At first glance, you must do a double take. The Democratic Party will most likely get shellacked in the 2022 midterms. The House will have a Republican majority heading into January, and the Senate could have a slim GOP majority. And Joe Biden wants to tackle an issue that, at first glance, doesn’t look like he has the votes. We’ll circle back to that, but here’s the current situation for Democrats regarding their Senate races; the House is a GOP lock.
Democratic candidates in crucial races have been slipping in the polls as the economy, inflation, crime, and the overall extremism from the Left has reared their ugly head.
In Nevada, incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, the first Latina elected to the upper chamber, is facing legions of discontented Hispanic voters who are opting to stay home than vote for her. The Badger State has incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson gaining in the polls as the extremist past of his opponent, Democrat Mandela Barnes, has been unearthed. Wisconsin was also a state with notorious polling issues, so some surveys showing solid numbers for Barnes were met with skepticism, even from Democrats.
Pennsylvania has witnessed an epic collapse in support for Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, whose mental capacity has been questioned following a severe stroke—and those reservations have been evident on the campaign trail. He also has the insane idea of emptying one-third of the state’s jails and abolishing life imprisonment for convicted murderers. His double-digit lead over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz has evaporated ahead of a critical debate later this month.
One would think not to waste time on issues, like immigration, where the votes might be nonexistent—but not this White House. The rumor is that Joe Biden wants a deal on immigration after the midterms, which could mean working with a Republican Congress (via NBC News):
As they plot a post-midterms legislative agenda for President Joe Biden, White House officials have been considering whether changes to the country’s immigration system should be one of his major policy pushes, according to White House officials and other people familiar with the discussions.
The talks are happening within a small group of Biden aides, and the president hasn’t yet made any decisions, the sources said. The policy details of any immigration push, as well as its scale and scope, would depend on the makeup of Congress and the political climate, the people familiar with the discussions said.
Such a push reflects an acknowledgment among Biden’s advisers that as he prepares for a re-election campaign based on the slogan “Promises Kept,” immigration remains a 2020 campaign pledge that remains largely unfulfilled.
Republicans, meanwhile, have sought to wield the issue against Democrats ahead of November’s elections by pointing to record numbers of illegal border crossings, throwing Biden and his fellow Democrats on the defensive even as they counter that they’re the ones striving for a bipartisan solution.
It seems dead on arrival, but don’t be shocked if this lofty policy action item garners some significant Republican support. The warning signs have been there for months—Republicans talked about it before the midterms. Besides Second Amendment issues, immigration is guaranteed to depress Republican turnout and ensure that a primary challenge arises to any Republican who backs any deal that reeks of amnesty. The border is out of control, and the American people want stability—dare I say, a plurality wants the southern border to shut down until we can reestablish order to the situation.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was one of the top Republicans behind this new immigration effort. His support offers much political cover to other Republicans who might be tempted to back this deal that will undoubtedly have a pathway to citizenship for illegals. This immigration gambit isn’t an open-and-shut case—Biden’s immigration grand bargain initiative will get GOP support, and we’ll be taking names of those who wish to betray us too.