After what happened in Virginia, where Republicans trounced Democrats in the governor’s race by running an issues-focused campaign, many nervous House Democrats see the writing on the wall. Terry McAuliffe ran a pitiful campaign against Donald Trump in Virginia and lost handily, which many saw as a bad omen for Democrats hoping to foolishly nationalize the 2022 midterm elections as a referendum, once again, on Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, as the country burns under Joe Biden’s lackluster leadership, a rehash against Trump or the Democrats’ pointless Jan. 6 commission is the furthest thing from the minds of voters as they see a 60% rise in gas prices at the pump since last year.
The wiser Democrats within the party (the handful) are raising concerns that perhaps running against Trump in 2022 won’t give voters anything to actually vote for:
Democrats are privately concerned nationalizing the 2022 mid-terms with emotionally-charged issues — from Critical Race Theory to Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection — will hamstring their ability to sell the local benefits of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
The push by centrist lawmakers, especially from the suburbs, to keep the conversation away from Trump is frequently derailed by the party’s loudest voices — and their insistence to talk about him at every turn.
“People don’t want to hear about Donald Trump,” Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), told Axios. “They’re going to vote because they want to see people get sh-t done.”
“All politics is local,” Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) tweeted last week. “Whether it’s advocating for the equitable redevelopment of Gwinnett Place Mall, or securing funding for our local trailway system, every day I am working in Congress for our community.”
“All politics are local,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) echoed during an interview with Axios. “I don’t believe you run national campaigns for Congress.”
The problem in this logic is that there aren’t any benefits from Biden’s agenda to be found yet, other than rampant inflation rising at the highest rate in 30 years. Is that the main benefit from Biden’s Build Back Better agenda Democrats would like to sell? Good luck!
As far as polling goes, the number one issue is the economy in practically every poll. The next item, typically, is Covid. After that, it’s more bread and butter political issues like healthcare, national security, immigration, and the Supreme Court, depending on the poll. Education will also get more attention in 2022 after Republicans successfully won in Virginia by pointing out the ways activist Democrats have weaponized school boards for partisan reasons.
Missing from that list is the desire for voters to get a report from Democrats regarding the events of January 6, 2021. There is zero appetite among your average suburban voter, and other than the primetime lineup of MSNBC and CNN, no one cares. Anyone breaking the law on January 6, 2021, was arrested and should be prosecuted accordingly.
The same people investigating the events of Jan. 6 were looking the other way in the summer of 2020 when left-wing militants took over an entire block of the city of Seattle, armed with rifles, shaking down businesses for cash if they didn’t want to see their storefronts burned.
Inside the Seattle CHOP (Capitol Hill Organized Protest), or CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone), whatever you want to call it, was a scene filled with numerous crimes including sexual assaults, robberies, and murder. That violence, and all the surrounding violence during the riots and protests in 2020 resulting from the George Floyd police killing, was perfectly fine for the same Democrats now investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill protests.
There was also similarly no concern when left-wing climate protesters committed an insurrection back in October at the Department of the Interior building in Washington, DC. Rioters stormed the department, injured a police officer, and occupied the building for a time period demanding action to save polar bears or something. Sadly, there will be no commission from House Democrats or subpoenas from Rep. Adam Schiff to investigate this conspiracy and violent insurrection on federal property perpetrated by liberal climate change activists.
Democrats have no moral authority on the issue of investigating protests, insurrections, riots, or whatever your preferred nomenclature is. They nod approvingly at left-wing protests and burn with rage over right-wing protests. The consistent position is to arrest and charge anyone breaking the law in any situation while protecting the right of citizens to protest peacefully.
As a result, it’s painfully obvious to many House Democrats seeking reelection that they will need to do something–anything–other than rehash the 2020 election or keep running against Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Committee is currently trying to have it both ways by appealing to party activists with a Jan. 6 committee, and poking them to donate cash in the name of hating Trump, while on the other hand trying to focus on kitchen-table issues that voters actually care about.
The end result will be a continued “investigation” into the events of Jan. 6, and a report which will call Trump responsible regardless of what the facts are discovered. The purpose will be to satisfy the raging left-wing base, motivating them to come vote in 2022, and then try to move on to things people care about by next Fall.
Regardless of what Democrats decide to run on, there is little from Biden’s agenda to help them capitalize and build voter momentum. Republicans are motivated after winning in Virginia, and elsewhere, which is why 19 House Democrats have already announced retirement rather than try to run for reelection and defend their indefensible policies and record.
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