Every Democratic candidate should have an economic plan, and this is especially true for candidates running for office in the parts of America that have not experienced a full recovery -- which includes most of the key battleground races for control of the Senate and House in 2018. Candidates must be able to listen to, and give voice to, the economic fears and frustrations of voters that are working harder, but not getting ahead. The recovery continues to pass by most of the

President Trump’s strategy to win the 2018 midterm election is taking shape; he is planning to travel all across the battleground states and congressional districts and talk about the economy. Trump traveled to Peosta, Iowa (just outside Dubuque) last week to visit Northeast Iowa Community College. He was there to talk about tariffs, manufacturing jobs, and job training. Of course, his rambling monologue touched on a lot of other topics, as well, but with all the distractions

There is a right way and a wrong way for Democrats to debate the economy in the 2018 election. Both ways are true, but one is vastly more likely to win votes in the key battleground states and congressional districts Democrats need to win. Highlighting local economic conditions and local economic anxieties in the middle of America, rather than quoting national statistics, is the best way to debate the Trump economy. First the facts: The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ tells us

Artificial intelligence, workplace automation, and robots are causing concerns about the future for voters and Democratic candidates have asked us how to respond. We are taking this specific question as an opportunity to demonstrate our new method to help improve overall Democratic economic messages. Rather than seeking an elusive single economic message frame for all Democrats, we have been developing several message frames from which candidates can choose the frame, or co

If Democrats hope to regain their lost advantage in public trust to get the economy moving and create good jobs, then we need clear and compelling ways to express our ideas. What is needed is not another 10-point plan, but rather a 10 word explanation of the logic behind our proposals. Voters need to know what we see as the problem and how our approach will work to make their lives better. Recapping Part 1 and Part 2 of this series: We should not try to minimize our strate