Lo and behold, Democrats have finally found a good political narrative, heading into their big summer break. For once, they have woven a few disparate political issues into one poignant, easy-to-understand storyline. And for once, they are (so far, at least) all singing in unison from the same songbook.

Before I get to their message, though, there's one thing worth pointing out. In a lot of political analysis over the past few weeks, the biggest question pundits focus on is: "Will this help Democrats in the midterms?" Call it the horserace-centric way of looking at things. But the question is often presented too bluntly. Will any or all of this still be relevant to voters in any way one year from now? Well, maybe and maybe not. But it's not about whether Democrats have found the one key issue to run their entire midterm campaigns on or not -- instead, at this point (with the midterms still over a year away), the question is whether they can use the issues which are relevant now to lay down a foundational message that they can use to build upon later, as subsequent issues pop up (which they undoubtedly will, over the course of the next year). And on that scale, Democrats may have indeed found an excellent (and very adaptable) narrative. So that's the way I am measuring it, for the time being at any rate.

Democrats kind of stumbled upon this issue and message almost by accident. They were presented with a rather large political gift by the Republicans, who are currently caught in the midst of a war between their base and their leader. Democrats were on the outside looking in to this internecine fracas, until a few of them shrugged and said to themselves: "Why not exploit this? It embarrasses the heck out of congressional Republicans and they created this wedge issue all on their own, so why not twist the knife a little bit?"

Again, I have to point out that while the Epstein files fracas may not be the end-all, be-all answer for Democrats in the midterms next year, that's the wrong way of looking at it. Instead, the goal is to sow disillusionment in the MAGA base. Pointing out to them that they have been lied to on an issue they care deeply about could cause some of them to get so disgusted with politics in general that they decide to sit the midterms out next year. The enthusiasm levels are already a lot greater on the Democratic side, and this will just improve that situation by subtraction on the other side.

In any case, let's take a look at the message Democrats are now rolling out (with some rather notable message discipline):

"The reality is that it's all connected from the standpoint of Donald Trump. His administration and House Republicans have delivered nothing more than a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) said Wednesday before lawmakers leave town for five weeks. "It's reasonable to conclude that Republicans are continuing to protect the lifestyles of the rich and shameless, even if that includes pedophiles."

This is not just Jeffries adopting the language of Bernie Sanders. Because it ties the whole Epstein mess into what Democrats were already going to be messaging this summer: slamming the entire Republican budget agenda. So talking about billionaires and the elite just seamlessly morphs into stoking the public's anger at the budget bill. Here are a few great examples of how to rather artfully do this:

"The so-called Republican moderates prioritized their billionaire donors by enacting the largest cut to Medicaid in American history to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Justin Chermol said. "Now they're protecting Donald Trump and billionaire elites by refusing to provide transparency into the Epstein files."

. . .

And Jeffries, alongside Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Massachusetts) and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-California), argued that there's a connection between Epstein and other Republican policy priorities including Trump's tax-and-immigration bill.

Clark said that whether it's Epstein, rising inflation or a law with massive tax breaks that is expected to strip millions of their Medicaid benefits, "Everything that House Republicans have done" since Trump became president "is in defense of the elites."

"The Epstein case has helped their own base see what's going on: that this is a con job and that they were never the center of the work that they are going to do here," she added.

. . .

Alissa Ellman, a Democrat challenging Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New York), is doing "candidate coffees" in her upstate district and is planning to hold town halls to discuss what she says has been a top query from voters: Epstein.

"Republicans are shutting down Congress to hide what's in the Epstein files," Ellman said. "This is part of a clear pattern of doing the bidding of billionaires while screwing over the American people. Just like when Republicans pledged to protect Medicaid, then slashed it, they are doing the bidding of [the] rich and powerful while breaking their promises to Americans."

That's a pretty cohesive message, you've got to admit. And Democrats aren't just talking, they're actually causing a fair degree of chaos in the Republican Congress (mostly in the House of Representatives):

The strategy has effectively hijacked the House, derailed [Capitol] Hill Republicans' agenda and forced Speaker Mike Johnson to send lawmakers packing for an early August recess. That's not to mention embarrassing Trump in the process and exposing the surprising limits of his sway on a party he's held in his clutches for the better part of a decade.

"We've been trying to say Trump is full of shit for years and it hasn't really stuck, right? But something about this topic is making a healthy portion of MAGA world -- particularly folks who are not ideologically aligned with Trump but kind of flirted with him last year when they pulled the lever for him -- be like, 'Yea, he's definitely full of shit,'" a senior Democratic campaign aide boasted to me. (This aide and others in the story were granted anonymity to speak candidly about dynamics on the Hill.)

And, like I said, Democrats are admirably keeping to the script (even the news that there is such a script is good news):

Democrats' messaging arm, meanwhile, sent around several rounds of talking-point guidance, including a bullet point accusing Republicans of "protecting child sex abusers." Leadership also encouraged rank-and-file members to use their "paid communications budgets" to fund mailing, texting or digital solicitations to reach voters on the issue.

"No one in the government should be trying to keep the facts on these child predators hidden," says one template I got my hands on.

Merging this political dustup with Democrats' talking points on the GOP budget is what makes the messaging so good, though.

But House Democrats' ploy here could maybe -- just maybe -- have electoral impact for a few reasons, Democrats say. For one, Republicans were hoping to spend August recess selling their "big beautiful bill" to constituents -- a new law that, let's face it, needs some salesmanship, according to the polls. Now instead Republicans will be on the defensive, ducking questions about how they'll vote when the [Representatives Thomas and Ro] Massie-Khanna discharge petition is ready to hit the floor in September.

There's also a belief among senior Democrats that this controversy feeds into a narrative that is in fact critical to 2026 messaging: that the president is more interested in protecting the rich and powerful than average Joes and children. That, they surmise, dovetails nicely with their accusations that Republicans are robbing from the poor on Medicaid and food stamps to pay for tax breaks for the rich.

One last Democratic quote sums this up nicely, which is why I saved it for last:

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-California) was one of the first Democratic lawmakers to demand the administration release the Epstein files because he noticed the matter trending online in right-wing circles. Other liberal lawmakers began pushing the issue, and leadership listened as Democrats sought more forceful ways to respond to Trump.

"He said he was going to drain the swamp, and then he became the swamp," Gomez said of Trump. "He said he was going to make the cost of living more affordable, he did the opposite. Instead of like cutting taxes for working people, he raised them while giving massive tax breaks to billionaires on largest corporation. This is part of that story."

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant