Evidence is piling up that voters are wary of the far left, but progressive champions such as Rep. Cori Bush aren’t backing down — they’re doubling down.
The successful recall election of three school board members in San Francisco over their woke priorities helped reignite Democrats’ concerns that left-wing slogans and policies are infuriating voters and will drag down the party in the midterms.
Ms. Bush, a member of Congress’ far-left “Squad,” says that’s a bunch of bunk.
“In case you hadn’t caught on by now, every time there’s a media push blaming progressives, there’s something conservative Democrats are trying to cover up,” she said on Twitter. “This time it’s that they sent 4 million kids into poverty because they killed the Child Tax Credit.”
“Don’t get distracted,” said the Missouri Democrat.
The Child Tax Credit expired last year after President Biden failed to unify his Democrats behind a $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate bill that included an extension of the program, which sent monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child to parents making up to $150,000 a year.
The popular direct payments to parents had nothing to do with the recall election in San Francisco where three progressive members of the board of education got the boot.
Voters were fed up with a series of the board’s actions, including its desire to rename schools, even as they kept schools closed due to COVID-19.
Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist, responded with some political advice for Democrats on social media: “If you are spending your time during a global pandemic renaming schools instead of opening them, please find another party.”
“It’s imperative for normie Dems to separate themselves from these toxic positions,” Ms. Smith said. “They don’t work anywhere but on Twitter.”
The “normie Dems” have their work cut out for them, according to internal polling and documents from the Democratic Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for House Democrats, that were leaked to the press this week.
The documents carried additional warnings about the left wing’s negative impact on their electoral hopes this fall.
Polling and focus groups showed that voters said the party is too “preachy,” “judgmental” and “focused on culture wars,” according to Politico.
They urged Democrats to do a better job of blunting the GOP’s culture war attacks, including the weaponizing of the “defund the police” rhetoric and playing on fears related to the teaching of critical race theory in schools.
SFGate in San Francisco reported the pollsters asked swing district voters about the veracity of other GOP statements related to Democrats’ policies on crime, immigration, spending and cost of living.
Sixty-four percent agreed with the statement “Democrats in Congress support defunding the police and taking more cops off of the street,” despite national Democrats’ hard push this cycle of a message that they support funding local police departments.
The poll showed that 80% of self-identified swing voters in the competitive districts agreed that Democrats want to defund the police and take cops off the streets.
The documents also showed the DCCC polling showed that 57% of voters in battleground congressional districts agreed with the statement “Democrats in Congress have taken things too far in their pandemic response.”
Another 66% of self-defined “swing” voters in these districts also agreed with the statement.
The coronavirus — and the government’s response to it — has roiled politics across the U.S.
Voters have grown increasingly frustrated with COVID-19 protocols that have stopped them from returning to their normal lives and interfered with their children’s education.
The bubbling resentment helped fuel Republican Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia’s governor’s race last year and threatens to make life miserable for Democrats trying to defend their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate this fall.
Democrats’ prospects grew bleaker this week after Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York announced she was leaving the House after this term, making her the 30th House Democrat to call it quits.
Political analysts and party insiders say the difference between Democrats getting slaughtered at the ballot box and controlling the bleeding is going to hinge on the party’s ability to strike a balance between ginning up the party’s progressive base and delivering a message that also resonates with independent-leaning voters who could swing races.
Democrats failed to find that sweet spot in the 2020 election.
President Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump was tempered by the Democrats’ disappointing performance in House races.
Democrats had hoped to keep the momentum going from the 2018 election when the party unified against Mr. Trump and flipped control of the House of Representatives. Instead, the GOP netted a pickup of 12 House seats in 2020, eating into the Democratic Majority.
The result prompted some soul searching and infighting among Democrats.
Centrist Democrats blamed their far-left brethren for using rhetoric — the “defund the police” and “abolish ICE” slogans and vows to ban fracking — that provided Republicans ammunition to use in campaign attacks.
Far-left lawmakers, meanwhile, say Democrats must stand for a bold agenda that energizes voters. Ms. Bush reiterated that message this week.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Democrats trying to out-Republican Republicans is not a winning strategy,” Ms. Bush said.
