The unending frustration with the centrist instincts of Democrats
Over the weekend, reports emerged that President Biden is frustrated with his lagging approval numbers. He should try doing something
This past weekend, President Joe Biden apparently expressed frustration with his dipping approval polling. This came amid a trip to Uvalde, Texas in the wake of yet another horrific school shooting that resulted in the murders of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers. The town’s resident’s implored the president to “do something,” a more and more common refrain towards Democrats from their voting base.
Democrats have spent the last several years largely not accomplishing anything of real note. Sure Biden has confirmed more judges to federal courts than both of his last two predecessors over the same amount of time, but his administration lacks a signature legislative victory. This has led to a perception that Democrats are weak, despite controlling both houses of congress and the White House.
In the meantime, their Republican opposition is on the verge of winning the bitterest political culture war issue of the last half century as the conservative-held Supreme Court is readying itself to overturn Roe v Wade and allow dozens of states to ban abortion completely. This is despite not controlling two of the three branches of the federal government.
On top of all of that, Democrats are seemingly limping into the midterms with nary a notable achievement to their names and much of the Democratic base believes that we’re just one or two election losses away from the legitimate end of American democracy.
And how have Democrats in power responded? They want us to vote again before they’re willing to do anything. Now it’s true that without killing the filibuster, Democrats in the Senate do not have the votes to pass any real legislation. Two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are the main obstacles standing in the way of the entire Democratic legislative agenda thanks to their refusal to budge on the filibuster.
While the two of them deserve the lion’s share of the blame for this situation, there has also been a notable lack of pressure from Biden himself, and the rest of Democratic leadership onto the two of them, opting instead to attempt and often fail at negotiating with the two of them.
Also this weekend, the president once again pined for the Republican party to return to normalcy and rationality. It’s been a frequent refrain since his initial run for president and it’s perhaps his most pathetic vice.
Democrats need to seize their moment in control and show voters they’re worth reelecting, instead of hoping Republicans abandon their insane authoritarian turn right.
On their current do-nothing course, Democrats are firmly on track to run themselves out of office this fall. And I’m predicting now, the centrist consultant class will somehow blame on the left for expecting their legislators to, you know, legislate.
They will seemingly never learn.
