Maybe Democrats Are Losing Because Media Keeps Forgetting Republicans Exist

Meanwhile Republicans literally twirl their mustaches.

Leading into the midterm elections, at least 29 House Democrats have declined to run for reelection. This doesn’t bolster the Democratic message that American democracy hangs in the balance. It implies that the fleeing Democrats don’t want to serve in the minority under committee chairs Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. Can’t say I blame them, though. A GOP-controlled House is a horrific concept even from a safe distance. Literally working with extremists who might’ve been part of the January 6 insurrection means putting your life on the line daily.

 The Nation’s article on the announced retirements and Democrats’ anticipated “evisceration" is almost relentlessly depressing. Check out this passage:

Some prominent lawmakers, like Senator Bernie Sanders , have publicly called for a change in strategy, saying that the Democratic Party has “turned its back on the working class.”

I don’t think Democrats have turned their back on the working class. They aren’t cops snubbing New York or Chicago’s mayor at their fellow officer’s funeral. President Joe Biden won voters earning less than $100,000 a year, and Hillary Clinton won voters earning under $50,000 in 2016. If Sanders means “white” working class, he should say so directly. The “white” isn’t like the “l” in “salmon.” It’s not silent.

The Democratic Party’s agenda last year focused on keeping all working people alive and healthy during a pandemic. The GOP’s approach to COVID-19 was “screw you, poor people. Now, go serve us chicken wings.”

REMEMBER: House Passes COVID Relief Package Without A Single Republican Vote 

Aída Chávez at The Nation continues:

But the Biden administration remains deeply in denial about its failures, which range from the death of the Democrats’ signature Build Back Better plan to their doomed year-long push for federal voting rights legislation.

“Death” and “doomed” packed in one sentence! Chávez sounds like my high school guidance counselor.

Yes, voting rights legislation failed because Senate Republicans were unified in blocking any Stop Republicans From Cheating bills, and their useful idiots Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema cared more about the filibuster than Black people voting. You can’t discuss Democrats’ woes without mentioning Manchin and Sinema.

The article’s tone grows even more hostile.

The pandemic, which Biden promised to manage—his core campaign promise—has spiraled even further out of control. The number of Covid cases has reached record highs under his watch, soaring into the hundreds of thousands. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and schools are still in crisis.

 The GOP has cynically blamed Biden for the emergence of more deadly and more contagious variants, but responsible media shouldn’t repeat the GOP’s twisted talking points. Republicans openly embraced the anti-vaxx movement and opposed all sensible COVID-19 mitigation measures. Maybe Biden should’ve realized sooner that most Republicans are sociopaths, but the GOP is still responsible for deliberately prolonging the pandemic. Instead of “Asteroid Collides With Earth,” Chávez is going with “Stupid Earth Fails To Avoid Asteroid Collision.”

REMEMBER: GOP Pretty Sure DC Vaccine Mandates The Real Jim Crow 2.0 

The monthly child tax credit payments, which Democrats promised would cut child poverty in half, have ended.

Thanks to GOP-donor-owned Joe Manchin. However, the child tax credit wouldn’t exist if Democrats hadn’t gained the Senate majority last year. What’s with this passive reporting? Chávez also blames Biden for not keeping a campaign promise about student loan debt, but if he tried to pass anything through Congress, Senate Majority Leader Emperor God King Manchin would just laugh in his face. The Trumped-up Supreme Court would also derail any efforts made through executive action. These aren’t excuses. It’s just a reality that these stories should mention.

And the White House’s attitude has been to double down on condescension, expressing contempt for the American working class, the very voters the Democrats should be courting.

Chávez mentions White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki's dismissive response to a question about free rapid COVID-19 tests. That was in December. I think we can all stop carrying that cross. Republicans are banning books and passing “don’t say gay” laws.

I’m all for Democrats "course correcting,” but legitimate media should call out the immense damage Republicans have caused over the past year. Anything less is barely a notch below Fox News.

[ The Nation ]

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