Are the Dems doomed?

Are the Dems doomed?
It sounds as though the mood at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia is a grim mixture of sleep depravation and frustration. Lawmakers were bused into town in the dead of night, after failing to get Biden’s pandemic aid package into a must-pass spending bill. And after a short night’s sleep, they awoke to news of dauntingly steep price rises last month and a president struggling to explain how he might respond.

Worried Democratic incumbents will find little comfort in a bumper Wall Street Journal poll published today. The survey finds…

Are the Dems doomed?

It sounds as though the mood at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Philadelphia is a grim mixture of sleep depravation and frustration. Lawmakers were bused into town in the dead of night, after failing to get Biden’s pandemic aid package into a must-pass spending bill. And after a short night’s sleep, they awoke to news of dauntingly steep price rises last month and a president struggling to explain how he might respond.

Worried Democratic incumbents will find little comfort in a bumper Wall Street Journal poll published today. The survey finds Democrats underwater on a staggeringly wide range of issues. Voters trust Republicans over Democrats on everything from rebuilding the economy and reducing crime to handling America’s foreign policy and the crisis in Ukraine. Even in areas where the Democrats usually hold large leads over Republicans, they are losing ground quickly. Last November, they were more trusted to improve education by a nine-point margin. Now that lead has slipped to five points.

If the poll is an unnecessary reminder of short-term headaches for the party in power, it is also contains signs of long-term trouble. The demographic realignment continues, with Hispanic voters saying they would choose a generic Republican candidate over a generic Democrat by a nine-point margin. Perhaps more surprisingly, support for Republican candidates among black voters rose to 27 percent from 12 percent in November.

As Ruy Teixeira explains, other surveys point to deepening trouble for the Democratic Party among working-class voters. One poll suggests a nine-point lead for Republicans among working-class voters. Another puts Biden’s approval rating at just 37 percent among that segment of the electorate.

For some at the Philadelphia retreat, the answer is executive action. Influential South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn backed a plan to up the ante on direct orders from the White House. But if that’s the best the Democrats can muster, no wonder they are so miserable.

Biden will attempt to rally the troops with a speech today, but don’t expect very many cheery Democrats until the numbers — whether it’s the polls or prices — change.

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Madison’s mad Zelensky rant

Madison Cawthorn, the twenty-six-year-old North Carolina congressman, is no stranger to controversy. With a track record as a brash stop-the-steal controversialist, Cawthorn somehow manages to find fresh ways to shock. And that’s what he did with comments on the conflict in Ukraine at a town hall event in Asheville, North Carolina, last weekend. Cawthorn called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “a thug” and said that the Ukrainian government was “incredibly evil.”

Asked about Cawthorn’s comments, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham said he thought the congressman was an “outlier… in the largest sense possible on our side.” Graham cited polls demonstrating the widespread revulsion at Russian president Vladimir Putin and sympathy with the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

Cawthorn took a softer line after his anti-Zelensky remarks drew widespread criticism. “The actions of Putin and Russia are disgusting. But leaders, including Zelensky, should NOT push misinformation on America,” he tweeted. “I am praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Pray also we are not drawn into conflict based on foreign leaders pushing misinformation.”

Perhaps Cawthorn’s comments won’t matter come election day, but they hardly help in what many expect to be a tricky primary race for the scandal-plagued congressman who could face jail after being charged with driving on a revoked license for the second time.

Baseball is back

Our long national nightmare is over. No, not the Biden presidency — the MLB lockout. Greed and incompetence had threatened to derail the baseball season, but last night players and owners came to an agreement and the big show will go on, albeit it a little later than should have been the case. The national pastime will return to the nation’s capital on April 7.