Priorities USA, one of the Democrat Party’s top super PACs, has told the Party to shape up or else face serious losses in the upcoming mid-terms and beyond.
In a memo obtained by Politico, Priorities USA minced no words regarding the Republican victories in Virginia and other elections on Tuesday night, admitting that the party faces “difficult challenges” in the year ahead. The memo said:
Voters are frustrated, skeptical, and tired — of covid, of economic hardship, of school closings, of higher prices and stagnant wages, of unaffordable prescription drugs and health care and more. Without results (and effectively communicating those results), voters will punish the party in power.
The memo further warned Democrats that the results in Virginia and New Jersey are nothing compared to the losses that await them in the 2022 mid-terms when they will have to defend seats in highly competitive regions.
“Our congressional majorities depend on winning Senate and House seats that are much more competitive than New Jersey and Virginia, giving us little room for error. The same is true for key governors’ races and state legislative seats,” the memo asserted.
Priorities USA gave the Democrats few options, advising them to stop the infighting and finger-pointing between moderates and progressives so they can appeal to swing voters by getting across the message that the party plans to work for common, everyday people.
Our polling dove deep into what these infrequent and first-time Biden voters are thinking about politics and elections. While they lean heavily Democratic, with 83% definitely voting for or leaning toward Democrats in the midterms, two in five of those represented by a Democrat in the Senate have a neutral or no opinion of the incumbent, and 31% think it would be a good thing if Republicans took over Congress. Yes, these voters lean toward Democrats but their support is shallow. They are not ideological or partisan, so Democrats need to proactively win them over in 2022.
To win these so-called “infrequent voters,” the memo makes no call for Democrats to quell the extremist factions in their own party and instead advises them to drill on the message of “Republican extremism” – a strategy that failed in Virginia, where Democrat Terry McAuliffe desperately tried to link Republican challenger Glenn Youngkin with former President Trump. The memo continued:
After being exposed to a wide variety of pro-Democratic and anti-Republican messaging, those thinking it would be good if Republicans controlled Congress dropped by a third. That’s why it is vital that our messaging includes a heavy emphasis on the contrast between Democratic priorities and Republican extremism.
Despite the fact that prominent Democrat advisers like James Carville have sounded the alarm about woke culture’s stranglehold on the party, the memo issues no critique of how issues like “Defund the Police” and extremist rhetoric on race relations have severely alienated a huge portion of the electorate.
“It’s time to focus on what is next. Congressional Democrats must immediately pass the infrastructure and Build Back Better bills,” the concluded. “We must do everything we can to persuade, consolidate, and mobilize those who turned out to vote Democratic in 2020.”
The memo’s call for Democrats to come together for the sake of the “Build Back Better” agenda comes on the very same week that a new Harvard Caps/Harris Poll showed that Americans overwhelming disfavor the major spending plan.