Over one-quarter of Democrats blame their own party for failing to take full advantage of having a majority in the House and Senate — a warning shot to Democrats as the midterm elections approach — a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found.
While 47 percent of Democrats blame Republicans for their party’s inability to tackle key agenda items during their time maintaining compete for control in Washington, DC, over a quarter, 28 percent, blame their own party, contending they were “too busy fighting each other or lacked resolve,” according to Reuters. Another 25 percent said the party reached many of its goals.
The overreaching theme seems to point to disappointment among Democrat voters, which could severely affect Democrats in the midterms as they try to hold on to their narrow majorities in the House and Senate. According to the survey, 51 percent of Americans say they will vote in the midterm elections, but there is more enthusiasm among Republicans, as 59 percent say they will participate, compared to 55 percent of Democrats who say they will:
The disappointment among Democrats underscores a risk for President Joe Biden. If his party cannot close the enthusiasm gap, its turnout could suffer in November, raising the risk of losing its slim congressional majorities and dooming his legislative agenda.
“When you have a quarter of your own party conceding that we didn’t get things done and it was mostly our fault, that’s a problem,” said Daron Shaw, an expert on polling and elections at the University of Texas at Austin.
Perhaps most significantly, Democrats failed to pass Biden’s massive Build Back Better social spending bill, with some, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), deeming it “dead.”
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, however, is remaining optimistic, predicting Democrats will do something “big” but with a new name.
“Absolutely, yeah,” Buttigieg said during an appearance on CNN this month. “Look, we don’t know exactly what the name of it will be, what the vehicle will be, or what all of the pieces will be, but we know that we’ve got to do something to lower costs for Americans, especially when you look at the continued concerns we have around inflation.”
Democrats also failed to address student loan debt — a key issue for far-left progressives. Even first lady Jill Biden expressed disappointment that Democrats were unable to deliver on free community college.
“Congress hasn’t passed the Build Back Better agenda—yet. And free community college is no longer a part of that,” said during a speech at the Community College National Legislative Summit in Washington, DC, this month.
“We knew this wouldn’t be easy; Joe has always said that. Still, like you, I was disappointed because—like you—these aren’t just bills or budgets to me. We know what they mean for real people, for our students,” she added.
However, the poll failed to deliver positive news to Biden, as his approval rating remains underwater, standing at 43 percent.
The survey, taken January 31 to February 7, 2022, among 4,404 American adults, has a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percent.
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