Democrats' DOGE dilemma could be more significant than initially anticipated
Democratic polling indicates that Musk's approval ratings are low. However, the concept of reducing government spending is gaining traction among the public.
TroibNews 
Publicly, Democrats are eager for a midterm campaign message that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear to have provided with the turmoil surrounding the federal cuts supported by the Department of Government Efficiency.
However, privately, they are expressing caution, suggesting that attacking DOGE may not be an easy win.
At a recent retreat held by the centrist organization Third Way in Loudoun County, Virginia, moderate Democrats acknowledged that the party is often perceived as “favoring excessive regulations, inefficient spending, and programs that don’t directly benefit them.” This perception puts them at a disadvantage in confronting DOGE. Furthermore, they struggle with being perceived as "defending elite institutions" like the “government bureaucracy,” as noted in a memo written after the gathering.
Subsequently, a CBS News/YouGov poll revealed that a majority of respondents, 51 percent, generally approve of Trump's initiatives to reduce staff at government agencies like USAID.
As Democrats prepare for their official response to Trump’s upcoming joint address to Congress, many are realizing that they need a more nuanced approach to his extensive cuts to the federal government.
“I walk around and see signs, ‘We love our federal workers,’ and that may be true, but we can’t lose sight of the broader picture that [this] isn’t just about government spending,” stated Rachael Russell, director of polling and analytics at the progressive group The Hub Project, which conducted research on DOGE. She emphasized the need for Democrats to focus their messaging on the societal impact of cuts, particularly on vulnerable populations. “We don’t need to say we’re saving the federal bureaucracy, but focus [our messaging] on the people, the devastating impacts on society and some of the most vulnerable populations. That’s sometimes hard for Democrats to do.”
Research conducted by the Hub Project and Navigator Research revealed a significant difference in perceptions of DOGE depending on its association with Musk. In their survey, a plurality of voters viewed the Department of Government Efficiency favorably by a 4-point margin when Musk’s name was not mentioned. However, the favorability rating fell to 37 percent when the department was referred to as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Russell cautioned that there is a danger in solely associating DOGE with Musk, given Trump’s unpredictable relationships with administration officials. “Who knows how long he’ll actually be there?” she remarked. “Focusing solely on Musk as the villain is not going to be sustainable for us. We have to connect the dots here for voters on why they’re taking stuff away from Americans, and that’s because they’re giving billionaires a tax cut.”
She also urged Democrats not to narrow their messaging to just “the status quo getting torn apart,” as there is “always some appetite” for eliminating “bloat” in the federal government.
The Democratic National Committee seems to be heeding this advice. In a private call with party strategists ahead of Trump’s speech, they advised focusing on the real impacts of Trump’s cuts on voters, particularly regarding costs and the economy. They recommended that Democrats highlight Trump’s “promise[s]” and the ways in which he’s “broken” them, according to messaging guidance obtained after the call.
One example from the memo pointed out that Trump pledged to “lower mortgage rates,” but “DOGE cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development are likely to worsen housing markets and upend mortgages.”
Democrats are discovering that while Musk may not be popular in polling, the notion of increasing government efficiency and distancing the party from bureaucratic ties has its supporters, even if they disagree with Musk’s methods.
“Some of DOGE’s efforts were on their face, a little bit appealing, including things like cutting waste, fraud and abuse, cutting spending, unnecessary spending, increasing government efficiency, but the minute you let folks know that Elon Musk was running DOGE, the numbers plummeted,” noted Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive advocacy organization that has surveyed this issue.
On a recent episode of Pod Save America, liberal podcast co-host Jon Lovett expressed frustration, saying, “Some of this is pretty annoying because it’s the stuff we should have done.”
On the conservative side, DOGE is emerging as a rallying point for Republicans, potentially energizing GOP voters ahead of the midterms. A new poll conducted among likely Republican voters in Michigan showed that government corruption and DOGE were the top concerns for 55 percent, far surpassing the economy at 22 percent. This partisan survey has sparked interest among Republicans.
“DOGE is today what the wall was in ‘16,” remarked a GOP consultant involved in crucial battleground state races, speaking anonymously to offer candid insight.
In response, Democrats are attempting to recalibrate their strategies. Following the Third Way retreat, co-founder Matt Bennett revealed that if the meeting had occurred closer to the present, DOGE would likely have been a more significant topic. He concluded, “I think the conclusion would have been: People want change, just not this change — not the chainsaw, but more of the scalpel.”
