Leading Democrats and other senior members of parliament and officials have made no secret of their anger at the mistakes of the party, and themselves, in the campaign for Tuesday's mid-term elections. From California Governor Gavin Newsom to independent representative and former 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate Bernie Sanders to numerous congressmen from Joe Biden's lineup, these critics acknowledge the mistake of their peers in overfocusing on the right to abortion and public health without paying enough attention to the economy and safety in the streets.
For the Californian Gavin Newsom, considered a great promise of the Democratic Party, the narrative that the organization has handled in the campaign has been "crushed" against the purely pragmatic narrative of the conservatives in relation to the priority concerns of the voters. "I'm not getting paid to say this, but it is what it is," Newsom told CBS on Wednesday. And he called for "more aggressiveness and less defensiveness" from his people. “Because now where are we?” he wondered.
The ruling of the Supreme Court that in June abolished the right to abortion, as well as the initiatives of twenty Republican states to ban it in their territories, provoked a wave of social rejection in which the Democrats saw an unexpected and valuable asset in their favor . The issue immediately moved up the list of concerns – and therefore motivations – of voters across the country.
But the progressive fervor in the face of setbacks regarding women's right to decide waned notably in the following months. And today is the day that the polls place the issue far behind inflation, the big issue exploited by the Conservatives. In the survey published yesterday by the prestigious Pew Research Center, the issue of abortion bans appears as the ninth most relevant issue for voters, measured in terms of the percentage of citizens (56%) who consider it "very important" for decide your vote; ahead are the economy (79%), the future of democracy (70%), education (64%), health (63%), energy policy (61%), violence (61%), the right to vote (58%) and control of firearms (57%).
“The truth is that we Democrats have done a poor job of communicating our approach to the economy,” Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin told The New York Times. If you don't go into people's pockets, your speech falls short,” she added.
"If the Republicans attack inflation, we should answer them: 'What the hell have you done?' The answer is 'nothing'. But we Democrats should talk about it more,” said Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey.
The self-critics with the Democratic campaign urged the leadership to change the line as soon as possible. But for some there is no time. "Is late. Especially if you're stuck wondering what the right strategy is," said Wisconsin Democratic State Representative David Bowen.
Bernie Sanders even published a column in The Guardian under the headline: “Democrats shouldn't just focus on abortion in the midterms. It's a mistake". In the text, he clarified that "while the issue of abortion must remain in the foreground, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow the lies and distortions of the Republicans to go unanswered."
The self-flagellation of the ruling party in the US reflects its lack of optimism on the eve of elections that, in contrast to the hopeful ones offered at the end of the summer, now seem like a difficult test for them. To the point that they almost give up control of the House of Representatives and doubt that they can retain control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, and paradoxically, two Republicans as prominent as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both members of the House of Representatives and hypercritical of Trumpism, are supporting different Democratic midterm candidates: the first, Representative Elissa Slotkin for her re-election in Michigan and also representative Tim Ryan in his aspiration to the Senate for Ohio, among others, and the second, Josh Shapiro and Katie Hobbs in their races for the governorship of Pennsylvania and Arizona, respectively. In addition, Kinzinger and other anti-Trump Republicans are aiding former CIA officer and independent Evan McMullin in his campaign to unseat Ohio Senator and Trumpist Mike Lee.
Internal tensions come to the fore in both parties when there are four days left for the legislative elections that will mark the second half of Biden's term... and the fate of Biden himself.
