Election Day is still two days away, so Democrats haven’t officially lost, yet. But you’re already hearing some liberal pundits blame Democrats for a “stupid” midterm campaign strategy, saying the party “did not listen to voters,” stressed the wrong issues and moved too far to the left.
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen, on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, bluntly complained: “I’m a loyal Democrat, but I am not happy. I just think that we did not listen to voters in this election, and I think we’re going to have a bad night....When voters tell you over and over and over again that they care mostly about the economy, listen to them.”
On ABC’s This Week, host Martha Raddatz took a similar approach in challenging Democratic Senator Cory Booker: “This week you had President Biden give a major speech on saving democracy, barely mentioning the economy or crime...Was that the right thing to be stressing at this moment in the midterms when so many Americans are worried?”
Over on Fox News Sunday, Democratic pollster Mark Penn said the Biden White House “did not confront these issues [inflation and the economy] directly in any meaningful way. They became inflation deniers and that really, I think, is a stupid strategy.”
CNN’s Dana Bash noted Senator Amy Klobuchar was campaigning for fellow Democrat Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, and asked Klobuchar to admit the party blundered by spending large sums to support “election denier” Don Bolduc: “Democratic groups spent millions of dollars boosting him in the Republican primary because they thought he’d be easier to beat in the general election. But now the race is really tight....Can you concede that it was a mistake?”
And on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria 360, HBO host Bill Maher said Democrats were being punished for losing common sense on cultural issues, and said Biden had sacrificed his centrist credentials by embracing the extremist elements of his party’s base: “You know, I just think that’s — the Democrats are going to find out that was not a great strategy.”
Add it up, and it suggests many media liberals are expecting an embarrassing performance by Democrats on Tuesday. Imagine how they'll react if and when those theoretical losses become reality.
Here’s more of Sunday’s pre-election blame game:
■ CNN’s State of the Union, November 6:
Host DANA BASH to Senator Amy Klobuchar: Let’s talk about one of the incumbents you are with, as you mentioned, one of your incumbent colleagues in New Hampshire, campaigning with Maggie Hassan there. She’s running against somebody who has been an ‘election denier,’ Don Bolduc, and Democratic groups spent millions of dollars boosting him in the Republican primary because they thought he’d be easier to beat in the general election. But now the race is really tight, that’s why you’re there, Bolduc has a shot of winning. If he is in the Senate with you in January, will Democrats deserve some of the blame?...Can you concede that it was a mistake, or do you believe it was a mistake to boost him?
Later in the same show, during the roundtable:
Democratic strategist HILARY ROSEN: I’m a loyal Democrat, but I am not happy. I just think that we did not listen to voters in this election, and I think we’re going to have a bad night....When voters tell you over and over and over again that they care mostly about the economy, listen to them. Stop talking about democracy being at stake. Democracy is at stake because people are fighting so much about what elections mean. I mean, Voters have told us what they wanted to hear, and I don’t think Democrats have really delivered this cycle
■ Fox News Sunday, November 6:
Host SHANNON BREAM: Mark, you wrote a piece a week or two ago on FoxNews.com that talked about inflation and those voters who care about the economy the most. You warned that it’s going to come back to bite the Democrats?
Democratic pollster MARK PENN: Well, absolutely. I mean, it’s the number one issue in the country, and the fascinating thing to me is that the Democrats have said ‘threat to democracy’ is really what they are running this campaign on. You know, I think the Biden administration did ‘threat to democracy,’ they did student loans, they did marijuana pardons, right? And they did a million dollars worth of gas out of the petroleum reserve. They did not confront these issues directly in any meaningful way. They became inflation deniers and that really, I think, is a stupid strategy, we are going to see whether or not I’m right and that was probably one of the worst strategies I’ve ever seen in a midterm, or they were right, they had some tough issues and they decided to completely avoid them.
■ ABC’s This Week, November 6:
ABC’s MARTHA RADDATZ to Senator Cory Booker: This week you had President Biden give a major speech on saving democracy, barely mentioning the economy or crime...Was that the right thing to be stressing at this moment in the midterms when so many Americans are worried?...Did Democrats miscalculate just how important this issue is?
■ CNN’s Fareed Zakaria 360, November 6:
HBO’s BILL MAHER: Biden had the TikTokers into his office about a week ago as kind of a Hail Mary, I guess, with this election, because that, you know, generation doesn’t vote very much, but if they do, they think they’re going to vote Democratic. And he went all in on gender reconstructive surgery which, you know, that generation thinks is the civil rights movement of their time. But, you know, for the people who I’ve tried to convince that Biden is a centrist, I kind of get it when they see something like that and they say, what do you mean Biden is a centrist? Here he is going all in on this issue....
Host FAREED ZAKARIA: The thing that strikes me strange about Joe Biden, you remember when Obama picks him, Obama was picking him a little bit to balance the ticket to the right....People thought he [Obama] was very liberal. And Joe Biden was this traditional. Now he’s clearly on policies to the left of Obama.
MAHER: Yes, because the party moved there and he doesn’t want to go against what he sees as the base. You know, I just think that’s — the Democrats are going to find out that was not a great strategy.
