Study: Dems Are ‘Preachy,’ Focused on ‘Culture Wars’

“And the party’s House campaign arm had a stark warning for Democrats: Unless they more forcefully confront the GOP’s ‘alarmingly potent’ culture war attacks, from critical race theory to defunding the police, they risk losing significant ground to Republicans in the midterms.”

— Democrats’ own research shows that some battleground voters think the party is “preachy,” “judgmental” and “focused on culture wars,” Politico reports.

Tester Rips Fellow Dems on Ignoring Riral America

“I honestly don’t think the Democratic Party can be a majority party unless we start appealing to Middle America a lot more. I’m talking about the area between the two mountain ranges, the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains. And if we’re able to do that, I think it will provide success.”

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) criticized fellow Democrats in a CNN interview for not appealing to Middle America more and said Democrats need to “show up” in those places if they want to win elections.

Cheney Challenger Toeing the Trump Line

“I wasn’t there on Jan. 6. I can’t tell you everything Pence did or didn’t do. What you need to understand is that, for most people out in the real world, none of us really care that much about what happened on Jan. 6.”

— Harriet Hageman (R), who is challenging Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) in a Republican primary, told the New York Times she didn’t know who the legitimate winner of the 2020 election was (“I don’t know the answer”) and couldn’t say if former Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to block congressional certification of President Biden’s election (“I’m not an elections attorney”).

Republican: Trump’s Meddling Causing 2022 Worries

“This should be a 100 percent, straight-up referendum on Biden. Instead, you have Trump the narcissist trying to inject himself into what should be a glide path for Republicans to an incredibly successful election, by making it all about him.”

— Former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL), quoted by the New York Times, on the 2022 midterm elections.

Dr. Democrat Assesses Afghanistan Ramifications for Dems


Dear Dr. Democrat,

I know that our team — the Democratic Party — is famous for unforced errors, but oh man. I’ve been against us leaving Afghanistan from the moment Biden announced he was following through on Trump’s deal to do so. Nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING has changed my mind on that, and as the withdrawal has progressed, I just wish we could turn back the clock and not do it. But we can’t, and here we are. I see only bad things ahead for the Biden administration at this point. The time to get the stuff done that we beat Trump in order to do is running quickly out. I don’t think we’ll prevail at the midterms, so it’s now or never and “now” evaporated today with ISIS attack on the Kabul airport. Please, Dr. Democrat, convince me I’m wrong.

Troubled in Toledo

Dear Troubled:

On a societal level, it’s tragic. But I’m having a hard time understanding how 75,000 Talibanis are able to hold a nation of 38 million hostage. There are about 40 million people in California. Could 75,000 MAGATs shut us down, take over our government, force women to wear burkhas and the rest?

[…]

Biden’s Approval Drops Over Afghanistan Pullout

49%

Gallup: “Gallup’s latest job approval rating for President Joe Biden, conducted mostly before the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban earlier this week, is 49%.” “With Biden’s last two job approval ratings around 50%, the honeymoon phase of his presidency is over. His approval shows its first sustained decline and now sits below the historical average 53% job approval rating. The Afghanistan crisis may serve to further erode his public support.” A new CBS News/YouGov poll finds Biden’s approval rate has fallen to 50%, down from 58% last month. A new NBC News poll finds Biden’s approval rate at 49%.