Republicans welcome their prospects to retake both chambers of Congress in the coming meantime, thanks to the lavish campaigner they think the Democrats and the Biden administration have handed them over in recent weeks.
Conservatives pointed to the increase in migrants on the southern border; difficulties getting children back to school for personal learning during the pandemic; massive expenditures from the White House and Democratically-controlled Congress; the inclusion of progressive priorities in infrastructure and emergency economic aid accounts; and most recently a push among some Democrats to expand the Supreme Court as actions that will offer campaigning for Republicans in the coming months.
Some GOP lawmakers are pleased with their outlook, even though the midterms of 2022 are still 19 months away.
“This will be like in 2010, 2012 and 2014, where we are securing seats because of the Obama agenda,” said Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Head of the campaign division of the Republican Senate, on Friday’s radio show. Hugh Hewitt.
‘What I’m talking about every day now is: do we want open borders? No. Do we want to close our schools? No. Do we want men to practice women’s sports? No. Do we want to close the Keystone Pipeline? No. Do we want a voter ID? Yes, ”he continued. “And the Democrats are on the other side of all those issues, and I’m going to make sure every American knows about it.”
The party in power traditionally loses seats in midterm elections, forcing Democrats on the defensive at a time when they are already protecting wafer-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress. The Senate is split 50-50 with Democrats up for re-election in Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and elsewhere, while Republicans only need a handful of House seats to take the majority.
With Democrats already on the strings based on history, Republicans feel they have a full range of issues to attack the other party, including policy issues and cultural issues that will motivate their constituents and potential voters to change.
The border situation has been a favorite talking point for conservatives, with lawmakers and former President Trump
Donald TrumpDC Goes To The Dogs – Major And Champ, That’s Biden On Refugee Hat: ‘We Couldn’t Do Two Things At Once’ Taylor Greene Defends ‘America First’ Effort, Pushes Critics Back MORE reversing harsh immigration policies by blaming the Biden government for the massive influx of migrants.
Heritage Action, a conservative advocacy group, conducted polls in 15 congressional and 19 suburban swing districts late last month that found a majority of those surveyed agreed that Biden’s reversal of Trump’s policies was the cause of the nascent crisis and that they were less likely to vote for Democrats because of the increase in migrants at the border.
The White House said Friday it would not raise the 15,000 refugee ceiling this year, despite Biden’s commitment. The turnaround was widely criticized by the Democrats, and it served as a signal that the government views an increase in migration, even if it is those fleeing persecution, as a thorny political issue.
Some GOP agents see it as an opening.
“Immigration and loss of border control is the biggest Achilles heel for Democrats,” said Dan Eberhart, a GOP fundraiser.
Eberhart also noted that Biden’s proposed infrastructure package includes some items most popular with more progressive Democrats that Republicans claim are beyond the scope of traditional infrastructure, such as funding to boost the use of electric vehicles, investments targeting on researching solutions to climate change and money. for long-term care workers. A follow-up proposal later this month is expected to focus on additional progressive priorities such as funding for community college and family care.
“That and the amount of money the Democrats are shoveling into bills under the banner of economic stimulus that are a thinly disguised payola for their progressive coalition,” Eberhart said.
Republicans have been quick to make political cough with other Democratic proposals in recent weeks.
A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday released legislation that would expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 seats, a move they believe would offset the court’s current 6-3 majority.
But the issue could play into the hands of conservatives, who in previous elections have cited the Supreme Court as one of their most motivating factors in voting.
The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group, promptly launched a $ 1 million ad campaign slapping Biden over his commission to study the matter of court expansion.
Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi TlaibMcCarthy: GOP, Not ‘Nativist Dog Whistles’ Party Pro-Trump Lawmakers Form Caucus Promoting ‘Anglo-Saxon Political Traditions’ Omar: ‘Shameful’ Biden Vows Refugee Pledge MORE (D-Mich.) After yet another shooting by police of a black man, last week said there was “[n]o more policing, detention and militarization. It cannot be reformed. “
The White House and even some progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersWorld passes 3 million deaths from coronavirus Sirota: Biden has broken campaign promise to fight union destruction tactics Democratic senators call on Biden to support waiver of vaccine patents MORE (I-Vt.), Trying to distance themselves from Tlaib’s comments, and moderate Democrats were outraged after the 2020 election when branded with calls to “defend the police” hurt them in crucial neighborhoods.
GOP strategists and activists also argued that Democrats may be going too far in their attacks on state-level voting laws, which Biden and others have likened to “Jim Crow on steroids.”
“I think these issues resonate with all Americans, and in places where Democrats have a very small majority, these kinds of issues can cost their seats,” said Jenny Beth Martin, a co-founder of the conservative Tea Party Patriots group.
The White House, aware that Democrats may no longer control Congress after 2022, has been aggressive in rolling out ambitious proposals and directing them to win public support. It paid off initially as public polls show that Biden generally deserves high marks and his first pieces of legislation are overwhelmingly popular with the public.
A Pew Research poll released Friday found that Biden’s approval score is 59 percent as he approaches his 100th day, supported by majority approval with his treatment of vaccine distribution.
A Quinnipiac University poll published Thursday found that Biden received strong figures in the areas of economy, climate change and taxation, and his US Jobs Plan proposal to invest $ 2.3 trillion in infrastructure such as roads, bridges, broadband and climate-friendly industries was also above water. Support for the plan rose to 53 percent when paid through a corporate tax rate hike proposed by Biden.
Republicans have also struggled to make a dent in the popularity of the American Rescue Plan, an economic aid package passed without a single GOP vote earlier this year. A Gallup poll in late March found that 63 percent agreed with the bill, which included direct payments to most Americans and help with vaccine distribution.
The poll reflects the tough struggle Republicans face in winning over moderate voters, who so far seem happy with Biden’s approach to the job. But the president’s underwater reviews on immigration, for example, show that there are some vulnerabilities that conservatives can exploit.
There will be no shortage of outside groups willing to spend money on ads targeting the Biden agenda in the months leading up to the midterms. Former Trump officials, such as Mike Pence
Michael (Mike) Richard Pence Secret Facebook Groups Of Special Operations Officers Contain Racist Comments, QAnon Posts: Oddsmakers Report Say Harris, Not Biden, Most Likely 2024 Nomination, Election Wins Personal Security Costs For Anti-Trump Lawmakers High After Riot MORE Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller Sunday shows preview: Russia, US exchange sanctions; tensions over police action are growing; Vaccination Campaign Continues Democrat: Ex-Trump Assistant Miller Must Be Convicted of Human Rights Violations Trump Endorses Mo Brooks for Senate in Alabama MORE and Larry Kudlow
Larry Kudlow MORE, all advocacy groups have established, and more established conservative groups are ready to play a role as well.
There are some concerns that the Republican base could be ravaged by his own infighting as Trump weighs support for primary challengers against GOP lawmakers criticizing him and controversial figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor Greene Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will be meeting with Trump in the QAnon site in Florida “ soon ” after reports the developer identifies Republicans in GA-14 MORE. (R-Ga.) Overshadows the party’s reporting with its often controversial and sometimes racist remarks.
Martin dismissed his concerns about a broken Republican party as excessive.
“I think we all understand that the threat at this point comes from the potential for government takeover of every sector of our lives if Biden-Harris’s vision is carried out,” Martin said. “And that’s what we’re focused on and the actions they take and how it would affect us, more than just looking at people who are with us most of the time.”