Since the Civil War, midterm elections have enabled the president’s party to gain ground in the House of Representatives only three times, and those were in single digits. The last few midterms have been typical: In 2006, with Republican George W. Bush in the White House, his party lost 31 House seats. Under Democrat Barack Obama, his party lost 63 seats in 2010 and then 13 seats in 2014. Under Donald Trump, in 2018, Republicans lost 41 seats. Overall, since World War II, losses have averaged 27 seats in the House.
Next year, if Republicans gain just five House seats, Rep. Kevin McCarthy or some other right-wing ideologue will become the House speaker, giving the GOP control over all committees and legislation. In the Senate, where the historic midterm pattern has been similar, a Republican gain of just one seat will reinstall Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader.
To prevent such disastrous results, Democrats would need to replicate what happened the last time the president’s party didn’t lose House or Senate seats in […]
I don’t see many signs that Democrats have yet coalesced into the united, fired-up team required to achieve the Herculean win needed in 2022 in order to preserve democracy. And the window of opportunity for that will be soon closing. I’m 79 and to me this looks like the scariest existential crisis for democracy that I have seen in my lifetime. It is good to see the Trumplicans imploding as fast as they can, but I’m not sure they can out-fumble the Democrats in a race to the finish line to see who can lose first.
Democratic leadership seems to lack the vision to see that politics as usual won’t cut it anymore, so I believe only a massive groundswell demand from the grassroots can push them to make effective moves. It looks very iffy from here. People are so eager to get back to normal from the pandemic and the Trump years they don’t want see that there is no way to go back to normal. The real choice is whether to go forward to a new normal, or to fail into fascism.
“Now is the time for all good [people] to come to aid of their country.”
Brenda —
You and I are the same age, and I agree with your assessment in all its particulars. — Stephan
I agree with you also, Brenda. We have to get the people who do not even vote to get off their butts and go vote for their own future and the future of their offspring which is at stake now.