Democrats' chances in the 2022 midterm elections are better than doomsayers predict MSNBC
By Dean Obeidallah, MSNBC Opinion Columnist
"Plus, history tells us that there have been two times in the modern era that a presidents party gained seats during midterm elections and the circumstances that led to those victories apply to 2022 in varying degrees. In 1998, with Bill Clinton in the White House, Democrats gained five House seats. How did Democrats buck history? GOP arrogance and overreach. The House GOP, led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, impeached Clinton for lying about his affair with an intern, Monica Lewinsky. But as midterm exit polls found, two thirds of voters didnt think Clinton who was leading a strong economy should have been impeached, and they cast their votes accordingly."
"Todays GOP is even more arrogant and heavy-handed than Gingrichs GOP was. Consider the Texas law that bans abortion after six weeks and forces a woman who is raped to carry her rapists fetus to term. That abomination of a law is being copied by numerous Republican-controlled states despite the fact that 65 percent of Americans believe the Supreme Court should uphold its landmark Roe v. Wade decision and only 29 percent support the Supreme Court striking down the constitutional right to abortion access. The Republicans dont care what a majority of Americans think; they only care about imposing their extreme religious beliefs upon the rest of us.
In 1998 with Bill Clinton in the White House, Democrats gained five House seats. How did Democrats buck history? GOP arrogance and overreach.
Ditto for the partys overreach by banning books and what they wrongly call critical race theory (CRT). Americans are becoming increasingly aware that so-called CRT bans are racist laws designed to prevent teachers from sharing the history of Black achievement and Black suffering at the hands of white bigots. Look at Virginia where Republican Glenn Youngkin won the governors race in 2021 based in part on his attacks on CRT. A recent poll found that 57 percent of Virginians oppose banning CRT and only 37 percent support it. That finding helps explain why Youngkin, who won in November with 51 percent of the vote, is already underwater with a 41 percent approval rating.
With only a few exceptions, these extreme abortion bans, bans on books and CRT, and voter suppression efforts in 19 states are embraced by Republicans nationwide. To animate their own voters, Democrats can and should use the GOPs tyranny against them in 2022."
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/democrats-chances-2022-midterm-elections-are-better-doomsayers-predict-n1290695
dixiechiken1
(2,113 posts)bucolic_frolic
(46,366 posts)Underdogs work their butts off. We must meet the challenge.
Cha
(304,047 posts)They get OFF on it! They can Fucik OFF!
Thank You!
💙💛
rgbecker
(4,873 posts)when the democrats continue with their majority in the House and add a Senator or two in the Senate.
FBaggins
(27,422 posts)Republicans in the House were still holding onto marginal seats from the rout of 1994. It would have been entirely different if the House was controlled by the presidents party. We picked up a handful of seats, but we still received fewer votes than they did.
It was also Clintons second midterm and his polling numbers were 15-20 points higher.
The only other example was Bushs first midterm
but his approval was 30-40 points higher and he still only gained eight seats.
lees1975
(5,550 posts)There are a lot of Americans whose lack of education, sophistication and information has contributed to the pseudo-populist Trumpism and they have made Democrats, moderates and liberals their arch enemies. But there are plenty of Americans who are well educated, well informed, sophisticated and who don't want the tyranny that comes with conservative GOP trumpist politics.
The issue has always been motivating many of these people to vote in a mid-term. Eighty one million of them turned out to make sure the orange headed buffoon didn't get a second term, and if they see that, along with all of the bigotry that is leading to restricting people's rights, not because they are doing anything wrong, but because the bigots don't like their lifestyle, they'll have some reason to turn out.
January 6th, if the Democrats can make that move along over the summer, will be huge in that regard. So will all the Putin crap. It's coming, wait for it. I believe the Democrats will get enough senate seats to neutralize the corporate sell-outs and have a real majority and I think they'll keep the house as well. There may be some court fights over election results but there will be pushback there as well.
slightlv
(4,099 posts)will bring a war of some kind to this country. The magas are not going to accept any result that doesn't go their way... period... in all cases, in my opinion. That means the craziest of the crazies.
The rest of us are not going to stand by and let them steal democracy away from us. We'll fight to keep Fascism from taking over. We'll attempt to do that via the law, of course. But what happens when the courts are stacked against us... as in SCOTUS? What are we going to do then? I've not seen anyone even begin to address these possibilities. And I think we need to start drawing out contingencies long before we get to the election. We see what happens when we win with overwhelming majorities. We see the deficiencies with the electoral college. I agree and plan to do all kinds of legwork on the ground prior to and during the midterm and the next prez election. It, and many others following are going to be important to set the standards in stone once again. But I fear the violence that could happen getting there.
lees1975
(5,550 posts)but look how they've collapsed and folded in the face of these January 6th prosecutions. They're turning on each other because they fear everything and don't trust anyone. My hope is that the Justice Department arrests and prosecutes Trump and once he's gone, there may be some nut jobs that flitter here and there, but the GOP will have to fix itself or it won't survive.