Tuesday, a Politico/Morning Consult poll confirmed what Strother knows in his gut: Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s deal last week with Carrier is wildly popular with the voters. The poll showed Democrats, Republicans and Independents heavily viewed Trump’s negotiations with Carrier as an appropriate use of presidential prerogative.

And a majority of Americans say the Carrier deal gives them a more favorable view of Trump. “It was magnificent, brilliant theater, and who gives a damn if he can’t replicate that everywhere?” Strother said.

“The fact that my fellow Democrats don’t get that has more to do with denial problems or the fact that they weren’t up there doing it themselves.”

How do Democrats get out of this mess? Shake the etch-a-sketch a lot, Strother says: “Don’t have the same three consulting teams all working for all of the Democratic committees,” he said: Having Planned Parenthood, AFSCME and Emily’s List centralized as the face, message and dispatch for everything that the party does isn’t working.