Hoyer, perhaps inadvertently, illustrated why things are so bleak for the Democrats: They have little tangible evidence that their policies have worked. The best they can do is claim that things were worse under the Republicans, or that things would have been worse without the Democrats’ policies.

“My view is that it is very difficult — I understand that as a political argument, to say things would have been worse,” Hoyer allowed. “You know a guy who doesn’t have a job or a gal who doesn’t have a job and hasn’t had a job for six months or a year or 18 months says to themselves, ‘Mack, I don’t think things could be worse.’ But, in fact, most economists agree that they would have been substantially worse. So we have to make that argument.”

Proposed bumper sticker:
“Vote Democratic. Things might have been even worse without us.”