Because of the opposition of Democratic Senators Sinema and Manchin to a voting rights bill, President Biden and the Democratic Congressional leadership decided to prioritize infrastructure and climate change bills. According to numerous civil rights groups and national civil rights leaders Reverend Al Sharpton and Sherrilyn Ifill, the failure to pass a voting rights act were due to the White House’s emphasis on other legislation. The Democrats failed to remind voters that the President needed Congress to pass legislation. Thus, failure to pass voting rights undermined a critical campaign promise that promised to undermine the motivation of Democratic campaign workers. As a result, Biden had to bear the brunt of the blame for not passing voting rights.
The Democrats’ failure to pass voting rights jeopardized the likelihood that they could keep a majority in the House. But they saw another path to minimizing losses in the midterm election. The press reported that some White House staffers hoped to out-organize Republicans and use court battles to stave off a complete rout. If so, those staffers are curiously unaware that for the last decade or so, Republicans have out-organized Democrats. Republicans have relied on a media infrastructure anchored by Fox News and radio stations throughout the country to spread lies. Nonetheless, it has delivered for Republicans on election day. And one only must look at the Supreme Court to see that depending on the federal judiciary to follow the rule of law is a flawed strategy.
Without voting rights, Democrats do not have much chance of retaining the House in November. Of course, the anti-abortion ruling by the Supreme Court, the January 6 and Mar-a-Largo stolen classified documents investigation, and the legislative victories that President Biden and Congressional Democrats have achieved should minimize losses. If Democrats had realized earlier they had a chance to carry the midterms; they might have started earlier to run strong campaigns. But they did not go after Republicans like they had a chance to win. And now the structural advantages that Republicans have, such as gerrymandering and conservative rural districts, maybe too much to overcome. Not all is lost. If Democrats can learn lessons from the midterm, such as effectively communicating, they may still have a chance in 2024. I will have more to say on this later.
The Democrats’ failure to pass voting rights jeopardized the likelihood that they could keep a majority in the House. But they saw another path to minimizing losses in the midterm election. The press reported that some White House staffers hoped to out-organize Republicans and use court battles to stave off a complete rout. If so, those staffers are curiously unaware that for the last decade or so, Republicans have out-organized Democrats. Republicans have relied on a media infrastructure anchored by Fox News and radio stations throughout the country to spread lies. Nonetheless, it has delivered for Republicans on election day. And one only must look at the Supreme Court to see that depending on the federal judiciary to follow the rule of law is a flawed strategy.
Without voting rights, Democrats do not have much chance of retaining the House in November. Of course, the anti-abortion ruling by the Supreme Court, the January 6 and Mar-a-Largo stolen classified documents investigation, and the legislative victories that President Biden and Congressional Democrats have achieved should minimize losses. If Democrats had realized earlier they had a chance to carry the midterms; they might have started earlier to run strong campaigns. But they did not go after Republicans like they had a chance to win. And now the structural advantages that Republicans have, such as gerrymandering and conservative rural districts, maybe too much to overcome. Not all is lost. If Democrats can learn lessons from the midterm, such as effectively communicating, they may still have a chance in 2024. I will have more to say on this later.