Month: October 2022

Four Points to Give Democrats Hope

Buck Banks

Political Wire‘s Taegan Goddard notes that though polling and historical midterm trends show Democrats potentially losing their majority in the House and with only a 50:50 chance of maintaining their slim margin in the Senate, there still are some reasons not to succumb to pessimism.

Four things Democrats can point to:

  • The economy isn’t as bad as some polling suggests. It’s true that inflation is at a 40-year high, but the economy is growing and there are still more job openings than people looking for work.
  • Abortion rights will be a motivating factor for many voters — particularly young women. It’s not often that a fundamental right is taken away in this country and we saw Democratic candidates outperform in a series of special elections over the summer. We also saw voters in Kansas come out in extraordinary numbers to make sure abortion stayed legal in their state.
  • The polls could be wrong — maybe even very wrong. In two of the last three election cycles polling proved wildly misleading. Though pollsters insist they have improved their “likely voter” screens, we have seen fewer polls this year from fewer pollsters. That could make even the polling averages unreliable.
  • The number of Americans who vote early continues to rise. It’s extremely hard to gain insights from early voting trends, but overall it is generally viewed as an advantage for Democrats.

    • Comedian Lindsey Graham Jokes About Suicide

    Buck Banks

    “What’s the worst thing the Democratic Party wants to hear? Chairman Jim Jordan. There are gonna be people jumping off bridges in San Francisco by the thousands. You know, New York City, they may literally shut down.”

    — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “was met with roaring laughter from a crowd of Republican voters on Tuesday evening when he suggested that Republican Rep. Jim Jordan’s ascension to chair of the House Judiciary Committee could result in a raft of suicides,” Insider reports.

    Midterms Present Voters a Clear Choice

    Buck Banks

    “The issues on the congressional ballot this year are momentous. But, for the most part, they are not what is being discussed by the candidates, highlighted in voice-of-doom TV ads and emphasized by the media. … To oversimplify a bit, the choice on the ballot in November — especially for the House — comes down to whether voters want to impeach Joe Biden or complete the investigation into Trump’s complicity in the Jan. 6 insurrection.”

    — Walter Shapiro

    Hillary Clinton Warns About 2024 Election

    Buck Banks

    “I know we’re all focused on the 2022 midterm elections, and they are incredibly important, but we also have to look ahead because, you know what, our opponents certainly are. Right-wing extremists already have a plan to literally steal the next presidential election, and they’re not making a secret of it.”

    — Hillary Clinton, in a speech to Democratic activists.

    Mississippi Abortion Ban to Create More Dead Infants, Mothers

    Buck Banks

    5,000

    Associated Press: “In Mississippi, where health officials expect 5,000 more births each year as a result of the Supreme Court ruling upending abortion rights, children are more likely to die before their first birthday than in any other state. … Mississippi has the nation’s highest fetal mortality rate, highest infant mortality rate, highest pre-term birth rate and is in the top decile of states in maternal mortality. Black mothers are nearly three times more likely to die due to childbirth than Mississippi’s white women.”