Again, Joe Biden surprises by going way beyond low expectations. In the midterm elections, widely regarded as a referendum for the incumbent US president, his party fared far better on Tuesday than polls or anyone else thought possible. “Our candidates have greatly exceeded the expectations of the country,” said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Democrats kept their Republican opponents away from a major triumph, and managed to avert a massive defeat for themselves. While the House of Representatives is likely to be recaptured by Republicans, Biden will lose fewer seats than most of his predecessors in midterm elections. Donald Trump lost 40 seats in 2018, Barack Obama even 63 seats in 2010. The Senate is still uncertain, but there is a good chance that it will remain in Democratic hands.
The left’s success is striking. Biden’s popularity figures hover around 40 percent, with many voters complaining that the president is old and faltering during speeches. But he always turns out not to be that easy to catch. He may not have the charisma of Obama and Trump, but he is an effective administrator, pushing important legislation through Congress.
Abortion
What seems to have helped: abortion. This was one of the Democrats’ main campaign points after the Supreme Court repealed the federal law. Momentum seemed lost for a moment. According to recent polls, only 10 percent of women and 1 percent of men consider abortion the top priority. Voting behavior shows that abortion was a more important election theme than expected.
In addition, voters in Michigan, Vermont and California voted by referendum to include the right to abortion in their state constitutions. Even from Conservative Kentucky, Democrats got good news, voting against a bill that would curtail the right to abortion in the state.
Even with a loss of just the House of Representatives, Biden’s job will be a lot harder over the next two years. But one thing is clear: voters gave the hardest blow not to him, but to Donald Trump.
neo-fascists
“The Democratic Party has become much more militant since Trump,” Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin told Wednesday. The New York Times. This is reflected in the behavior of the president, who is increasingly able to relate to Trumpists.
In his first year, the president even avoided Trump’s name. “My predecessor,” he invariably said. That changed in September. “The Republican Party is driven by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans,” he said of the “Make America Great Again” loyalists. He called them “a threat to the country” and earlier even “neofascists”.
In the run-up to the election, on the advice of Bill Clinton, Biden has begun to draw a sharper distinction between Democrats and traditional Republicans on the one hand, and Republicans who embrace extremism on the other. Biden addresses Trumpists with their own harsh tone. Voters seem to have appreciated this.
There’s more to it. The Democratic Party is so concerned this year about the rise of far-right candidates that they have collected additional campaign money. Democrats pumped about $80 million more into TV ads than their opponents. Republicans were portrayed as extremists, who will deprive voters of more achievements in addition to the national right to free choice for abortion. It looks like Democrats had a high turnout this year. Their alarmed tone may have drawn more voters to the polls.
Impeachment Proceedings
Just because Democrats did better than expected on Tuesday — or less poorly — doesn’t mean they can sit back now. Dozens of conservative right-wing Republicans will soon be moving to Washington from across the country. These are people who spread election lies and don’t see Joe Biden as the legitimate leader of the country. They will remind him, and the country, of that every day.
For months, a group of Republicans has been plotting to begin impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives against President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland. Until the new Congress takes office in January, Joe Biden and his White House will breathe a sigh of relief. Unlike the pollsters of the major news channels.