For decades, Democrats have clung to James Carvilles mantra:"Its the economy, stupid."It became the default excuse for every campaign message, every strategy and every setback.We need to retire that phrase from our political lexicon.My fellow Democrats forget that Carvilles first rule on his whiteboard in Little Rock wasnt the economy, stupid. It was "Change vs. more of the same."Voters still want change not numbers, not excuses. And if President Donald Trump offers change while Democrats defend the system as it is, Democrats will lose.JAMES CARVILLE WARNS DEMOCRATS NOT TO GET BAITED INTO DISCUSSING WOKE ISSUES: 'YOURE GOING TO LOOK SILLY'Today, my party is jumping onto a shiny substitute considered to be the winning message that unites all "affordability" as if the idea that lower prices are better than higher ones is a revelation.Has a candidate ever campaigned on the reverse?During the Biden administration, consumer costs inflated on our watch, but now we are asking midterm voters to give us the keys back to the car anyway.When is my party going to learn that politics is about culture and connection, not charts and spreadsheets? Its about being relevant to the lives of ordinary people, not proving to them that we are right.DEMOCRATS ARE STILL LOST BUT ONE YEAR AFTER BIDEN'S EXIT, THEY'RE STARTING TO FOLLOW A RIVAL'S ROADMAPVoters arent sitting in some academic economics lecture. They dont care about GDP growth, labor-force participation rates, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics when they feel prices are too high. They dont want to hear that homicides, robberies and carjackings have decreased according to the latest stats, when they feel unsafe. Sending in the National Guard wont be a solution to ending crime in our inner cities, but it does make communities feel protected.Are Democrats so disconnected from reality that weve unlearned the most basic political principle of all, that perception and politics go hand-in-glove?Voters are not looking to be informed by candidates, especially when they sound like human calculators, vomiting out numbers. Being informed isnt the same as feeling informed and telling voters that how they feel isnt real, because numbers say otherwise, isnt a winning message. Shaming Trump voters for their choice last year or lecturing them that this isnt what they voted for, offends them rather than persuades them.Patronizing voters is not a strategy.What voters in this midterm election want is some cultural common sense, and to borrow a bullet from the Democratic talking points, Democrats have not been meeting voters where they are yet.CARVILLE PANS DEMOCRATS FOR CONTINUING TO ALIENATE MEN WITH 'FUTURE IS FEMALE' TALKVoters want to hear us acknowledge that crime is bad and say we need more cops on the street, but not necessarily troops. They want our candidates to give a straight answer and plainly state that boys shouldnt compete in girls sports as a matter of fairness. Its okay for Democrats to say they believe in merit-based hiring instead of DEI and box-checking quotas.Most Americans feel this way and Democrats lose credibilitywhen they dodge these conversations or give evasive answers.Democrats avoid going where the news and conversations are happening. Our leaders and candidates too often duck and cover. When issues turn culturally sensitive, they play hide and seek. We need to run straight into the culture war fires, not away from them. Those are the conversations voters are having and we need to join them.My old boss, President Joe Biden, learned this lesson the hard way. Bidens presidency illustrates this danger for Democrats on the ballot everywhere in 2026. At the very moments when Americans were craving leadership like a national debate over college campus unrest and violent antisemitism Biden was absent. Scranton Joe, who built his career on a chip-on-the-shoulder authenticity that connected with ordinary people, became the first non-Ivy League president in decades. Yet, he was silent when he could have drawn the sharpest contrast from the elites. DEMOCRAT-ALIGNED GROUP REPORTEDLY PAID SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS FOR CONTENTBiden told Americans the economy was the envy of the world, and then his Baghdad Bobs in the White House told us he was as sharp as ever. Polls said Americans felt otherwise, still his instinct was to retreat further. Voters saw fewer unscripted moments, such as interviews or news conferences, smaller steps off Air Force One and a greater reliance on teleprompters. In a political age where imagery shapes public opinion, Biden looked feeble, distant and disconnected. He followed an outdated media strategy that led him into a political death spiral.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONTrump, by contrast, dives headfirst into every news cycle and runs into every cultural fire from campus protests to celebrity dust-ups like Sydney Sweeneys jeans or Cracker Barrels new logo. He doesnt hesitate, he doesnt duck, he doesnt wait for the perfect poll-tested phrase. Love him or hate him, voters cant miss that he shows up with an opinion and a position. He doesnt keep them guessing.Democrats dont need to copy Trumps style. But they do need his guts. If voters are talking about trans athletes, immigration, DEI or crime and they stay silent or pivot then theyre absent from the conversations Americans outside the Beltway are having with friends, family and their neighbors. Its these social conversations that are shaping political identity, not stats and charts.Voters will tune out any type of hell Democrats try to raise about prices, tariffs or cuts to Medicare if they think we dont "get" them on culture.The way out of the wilderness isnt another slogan about affordability. Its courage and common sense. Stop hiding behind statistics. Start running into the fire. Only then will Democrats earn back voters trust.