By now, you’ve likely figured out that while the Democratic Party currently holds the majority in both congressional houses, as well as the White House, things aren’t looking particularly good for them as 2022’s midterm elections draw closer. After all, their majority is just about as slim as it could ever be.
However, as numerous political and polling experts say, things might be worse for the left-leaning party than any of us could have imagined.
According to Public Opinion Strategies’ Glen Bolger, it’s common, if not to be expected, for the ruling party to lose a few steps, or should I say seats, in the House of Representatives halfway through that party’s occupancy of the White House. In fact, it’s even fairly common for the House to switch majorities to that of the opposing party of the White House at that time, as voters unsatisfied with the presidency or overall government leadership usually are more likely to make their vote heard.
In 2022 that means, the House is likely to switch to a Republican majority, although it won’t be much of a stretch, considering they are only seven seats behind at the moment.
However, as Bolger told The Washington Examiner, in the coming year, we could see as many as a whopping 41 Democratic seats lost, 34 more than is needed to the GOP to hold all the cards.
So much for that big blue wave, huh?
But why is that?
Well, to understand this, Bolger says we don’t have to look all that far back in history. Remember when Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016?
At the time, it was Republicans who held the majority in the Senate, and while Democrats remained in control of the House, their majority wasn’t all that great. But by 2018, and again in 2020, due to Trump’s controversial presidency, those who were opposed to his way of doing things spoke up enough to send both congressional houses into left-leaning hands.
Bolger says the same thing is happening now.
“Joe Biden’s overall disapproval rating and, more challenging for him, his strong disapproval ratings are right where Donald Trump’s were just prior to the November 2018 midterm elections, when the party in power lost the House and numerous gubernatorial seats.”
Americans right now are seeing massive problems in our immigration system, a rise in inflation, and expect to see a big jump in taxes, which are all things Biden has clearly had his hand in, if not taken credit for. And then, of course, there is his failed or rather botched departure of US troops from Afghanistan, as well as his increasingly dictator-like method of controlling COVID-19 related “guidelines.”
Suffice it to say, there is quite a bit to be unhappy about, and it’s not just Biden’s curious way of forgetting names every now and then, or even his creepy habit of smelling young girls – although those should definitely be disturbing enough for most of us.
The one that some say could change this expected loss of Democratic seats is the controversial and much-talked-about infrastructure bill the left is trying to push through. According to political analyst Jonathan Zogby, it could be enough to delay those losses or at least minimize them for another few years if they get it passed.
That is until their economy fails us.
However, if they cannot get it passed, as it is looking more and more likely, it will instead be yet another feather in the GOP’s cap. As Zogby says, then “Republicans can focus on a not-so-great economy and Biden’s vaccine mandates, which threaten freedoms and hurt small businesses.”
Then again, even if they do get it passed, 2024, if not 2022, might allow the political right to do that anyway, as it’s not necessarily clear that all the Dems are trying to push into their infamous infrastructure bill will be good for the American economy, especially at a time when we already see downward spirals that can only be explained by the reversal of Trump’s foreign and financial policies.
In either case, now is not the time to get cocky or think that Republicans will have an easy time winning in 2022. If anything, this seemingly good news is even more reason for us to buckle down and show America that the Swamp is not working for us but against us.