not much has changed.

In 2011, Barack Obama was president, and Congressional Democrats were facing tough odds for 2012. They needed to rally persuadable voters and they needed to do it soon.

“WORD CLOUD: Message to Congressional Democrats from ’08 Obama Voters Who Voted GOP in 2010 — the words above represent the views of participants from latest ‘Droppers & Switchers’ poll when asked to describe Congressional Democrats,” is how Third Way described its efforts at the time.

“In this memo, we zero in on two sets of voters who will determine the outcome of the 2012 elections,” said the organization. “We call them the ‘droppers’ and the ‘switchers.’ These are Obama voters from 2008 who either stayed home (‘droppers’) or voted Republican (‘switchers’) in the 2010 midterms. For the President and congressional Democrats to succeed, droppers must show up and a large number of switchers must return to the fold in 2012. And in order to woo the switchers back, Democrats must close the ideological gap those crucial voters perceive between themselves and the party — primarily by positioning themselves as growth Democrats, not tax and spend Democrats.”

The more things change the more they stay the same. It’s 2025, and the Democratic Party needs it “droppers” and “switchers” more than ever. Democrats are still fighting to position themselves as growth Democrats. Tax and spend has been taken to new levels. 

In 2011, Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post wrote about the word cloud and its implications for the Democratic Party.

“The word clouds tell the story — and illustrate the challenges ahead for both sides,” Marcus began. “‘TRYING,’ says the cloud illustrating swing voters’ assessment of President Obama. And then, ominously: ‘liberal’ and ‘ineffective.’”

“The political trick for Republicans is to puff up Obama’s ‘ineffective liberal’ portrait while diminishing their image as the intransigent party,” Marcus mused. “Their smartest move would be to quickly co-opt a piece of Obama’s jobs plan — tax cuts and a slice of trade deals, anyone? This jujitsu would dissipate the stubbornness rap without letting the president crow that Republicans acceded to his demand to ‘pass this bill.’”

Fast forward to 2025, and Democrats are still fighting the “ineffective liberal” label and are being cast, more effectively than ever, as intransigent.

A month ago, Congressional Democrats refused to vote through a clean CR to keep the government funded at its current levels. They wanted an extension of pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies set to expire in 2025. Without any leverage to force Republicans to concede on this point, Congressional Democrats engineered the current government shutdown.

The shutdown is stretching on, long past its expiration date. The pain is starting to be felt across the nation as food assistance programs, housing services centers, and a dozen other key agencies run out of money.

It’s the first of the month, and benefits aren’t going to be paid.

The smart move would be for Congressional Democrats to co-opt part of President Donald Trump’s strategy, as Ruth Marcus suggested Republicans do with Obama’s agenda in 2011. 

A smarter move would have been to do it three weeks ago.

Tax cuts and a slice of trade and peace deals anyone? This “jujitsu” — as Ruth Marcus called it — would have let Congressional Democrats claim a small win.

And prevented Donald Trump from hogging all the credit.

In stubbornly holding this ground for over a month now, Congressional Democrats raised the bar of what their base expects this showdown to produce.

Which is going to be next to nothing.

Meanwhile, shutdown allies are faltering. The unions are over it, SNAP benefits are being delayed, more and more Democrats are breaking rank in the press, the shutdown is nearing record-breaking territory, and President Donald Trump has a big microphone.

“Our Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do,” President Trump posted to Truth Social in a long screed on October 31, 2025. 

“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump fumed. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out. If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay. The Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. If you use SNAP benefits, call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government, NOW!”

President Trump even shared “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer’s Office Number.”

And while Democratic Party leadership has been busily hiring consultants, pollsters, and focus groups to tell them that Republicans are taking the shutdown blame, the polls tell a different picture.

It’s understandable. Pleasing lies often play better in the short-term than unpalatable truth. The market for telling Democratic Party leadership what it wants to hear is still booming — for the moment.

But what can’t last forever has to end sometime.

(contributing writer, Brooke Bell)