The shouting, sign-waving and cane-wielding by congressional Democrats at the State of the Union isn’t a winning strategy.

Senator Elissa Slotkin’s serious, substantive and straightforward response is.

Put her on the list for President in 2028.

Democrats need to be disciplined in our messaging. We need to put forward our best messengers, not the loudest and most outrageous.

The ads for 2026 are writing themselves right now.

Prices are up, and Trump says we need to undergo some economic pain, maybe even a recession.

The egg prices that J.D. Vance complained about in the campaign are at an all-time high, the Secretary of Agriculture says we should raise chickens in our backyards and Trump says, “Shut up about egg prices.”

The stock market is down as tariffs go on and off, here today, gone tomorrow and maybe back again next week.

Measles cases are up.

Cancer research is being cut.

Scientific research is being cut.

Veterans’ services are being cut.

The Weather Service is being cut.

National parks are being cut.

The FAA is being cut. (Make Airplanes Dangerous Again.)

Medicaid and health care are on the chopping block, and Musk wants to take his chainsaw to both – and Social Security.

Given all that, Democrats should do well in the 2026 and 2028 elections,

But let’s learn some lessons from 2016 and 2024.

Don’t attack the voters.

Don’t say, “I told you so” when Trump hurts a Trump voter.

Don’t lecture people. Listen to them.

Put the Democratic Party squarely on their side.

That’s a winning strategy.

AP photo