Democrats wondering 'why we suck' as they face possible midterm losses: Politico column

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CNN guest says midterms are 'most important' election since Civil War

Presidential historian Jon Meacham argued that the upcoming midterm elections are the most important since the Civil War during a segment Tuesday on 'CNN Tonight.'

Politico founding editor John Harris claimed that Democrats are so nervous about losing their congressional majority in the upcoming midterm elections that many of them are already pointing the finger at one another and asking, "Why do we suck?"

In a column for Politico Magazine titled "Democrats Debate Themselves: Why Do We Suck?," Harris described these pessimistic Democrats as performing "an autopsy on a living patient."

Although the editor opened his column with the acknowledgment that Democrats haven’t lost anything yet, he noted that there are "plenty of prominent party voices" who are preparing to incur losses. He wrote, "Many Democrats believe there is already sufficient evidence to make the question unavoidable: What the hell is our problem?"

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Politico editor John Harris claimed that some nervous Democrats are already searching for answers to what went wrong for them in the midterms.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The author provided several examples of these anxious Democratic Party leaders doing some "soul-searching," as he later described in his piece. Citing a recent interview of former President Barack Obama on the "Pod Save America" podcast, Harris noted that Obama thinks the party has gone "too woke."

Providing the gist of the former president's claims, Harris wrote, "Some Democrats are a ‘buzzkill,’ he suggested, by making people ‘feel as if they are walking on eggshells’ that they might say things ‘the wrong way.’"

Harris mentioned how Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., believes Democrats are "too timid on the jobs and economy message," and mentioned political strategist James Carville’s assessment that the party has "too much reliance on abortion-rights positioning, not enough on anti-crime."

The column added, "These are just some entries in a long roster of here’s-why-we-suck analysis from Democrats, in the closing days before the Nov. 8 election." Harris mentioned that this "soul-searching" usually happens "after a disappointing election, or even in not-my-fault, not-for-attribution chatter among operatives beforehand."

Democrats and Republicans battle for control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. (Fox News)

Harris gave two reasons why he thinks a large segment of the party is so negative about their prospects this year, even though he thinks they’re overreacting. 

He said, "One, candidates and progressive commentators are describing 2022 as the most important midterm election in generations," adding, "this year — with Donald Trump’s past, present and future still looming over all American politics — does genuinely qualify as consequential."

The second reason he gave was, "Democrats are genuinely confronting a political moment that for most defies comprehension." It’s a moment where they’re still facing former President Trump's party despite him "losing an election or being under multiple simultaneous criminal investigations," and one in which Roe v. Wade is gone. 

Harris claimed, "The possibility that two seismic events — the revelations of the Jan. 6 committee about Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, and the Supreme Court’s June decision to revoke a constitutional right to abortion — might not reshape the political landscape in Democrats’ favor puts the question in the starkest light: What will it take to change the fundamentals?"

In light of such circumstances, Harris said, "One answer is that Democrats perhaps shouldn’t be so hard on themselves, even if they lose congressional control," and "another answer is that 2022 is in fact a year of useful experiments for Democrats."

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Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman speaks to supporters gathered in Dickinson Square Park in Philadelphia on Sunday as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate. (Kriston Jae Bethel/AFP via Getty Images)

Harris also noted another uncomfortable wrinkle for Democrats — that Republicans are making inroads with minority communities. He wrote, "Also facing a severe test is the long-time belief among many Democrats that demography is destiny — that as the country becomes more diverse, a multiracial coalition would inevitably yield huge benefits for progressive candidates." 

Harris claimed, "In Nevada, however, a state with a large and growing Hispanic population, a Democratic incumbent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, whose mother was a Mexican immigrant, is in a close race against Republican Adam Laxalt, a Trump-backer who has challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 election."

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