Overall, Democrats perceive the connection between DOGE and Musk as a compelling issue. Bennett speculated that DOGE might lose favor as people begin to feel its effects, while Democratic pollster Margie Omero remarked that “the idea of cuts is not what people object to; they object to them being blunt and reckless.”
Debra A Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
However, privately, they are expressing caution, suggesting that attacking DOGE may not be an easy win.
At a recent retreat held by the centrist organization Third Way in Loudoun County, Virginia, moderate Democrats acknowledged that the party is often perceived as “favoring excessive regulations, inefficient spending, and programs that don’t directly benefit them.” This perception puts them at a disadvantage in confronting DOGE. Furthermore, they struggle with being perceived as "defending elite institutions" like the “government bureaucracy,” as noted in a memo written after the gathering.
Subsequently, a CBS News/YouGov poll revealed that a majority of respondents, 51 percent, generally approve of Trump's initiatives to reduce staff at government agencies like USAID.
As Democrats prepare for their official response to Trump’s upcoming joint address to Congress, many are realizing that they need a more nuanced approach to his extensive cuts to the federal government.
“I walk around and see signs, ‘We love our federal workers,’ and that may be true, but we can’t lose sight of the broader picture that [this] isn’t just about government spending,” stated Rachael Russell, director of polling and analytics at the progressive group The Hub Project, which conducted research on DOGE. She emphasized the need for Democrats to focus their messaging on the societal impact of cuts, particularly on vulnerable populations. “We don’t need to say we’re saving the federal bureaucracy, but focus [our messaging] on the people, the devastating impacts on society and some of the most vulnerable populations. That’s sometimes hard for Democrats to do.”
Research conducted by the Hub Project and Navigator Research revealed a significant difference in perceptions of DOGE depending on its association with Musk. In their survey, a plurality of voters viewed the Department of Government Efficiency favorably by a 4-point margin when Musk’s name was not mentioned. However, the favorability rating fell to 37 percent when the department was referred to as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Russell cautioned that there is a danger in solely associating DOGE with Musk, given Trump’s unpredictable relationships with administration officials. “Who knows how long he’ll actually be there?” she remarked. “Focusing solely on Musk as the villain is not going to be sustainable for us. We have to connect the dots here for voters on why they’re taking stuff away from Americans, and that’s because they’re giving billionaires a tax cut.”
She also urged Democrats not to narrow their messaging to just “the status quo getting torn apart,” as there is “always some appetite” for eliminating “bloat” in the federal government.
The Democratic National Committee seems to be heeding this advice. In a private call with party strategists ahead of Trump’s speech, they advised focusing on the real impacts of Trump’s cuts on voters, particularly regarding costs and the economy. They recommended that Democrats highlight Trump’s “promise[s]” and the ways in which he’s “broken” them, according to messaging guidance obtained after the call.
One example from the memo pointed out that Trump pledged to “lower mortgage rates,” but “DOGE cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development are likely to worsen housing markets and upend mortgages.”
Democrats are discovering that while Musk may not be popular in polling, the notion of increasing government efficiency and distancing the party from bureaucratic ties has its supporters, even if they disagree with Musk’s methods.
“Some of DOGE’s efforts were on their face, a little bit appealing, including things like cutting waste, fraud and abuse, cutting spending, unnecessary spending, increasing government efficiency, but the minute you let folks know that Elon Musk was running DOGE, the numbers plummeted,” noted Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive advocacy organization that has surveyed this issue.
On a recent episode of Pod Save America, liberal podcast co-host Jon Lovett expressed frustration, saying, “Some of this is pretty annoying because it’s the stuff we should have done.”
On the conservative side, DOGE is emerging as a rallying point for Republicans, potentially energizing GOP voters ahead of the midterms. A new poll conducted among likely Republican voters in Michigan showed that government corruption and DOGE were the top concerns for 55 percent, far surpassing the economy at 22 percent. This partisan survey has sparked interest among Republicans.
“DOGE is today what the wall was in ‘16,” remarked a GOP consultant involved in crucial battleground state races, speaking anonymously to offer candid insight.
In response, Democrats are attempting to recalibrate their strategies. Following the Third Way retreat, co-founder Matt Bennett revealed that if the meeting had occurred closer to the present, DOGE would likely have been a more significant topic. He concluded, “I think the conclusion would have been: People want change, just not this change — not the chainsaw, but more of the scalpel.”
Overall, Democrats perceive the connection between DOGE and Musk as a compelling issue. Bennett speculated that DOGE might lose favor as people begin to feel its effects, while Democratic pollster Margie Omero remarked that “the idea of cuts is not what people object to; they object to them being blunt and reckless.”
Debra A Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
