Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Democrat Strategist Has an Ominous Warning for His Party in 2022

BY MATT MARGOLIS | P J MEDIA

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Biden’s tanking poll numbers nationally and in key swing states spell big trouble for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, says Democrat strategist Douglas Schoen. He says they could endure a “blowout defeat.”

“President Biden is in a significantly weaker position now than both of his most recent Democratic predecessors — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — at this point in their presidencies,” Schoen notes in an op-ed in The Hill. “Which suggests that Democrats could suffer even more substantial losses in 2022 than the party did in 1994 and 2010.”

Schoen served as an adviser to President Clinton and advised Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign.

“Indeed, voters nationally and in seven key swing-states disapprove, rather than approve, of the job President Biden is doing by a margin of 7-points or greater, according to a Civiqs survey released last week,” he continued. “Nationally, one-half [50 percent of voters disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as president, while just 42 percent approve.”

Schoen noted that Obama’s net approval rating was 19 points higher than Biden’s right now, and yet in the 2010 midterms, Democrats lost a net of 64 seats in the House, and Republicans gained six seats in the Senate. In 1994, Democrats lost a net of 52 seats in the House, and Republicans gained eight seats in the Senate.

While there’s still more than a year before the midterms, Schoen acknowledged that “Democrats’ blowout midterm defeats in both 1994 and 2010 can be attributed in large part to their passage of massive spending and tax bills in the years prior.”

“The Democrats’ 1994 defeat came after they pushed through Congress the then-largest tax increase in history without any Republican support,” Schoen points out. “And in 2010, Democrats lost due in large part to voters’ perception of an ineffective economic stimulus, as well as governmental overreach on healthcare and the economy by the administration and congressional Democrats.”

History seems to be repeating itself as Democrats are pushing a $3.5 trillion spending bill, which even Schoen admits will not only bring massive tax increases, but also increase annual deficits, the national debt, and inflation. This, he believes, will likely spark an “electoral backlash” bigger than both 1994 and 2010.

Historically speaking, the party in power loses seats in midterm elections. Between Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal and other bad policies, things aren’t looking good for him. While some in the party think there’s time to recover, Schoen suggests that things could actually get worse for the Democrats. He’s likely right. Last month, another Democrat strategist saw the writing on the wall and advised Democrats to steamroll their agenda while they still can. That seems to be the approach they’re attempting to take, apparently unwilling to realize that their radical agenda is what is causing the shift against them in the first place.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2021/09/12/democrat-strategist-has-a-dire-warning-for-his-party-in-2022-n1477960

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RELATED ARTICLE

Democrats Are Increasingly Freaking Out About 2022

BY CHRIS QUEEN | P J MEDIA

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The 2020 election was a tough one for Democrats. Other than the presidency and the Senate, Democrats suffered at the ballot box. The party lost 11 House seats and face the narrowest House majority in two decades. Add to the damage the beating Democrats took in state races, and 2020 looked like a pummeling indeed.

The Biden presidency hasn’t made things any better. The party is dealing with infighting between moderates and far-left members, and the president’s approval ratings are abysmal. On top of these factors, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) became the latest among 10 key Democrats to announce their retirement ahead of the 2022 election cycle last week.

As a result, the 2022 midterm elections are looking more like an uphill battle for Democrats, and they’re freaking out about it. Back in September, Democrats were already talking about a “bloodbath” and “going for broke” on progressive agenda items, but their mood is growing increasingly fearful.

According to The Hill:

“To be blunt, I’m not feeling good about where we are,” one senior Democratic congressional aide said. “Look, it was never going to be easy or anything. It was always kind of contingent on what got done. I just think we’re starting to see how fragile this is.

The numbers already favor the GOP. The Republicans only need to turn five seats red to gain a majority in the House, and that’s even without redistricting, which will also work to the GOP’s advantage next year.

The Senate currently sits at 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as a tying vote, and several Democrats are vulnerable, including Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who won a special election to fill a seat that is up for reelection this cycle.

The 2022 election is also a clear referendum on President Biden and his agenda, which have given Republicans plenty of ammunition to use throughout the campaign season. Approval numbers and recent issue polls don’t bode well for Biden and his party.

On top of all these genuine concerns for the Democrats, a slew of “longshot” candidates have entered key races, drawing attention and donations away from Democrats who stand a better chance of winning their elections. Democrat strategists have their hands full with some unviable candidates.

The Hill reports:

Up and down the ballot, Democrats have long grumbled about candidates they deem to be inconsequential attention suckers. They argue there’s limited value to contenders who launch far-fetched bids that take away time, media focus and money from other choices.

Democratic candidates are still raking in boatloads of cash, and some seats are a shoo-in for the party no matter how much Biden drags them down. Democrats also still hold a slim lead in the generic ballot. Still, the Democrats are definitely aware of the steeper and steeper uphill climb they face in the upcoming midterms.

Pollsters are also seeing how events and trends are shaping the 2022 election season:

“President Biden’s backslide on leadership, honesty and competence and the fact that he has lost some ground on handling of the COVID pandemic has to be concerning to Democrats,” Tim Malloy, a polling analyst at Quinnipiac University, told The Hill.

Malloy said that the Biden administration “has had a grueling few months” and that things like surging gas prices and rising costs due to ongoing global supply chain issues won’t help alleviate Democrats’ troubles, especially with the holiday season drawing closer.

Inflation, the pandemic, the border chaos and Afghanistan are helping the GOP to hop on the offensive, hitting Biden and both House and Senate Democrats on their handling of recent crises. It’s not a shoo-in for the Republicans, but it’s looking better as time goes on. And that’s causing the Democrats to get worried.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/chris-queen/2021/10/18/democrats-are-increasingly-freaking-out-about-2022-n1524804

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RELATED VIDEO

'Let's Go Brandon' Is the #1 Hip Hop Song in the U.S.

BY ATHENA THORNE |  P J MEDIA

Loza Alexander official music video for "Let's Go Brandon" [YouTube screenshot]

Alternative rapper Loza Alexander’s surprise hit “Let’s Go Brandon” has topped the iTunes hip hop chart at #1. The anti-establishment banger currently sits at #2 overall, just behind power-ballad star Adele and ahead of industry heavy-hitters Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Elton John, and Justin Bieber. When you add up the mind-boggling amount of legacy media promotion these stars are granted as a matter of course, Alexander’s achievement is all the more impressive.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO.

The expression “Let’s Go Brandon” was inadvertently created by NBC reporter Kelli Stavast as she was trying to interview NASCAR driver Brandon Brown. Brown had just won his race at the Talladega Superspeedway, and the crowd behind him was raucously performing the popular “F**k Joe Biden” chant. “You can hear the chants from the crowd,” said Stavast in an awkward attempt to wave away the elephant in the room, “Let’s Go Brandon!” The moment went viral, and “Let’s Go Brandon” is now the SFW version of the original chant.

The song has been boosted by some pretty high-profile fans; Fox News wrote about it two days ago, and Donald J. Trump, Jr. gave it a social media boost. The song sports the prestigious yellow “Best Seller” flag on Amazon after hitting #1 in their Rap & Hip Hop category, as well.

Alexander says he’s ready to release an extended version of the song as soon as his fans push sales to #1 in all categories. And who knows? It could happen!

https://pjmedia.com/culture/athena-thorne/2021/10/18/lets-go-brandon-is-the-1-hip-hop-song-in-the-u-s-n1524824