• Kerry Picket contributed to this report.
Evidence is piling up that voters are wary of the far left, but progressive champions such as Rep. Cori Bush aren’t backing down — they’re doubling down. The successful recall election of three school board members in San Francisco over their woke priorities helped reignite Democrats’ concerns that left-wing slogans and policies are infuriating voters and will drag down the party in the midterms. Ms. Bush, a member of Congress’ far-left “Squad,” says that’s a bunch of bunk. “In case you hadn’t caught on by now, every time there’s a media push blaming progressives, there’s something conservative Democrats are trying to cover up,” she said on Twitter. “This time it’s that they sent 4 million kids into poverty because they killed the Child Tax Credit.” “Don’t get distracted,” said the Missouri Democrat. The Child Tax Credit expired last year after President Biden failed to unify his Democrats behind a $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate bill that included an extension of the program, which sent monthly payments of $250 or $300 per child to parents making up to $150,000 a year. The popular direct payments to parents had nothing to do with the recall election in San Francisco where three progressive members of the board of education got the boot. Voters were fed up with a series of the board’s actions, including its desire to rename schools, even as they kept schools closed due to COVID-19. Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist, responded with some political advice for Democrats on social media: “If you are spending your time during a global pandemic renaming schools instead of opening them, please find another party.” “It’s imperative for normie Dems to separate themselves from these toxic positions,” Ms. Smith said. “They don’t work anywhere but on Twitter.” The “normie Dems” have their work cut out for them, according to internal polling and documents from the Democratic Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for House Democrats, that were leaked to the press this week. The documents carried additional warnings about the left wing’s negative impact on their electoral hopes this fall. Polling and focus groups showed that voters said the party is too “preachy,” “judgmental” and “focused on culture wars,” according to Politico. They urged Democrats to do a better job of blunting the GOP’s culture war attacks, including the weaponizing of the “defund the police” rhetoric and playing on fears related to the teaching of critical race theory in schools. SFGate in San Francisco reported the pollsters asked swing district voters about the veracity of other GOP statements related to Democrats’ policies on crime, immigration, spending and cost of living. Sixty-four percent agreed with the statement “Democrats in Congress support defunding the police and taking more cops off of the street,” despite national Democrats’ hard push this cycle of a message that they support funding local police departments. The poll showed that 80% of self-identified swing voters in the competitive districts agreed that Democrats want to defund the police and take cops off the streets. The documents also showed the DCCC polling showed that 57% of voters in battleground congressional districts agreed with the statement “Democrats in Congress have taken things too far in their pandemic response.” Another 66% of self-defined “swing” voters in these districts also agreed with the statement. The coronavirus — and the government’s response to it — has roiled politics across the U.S. Voters have grown increasingly frustrated with COVID-19 protocols that have stopped them from returning to their normal lives and interfered with their children’s education. The bubbling resentment helped fuel Republican Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia’s governor’s race last year and threatens to make life miserable for Democrats trying to defend their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate this fall. Democrats’ prospects grew bleaker this week after Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York announced she was leaving the House after this term, making her the 30th House Democrat to call it quits. Political analysts and party insiders say the difference between Democrats getting slaughtered at the ballot box and controlling the bleeding is going to hinge on the party’s ability to strike a balance between ginning up the party’s progressive base and delivering a message that also resonates with independent-leaning voters who could swing races. Democrats failed to find that sweet spot in the 2020 election. President Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump was tempered by the Democrats’ disappointing performance in House races. Democrats had hoped to keep the momentum going from the 2018 election when the party unified against Mr. Trump and flipped control of the House of Representatives. Instead, the GOP netted a pickup of 12 House seats in 2020, eating into the Democratic Majority. The result prompted some soul searching and infighting among Democrats. Centrist Democrats blamed their far-left brethren for using rhetoric — the “defund the police” and “abolish ICE” slogans and vows to ban fracking — that provided Republicans ammunition to use in campaign attacks. Far-left lawmakers, meanwhile, say Democrats must stand for a bold agenda that energizes voters. Ms. Bush reiterated that message this week. “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Democrats trying to out-Republican Republicans is not a winning strategy,” Ms. Bush said. • Kerry Picket contributed to this report.