Democrats might not publicly admit it, but they have finally realized their political future is about as bleak as Rep. Liz Cheney’s chances of remaining in Congress after November. Not only that, it seems they have realized how little they can expect from their fearless leader in the White House. Nevertheless, they are still trying to salvage whatever they can from their situation.
Democratic governors are desperately trying to push President Joe Biden and his team to develop a more effective messaging strategy ahead of the upcoming congressional elections, according to a Politico report. Over a series of virtual meetings, they have repeatedly called on his advisers to take a more aggressive approach and more action from the chief executive.
“Underlying it all is a concern that Biden and his team are not just out of fresh ideas, but increasingly out of time to turn around their flagging poll numbers before the midterms,” Politico notes.
Of course, some Democrats are making a vain attempt to downplay the severity of the situation.
“These calls are anything but tense,” said David Turner, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association (DGA). “Governors and their teams find these calls useful and productive, and good forums to share information on policies with each other.”
However, the Politico report tells a much different story. The author writes:
But last month, a similar, more tension-filled gathering took place on Capitol Hill in a meeting between senior administration officials and members of the House. There, lawmakers were expecting to receive guidance on matters as concrete as how to counter Republicans who are handing out free gas cards and baby formula to court irate voters in their districts. Instead, they were met with now familiar talking points about the White House’s legislative successes and the resonance of the message Biden carried in 2020.
However, Democrats seem to recognize these “talking points” are not going to be sufficient. They appear to understand that the White House does not have a quick fix for the Democrats’ political woes. They have taken a significant number of “L’s” lately with high gas prices, unfavorable Supreme Court decisions, inflation, and a series of other issues. The report notes that on the left, “there was hope that some of those problems would abate,” but that “there is diminishing confidence in that now.”
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Democrats have urged Biden to take executive action to safeguard access to abortion. The president heard their cries and issued an executive order pushing Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to take steps to protect abortion access, and provide services like emergency contraception and other “reproductive health services.” The order also creates an interagency task force between HHS and the White House Gender Policy Council to provide “technical assistance to states affording legal protection to out-of-state patients as well as providers who offer legal reproductive health care.”
Biden blasts “the Supreme Court's terrible, extreme, & I think, so-totally wrongheaded decision to overturn Roe v. Wade,” telling reporters “This was not a decision driven by the Constitution, & despite what those Justices in the majority said…not a decision driven by history.” pic.twitter.com/9jlJsVBoUJ
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) July 8, 2022
Of course, some on the left are already criticizing Biden for not going far enough to ensure that women can still kill their babies, so this might not be sufficient for them. This is especially true given that Democrats sought to make abortion an issue for the upcoming midterm elections after the Supreme Court’s draft opinion was leaked to the public.
Guns are also an issue Democrats are hoping to use to avoid losses in November. After the slew of mass shootings that have taken place over the past couple of months, the left has been exploiting the deaths to push for more gun restrictions. Congress managed to pass bipartisan legislation imposing anti-gun measures. But again, Democrats are arguing that this did not go far enough.
But even if Biden had gone far enough to satisfy the base, it would not matter, and Democrats seem to understand this now. Passing onerous gun restrictions and issuing an executive order on abortion does nothing to address the problems everyday Americans are facing. When they go to fill up their cars or to purchase groceries, abortion and gun ownership are not on their minds. This, along with many other issues, is why Biden can’t be the Democrats’ savior.
