Democrat proposal for 2018 slogan slammed as 'historically bad' and 'exactly why they lost'

'I'm not sure anyone in history has been as bad at this,' says one Twitter user

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Democrats in Congress are being mocked online for their newly proposed, less-than-inspiring campaign slogan.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently asked supporters to vote on a campaign sticker for the 2018 midterms. Among the choices was the decidedly unconvincing, “Democrats 2018: I mean, have you seen the other guys?”

“Not exactly the most inspiring political slogan, @dccc,” tweeted Propublica journalist Derek Willis.

“Dems are asking people to vote on a new sticker and I'm not sure anyone in history has been as bad at this,” added Adam Serwer, senior editor at The Atlantic.

While some found the tepid campaign slogan amusing, others felt it symbolised a sad political reality.

“‘Have you seen the other guys?’ is everything wrong with Democrat messaging,” one user tweeted. “No positive vision, just ‘they're worse!’”

Some users even suggested campaign slogans of their own, including: “Living wages for every worker,” and “Health care for all”.

“Seriously, get it together and start acting like we are in the fight for our lives!” wrote one user. “No Human Resources 'feel good' posters.”

The spat signified a growing unhappiness among many Democrats with the party leadership – an unhappiness that has been mounting since the 2016 election.

Donald Trump’s surprise victory – and the failure of Democrats to flip any Congressional seats in the ensuing special elections – has left many Democrats doubting their own leadership. The looming 2018 midterm elections, and the chance to take Congress back from the Republicans, have only heightened this feeling.

Some moderates even told Politico they would eschew party messaging in 2018 in favour of their own, individual brands.

“If the left and the right are going to have a certain message, I’m going to have my own message,” Representative Lou Correa said.

According to Politico, however, the party leadership has already focused in a new, somewhat improved slogan for 2018: “A better deal”. The slogan is meant to imply that Democrats will give Americans a better deal than the self-described “deal-maker” in the White House.

Whether it will motivate the Democrat’s base to get out and vote, however, remains to be seen.

“One of our concerns coming out of 2016 was it appeared that the message was largely ‘I’m not him,’” Representative Mark Pocan said. “That’s not an aspirational message. You need to give people a reason to vote.”