You have to give this White House credit, in a way, for how consistent they've been when it comes to their delusions of grandeur that they're in a good position come the 2022 midterm elections.
During Thursday's press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki's response when asked about House Democrats retiring in part entailed her sharing that "we'd rather be us than them" when it comes to the position the Democratic Party is in versus the GOP.
The reporter had asked "what the President’s thinking is on that, how much he is involved in the discussions of how to, kind of, counter that in keeping control of the House," referencing that now 25 House members have announced their retirements.
Most of Psaki's answer stuck to what the White House perceives is party's success, as she also noted that
"I’ve learned my lesson about not speaking about politics from the podium, so I’m not going to do that from here."
"But what I can tell you the President is focused on and feels confident in is: Any Democrat out there in the House — they all run every two years, right? — they will be out there talking about what they have done to rebuild roads and rails and bridges across the country, to restore broadband, to ensure kids have clean drinking water. A handful of Republicans will be able to do that too, but not many. And they will be able to talk about how we are fighting for, and, hopefully, will have passed efforts to put in place universal pre-K, efforts to cut the cost of childcare, eldercare, and make sure that we’re investing in addressing the climate crisis," Psaki offered, also going on to say "it is about a choice in this country," and why "we’d rather be us than them in that case."
Psaki was likely speaking about the reconciliation spending bill, also known as the Build Back Better Act, a major part of President Joe Biden's agenda. At least, it was. Last month, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) came out against the bill, effectively killing it since Democrats needed every one of their members in the 50-50 Senate. Democrats may control the body, but it's only because Vice President Kamala Harris is the tiebreaking vote.
Democrats and the White House have been attempting to sell the bill as it relates to childcare and what they warn is a "climate crisis," but members like Manchin and Republicans have warned about the cost involved. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has shared that the bill will add $3 trillion to the deficit by 2031, should certain entitlement programs become permanent. The White House's response has been to lie and claim the score is fake.
While there were some whisperings at attempts to revive it, the latest news is that the bill is dead. Democrats are moving on to attempt to pass legislation that will amount to a federal takeover of elections, and are willing to change the Senate rules and even nuke the filibuster to do so. And yet Sens. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are against such moves too.
It's part of a larger pattern that this administration is full of failures. They can't get anything done and are instead blaming the other side, even when they're in control, albeit by a small majority. What Democrats don't understand about having such a small majority is that they do not have a mandate.
In sharing Caitlin McFall's Fox News article about Psaki's response, Dan K. Eberhart offered that "make no mistake, Democrats know 2022 is going to be a bad year for them."
It's not just a matter of historical trends, which shows that, for most presidents, his party loses seats in his first midterm election. It's that Biden's poll numbers are so particularly bad. Even though American responses to Build Back Better has been mixed at best and generally isn't too hot in that many don't think it will help people like them, the administration doesn't even have it passed to claim as a win. Further, even when Biden could claim such a win as when the infrastructure bill passed and was signed into law, he didn't receive a bump in the polls.
A recent poll, as Guy pointed out, showed Biden with one of his worst approval ratings. A CNBC poll has him at a 56 percent disapproval rating with voters, and a 44 percent approval rating.
Then, as Guy has also highlighted before, the generic Congressional ballot is looking favorable to Republicans. More than one poll even has the GOP up ahead of Democrats by double digits.
The Biden administration may be delusional about their chances in the midterms, but the response has at least been consistent. During the DNC Christmas party last month, Biden tried to assure those in attendance that "we’re going to win in 2022. I really mean it." He even closed his speech with "let’s go get them and win in 2022!"
Come the first press conference Psaki or whomever the press secretary is at the time has to give following the November 8 election, it will be quite worthwhile to see what tune the White House is singing.
