The Gap Between and Within
We are all aware of the differences between the parties in the U.S. today and how that gap has widened. One party has gone further left, the other to the right. In the great middle is where elections were generally won. Whenever one party veered too far, the result was devastating for them. The great examples are the Republicans in 1964 and the Democrats in 1972. In that eight year period both parties went to extremes and were totally wiped out in the elections.
Today the divide is spreading within the parties, and this week it is hitting big time. Let’s take a quick look:
Remember when Speaker Pelosi said today was the day the House would vote on the infrastructure bill?
Over time when she has set a deadline that has been it. You could agree or disagree but she was in charge.
Well, she has moved that date back as she struggles with the division between the moderates and progressives in her caucus. The entire agenda is on the line and her team is not in lockstep.
Here’s a report from one outlet this AM that summarizes the challenge:
The House and Senate are moving toward votes on legislation dealing with government funding, the debt limit, infrastructure, social programs and taxes worth trillions of dollars, although the details of some of these bills aren’t close to finalized yet.
This would be a big agenda for an entire month. The House will try to tackle it in one week, while the Senate attempts to avoid a government shutdown.
Democratic leaders in both chambers also still have to figure out how to avoid a catastrophic debt default in October.
It’s a huge moment for President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; the biggest so far in the 117th Congress. It’s fair to say what happens in the next couple weeks will go a long way toward deciding whether Democrats have any shot of keeping the House or Senate next year.
Failure on any of these issues would be a political disaster for the Democratic triumvirate and the party. Pelosi hasn’t faced a legislative challenge quite this daunting since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 — nearly a dozen years ago. Schumer hasn’t ever been involved in a highwire act of this nature as Senate Democratic leader.
Biden, of course, has never dealt with anything remotely like this in his eight months as president.
The reason they can’t just plow ahead is the divide within their caucus. The closer the election comes, the more the divide will appear as the progressives try to move the party left, and the moderates see election doom if they go along.
Here’s an example of the divide in the party on issues. The President was judge and jury on the horses used at the border. Well not everyone agrees with him. Tulsi Gabbard said this:
“I consider Joe Biden a friend. But he’s absolutely wrong and he needs to apologize to the American people for saying what he said. Here’s why: He’s somebody who’s been very outspoken as being against autocrats, autocracies, dictators. But what he essentially did was act as judge, jury, and executioner for these Customs and Border Patrol agents on horseback.”
Now On The Other Side
We’ve written here for months that the biggest threat to Republicans winning in 2022 is the divide with Donald Trump.
Now read this quote:
“Stacey Abrams would be a better governor than Kemp.” The former President said that in a Georgia speech to his loyal followers this weekend. Just stop and think about that for a second.
Stacey Abrams who organized the Democrats to win in 2020 is being endorsed by Donald Trump over the Republican Governor.
Why?
Because the former President thinks the Governor did not do enough to overturn the Georgia results!
He added this:
“Stacey, would you like to take his place? It’s OK with me.”
Then he went even further.
He attacked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan as well as Gov. Brian Kemp, all Republicans. They all, after investigating, dismissed the claims the former President was making.
I heard them on tape say directly to Trump, we didn’t find anything. If you have evidence give it to us and we will act. That was not good enough for Donald Trump who became the first Republican presidential candidate to lose the state in three decades.
Now Kemp and team are running for reelection. What chance do they have with the former President turning his loyal followers against them? Trump has given Georgia to the Democrats.
He also has lost the Georgia senate seat with his pushing of Herschel Walker into the race. The Democrats are waiting to pounce on Walker’s issue with his wife and voting state and address.
What’s even worse is this statement from the former President. He made clear that he and his supporters will keep pressing for audits of the 2020 election results in other states as part of the Republican campaign for 2022. “I bring voter fraud to the forefront to save our nation from corrupt elections and to make sure this never, ever happens again,” he said.
Great for the Republican party to renegotiate the 2020 election to fulfill his ego, motivate the Democrats and blow their chance to win control.
Thus
Both parties are working hard to divide themselves and hand the 2022 midterms to the other.
The advantage could well be with the Democrats. No matter how they come out this week the issues will be a year old, and though they may not motivate their party, they will have the former President to do that for them.
He may motivate Democrats to vote and divide his own party handing states and seats in Congress to them.
The dumbest thing the Democrats can do now is indict the former President on taxes or anything else. If they drive him out of the race, they lose. The more he is out there, the better the chance they have to win.
Will their desire to get the former President outweigh a smart political move? Both these parties are blind to reality and anything is possible.