by MPeriod
Posted 2 years ago
Democratic governors up for re-election in 2022 are tying themselves to the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration's COVID-19 relief bill passed earlier this year, in the hopes that it will fuel a sustained economic comeback and raise their chances at electoral victory. They have backed pro health and safety rules, highly popular with the general public. They have openly supported popular health and economic policies. Republicans on the other hand have recently taken a confusing tactic of opposing popular legislation, making outlandish contradictory claims, and wildly swinging from position to position based on former President Trump's whims. And then when those popular plans pass, Republicans sometimes take credit for them while criticizing them. Its odd and for some GOP political strategists - concerning about the future of the Republican party.
The GOP has for some reason been unable to get out of its own way. Regarding the Trump insurrection, for example, Democrats offered a full bipartisan joint committee, approved by the House AND Senate. Republicans would have equal representation and power, Republicans rejected it.
Then when Nancy Pelosi went at it on her own; creating a house committee... Republicans complained that they were "left out", even though there are multiple Republicans who make up the committee.
From infrastructure legislation, to Covid health and safety policies, to economic stimulus the GOP's response has followed the same pattern, auto-oppose, struggle to explain why they oppose, then when it proves popular - claim credit, get mocked, rinse and repeat.
Confused by the seemingly lack of coherent direction? So are GOP political operatives - the party in control of the White House, almost always lose seats in a mid term election - it is usually very easy to run "against" something than to win over support for something. That's just human nature, however the hodgepodge of (often factually lacking) positions coupled with the over-the-top responses given by some of the most vocal GOP voices is causing headaches for Republicans running everywhere. In Michigan for example, Jason Cabel Roe, a Republican strategist and the former director of the Michigan Republican Party, told Politico that "lavish government spending" created inflation fears and "can't be the solution to that problem." is good messaging. BUT he's concerned the party is still focused on baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election instead. This lack of focus and obsession with appealing to the extreme right has created a fog of haze over the 2022 election cycle.
And while its early, polling has confirmed these concerns. Democrats have consistently lead in generic (which party do you want to control congress?) questions, in closely watched races, such as Georgia, Democrats are seen as holding, in fact the state in general after being embroiled in Trump Election Conspiracy theories, seeming has shifted from red, to toss up to by most accounts, a state that in general now leans blue. Similar numbers buoy Democrats in Arizona. In an upcoming election that SHOULD be friendly to Republicans, Democrats have found a weapon to beat the GOP and that's the GOP's obsession with latching on to a losing narrative and losing policy positions, that doomed them in 2020.
Topic: Politics
Tags: Donald Trump Republican Party 2022 Elections Georgia Elections Congress