I would definitely agree their is a faction of radical republicans- particularly the election denial grifters- I assume most of them are smart enough to realize what they’re doing. Particularly the ones who have been in government for more than 5 minutes.
The problem is the democrats are appealing to an increasingly small demographic.
For the record, I’m a moderate independent and a bit of a centrist- you need to balance the two opposing forces in the country and the crazy ideas on either side hopefully balance each other out.
My biggest concern about the republicans taking over the house and senate is they will spend the next 2+ years laser focused on Hunter Biden while preventing any meaningful legislation from happening. It’s not like I think they have any solutions to many of the current issues.
40 year high inflation. Soaring interest rates. Bleak economic output. The majority of voters have this as a top concern.
The Democrats have largely focused on 1/6 and abortion, at least at a national level. Very few people cared to watch the 1/6 commission (including myself) and the result was like a +1% in change of opinion on the matter, most people already have their minds made up (including myself, Trump should have been impeached for his extreme recklessness and dereliction of duty).
The related “future of democracy” platform that’s been pushed recently in most polls ranks quite low. There’s a certain irony having a message “if you don’t vote for us, you’re putting democracy is at stake”. That said, I don’t disagree there are some deeply concerning characters on the right.
Abortion is an interesting thing, ranking as a high concern for both republicans and democrats. The thing is, majority blue states already have access to abortion. The cohort of women (and men I suppose) affected by access to abortion is limited, the number of women planning on abortion even lower. So although people are passionate, I’m not convinced it’s the motivating factor some assume it to be.
I think it’s pretty clear the Democrats have downplayed and ignored issues like the economy and cost of living- obviously there’s no magic overnight solution but the apparent lack of legitimate concern is off putting. Crime and immigration as well- but at these specifically should be addressable in the near term. And those are concerns most affecting a lot of people.
It’s not just me saying this. It’s not just those on the right saying this. These thoughts are mirrored by many in the mainstream left and progressive left. The Dems are in a tough spot in many cases not fully due to their actions, some not at all, but if you don’t legitimately identify the concerns of voters, I wouldn’t expect great results.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I don’t think Republicans have any answers to the economy and inflation in the near term or many other issues. They of course have the luxury of being the minority and blaming dems for everything.
I don't even know where to begin with all of this. I'm trying to keep my blood pressure down.
There’s a certain irony having a message “if you don’t vote for us, you’re putting democracy is at stake”.
It's not ironic if it's true ...
That said, I don’t disagree there are some deeply concerning characters on the right.
The few Republicans who
aren't deeply concerning are being tossed out of the party because the party openly wants to become more deeply concerning. Again, do people just not pay attention to what the Republicans actually say? They are pretty open about it.
It's like we live in parallel universes. "Sure the Republican party tried to end democracy as we know it and that's not good, but is that really important? And by focusing on it aren't Democrats appealing to just as an extreme as people who delusionally or cynically push election lies and want to continue to undermine elections which now make up the majority of Republican voters and especially the political class that represents them?"
I mean yeah the republicans are poised to do well in the midterms - usually the party out of power in the WH does - one would've liked to think that supporting the end of democracy would change that dynamic rather than simply suppressing it as it seems to have done at the time of writing. The fact that it didn't, the fact that you write what you write is actually what's deeply concerning. I mean I know history isn't taught very well in the US, but surely we all studied the rise of fascism in Europe, what happened, how it came about, or hell even as I wrote before the lead up to the US civil war. Selective amnesia? or what?
@Yoused covered the abortion angle already extremely well so I'll do the economic: the economic outlook isn't even that ****ing bleak nor are actual crime rates or any of the other **** you said as to why democrats are losing. Also as for 40 year high inflation, the entire world is undergoing inflationary pressures and while there may be variation country to country if the US is doing more so (which we aren't, we're about average) ... you do remember that during the Trump administration people kept saying his out of control spending could overheat the economy and cause inflation? or no? More selective amnesia? Again even I wouldn't put the blame on him (as much as I would love to) because overall it's a global phenomenon. You can blame the pandemic, the war, supply chain breakdowns due to both, etc ... or just the fact that we went through 30 years of historically low inflation and that had to end at some point. Similarly, crime rates are high locally, but they are still extremely low historically. The idea that this is BLM or radical democrats fault other such is just amazing. But hey we gotta block that democratic extremism like protecting voting rights and civil rights for minorities! That's just too far ...
Well I got through that without swearing or doing anything to earn a ban.
Edit: nope I did swear, twice, I’ll self censor, not sure about forum rules
Edit 2:
I mean yeah the republicans are poised to do well in the midterms - usually the party out of power in the WH does - one would've liked to think that supporting the end of democracy would change that dynamic rather than simply suppressing it as it seems to have done at the time of writing.
So basically this, a little better than this actually, Democrats managed to not lose as badly as history would've predicted that they should have, Republicans projected to have a slight, maybe single, vote majority in the house only, but still you would've liked to think that trying to end democracy would've caused the nation to rebuke the Republicans entirely, but alas we are what we are as depressing as that is. Just not as depressing as it could've been! And I guess that's something to not be depressed about.
