Promising ‘A Better Deal,’ Democrats try to rebrand party
BERRYVILLE, Va. — Promising “A Better Deal” for American workers, Democratic Party leaders rolled out a new agenda with a populist pitch on Monday aimed at winning back the working-class voters they lost to President Donald Trump in November.
Democratic congressional leaders left the Beltway for small-town Berryville, Virginia, to stake a claim to competing in rural and Republican-leaning areas. Acknowledging they failed to offer a compelling economic message during the 2016 election cycle, Democrats unveiled proposals on jobs, prescription drug prices and more that they hope will resonate in the 2018 midterm elections and beyond.
“Too many Americans don’t know what we stand for,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “Not after today.”
Yet the challenges confronting the Democrats’ rebranding effort were immediately apparent.