In fairness, the NY Times’ Jonathan Weisman and Neil Vigdor aren’t really working all that to carry Democrats water, probably not seeing a lot of point with so few days left, just going through the motions
Democrats Can’t Ignore the Economy. But Can They Survive It?
Democratic candidates, facing what increasingly looks like a reckoning in two weeks, are struggling to find a closing message on the economy that acknowledges the deep uncertainty troubling the electorate while making the case that they, not the Republicans, hold the solutions.
For some time, the party’s candidates and strategists have debated whether to hit inflation head on or to heed warnings that any shift toward an economic message would be ending the campaign on the strongest possible Republican ground. Since midsummer, when the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, Democrats had hoped that preserving the 50-year-old constitutional right to an abortion and castigating Republican extremism could get them past the worst inflation in 40 years.
That is looking increasingly like wishful thinking.
Hey, they dug that grave, but, come on, what actual record do they have?
On Monday, Democrats unveiled new messages that appeared to switch tacks, incorporating achievements of the past two years with expressions of sympathy on the economy and dire warnings for what Republicans might bring.
Former Rep. Steve Israel, who headed the House Democrats’ campaign arm in a strong cycle of 2012 and weak one in 2014, said the dispute over how to address voters’ economic distress was essentially being resolved in favor of trying to accomplish a political feat that he said would be the trickiest he has ever seen: Democrats would continue to hammer Republicans on abortion and their ties to former President Donald Trump to boost turnout among their core supporters, while simultaneously trying to win over undecided voters whose biggest concerns are inflation and crime.
Good luck with that. Even Democrats do not trust Democrats on the economy and crime.
Lake, in an interview Saturday, said Democratic strategists were “extremely concerned” that the wave of support the party saw over the summer was evaporating at the worst possible time. But she insisted there was time, with barely two weeks to go, to correct course.
“A lot of candidates aren’t really clear about what the economic message is,” she said. “What we need to do is set up a more vivid contrast. People are getting more pessimistic about the economy.”
Getting? They’ve been pessimistic for well over a year. And, under Democratic Party ownership of the Congress and White House, none of their concerns have been addressed.
In two years, the party has passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, a generous tax credit for parents that brought child poverty to historic lows, legislation that made good on the popular, long-standing promise to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and the biggest investment in clean energy in history — all achievements that could be framed as helping people cope with rising prices.
None of those address inflation, rising cost of food and goods.
On Friday, four veteran Democratic strategists published a piece in The American Prospect, the liberal magazine, that pleaded with Democrats to find a new message that acknowledges the pain of rising prices and answers voter concerns. To do that, they argued, candidates need to convey their legislative successes while setting up culprits other than themselves: Republicans who voted against popular measures such as capping the price of insulin, and wealthy corporations that are jacking up prices and reaping more profits.
Voters “want to know you understand what is going on in their lives,” the strategists wrote. “They want to know you are helping with their No. 1 problem and have a plan. They want to know the difference between Democrats and Republicans when they cast their votes.” The piece was written by Patrick Gaspard, president of the liberal Center for American Politics; Stanley Greenberg and Celinda Lake, veteran Democratic pollsters; and Mike Lux, a senior White House aide under former President Bill Clinton.
I read that one, and almost blogged it. Because, really, Democrats do not understand and do not care what’s happening to the working and middle classes. If they did, they wouldn’t be telling people they could save money on energy by spending $20K+ on solar panels and $56K (average cost of an EV) on an EV. Biden going to Delaware or Camp David almost every weekend. Wouldn’t be opening up the border, wanting more low wage workers when the wages of Americans aren’t keeping up with inflation.
(Newsweek)…In a bit of loose-lipped candor, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, testifying this week before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, let slip his belief that “the more pain” Americans feel at the pump, “the more benefit” there is for electric vehicle owners.
Such astounding disdain and haughtiness from a Cabinet official, if it were to come under a Republican administration, would make headline-grabbing fodder for weeks. It would dominate the late-night shows, as Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at those nasty, “Gordon Gekko”-esque robber baron Republicans.
Americans, especially Independents and wishy washy Democrats, see this. Those wishy washy Dems may not vote Republican, they might just sit it out.
Read: NY Times Wonders If Their Democrat Comrades Can Survive Their Crummy Economic Record »
The mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, installed a new gas line and gas-powered fireplace in his home despite his push for the city to phase out fossil fuel usage and boost electrification.
A decade ago, Chicago had a Department of Environment that was tasked with implementing our first ever Climate Action Plan. Released in 2008 with an end date of 2020, the plan was truly ahead of its time, showcasing how cities across the United States and beyond could take the lead in tackling climate change.
State legislatures are often overlooked in the heat of campaign season, yet the laws crafted there have as much impact, if not more, on the average person’s everyday life as the ones passed by Congress.
European Union countries agreed on Monday to raise their target to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement next year, as the bloc attempts to rally ambition among major emitters ahead of this year’s U.N. climate talks.
With just two weeks until Election Day, recent polling suggests that support for the Democratic Party is eroding nationally in the final stretch of the midterm campaign.
