Naomi Lim of the Washington Examiner reports on Democrats’ hopes that Republicans shoot themselves in the feet before the 2022 midterms.
History and polling may be on Republicans’ side as they try to break Democrats’ unified control of Washington, but the 2022 midterm cycle is not a fait accompli, according to strategists from both parties.
In particular, some Democrats are hoping to flip the script on Republican “Dems in disarray” attacks as intra-GOP flaps, so far overshadowed by the Russia-Ukraine war, threaten to create more drama.
Republicans must stop squabbling among themselves, according to GOP strategist Cesar Conda.
The first year of President Joe Biden’s administration was defined by Democratic quarrels over his sprawling list of social welfare and climate priorities. And similar forces are at play within Republican politics, Conda told the Washington Examiner. One example is the Republican National Committee’s censure of Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois over their House Jan. 6 panel membership, he cited.
“Republicans need unity, or at least the perception of unity, going into the November elections,” Conda said.
The RNC censure, which included language describing Jan. 6 “as legitimate political discourse,” was criticized by the likes of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who is RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s uncle.
Another example is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s complaints regarding National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott’s 11-point “Rescue America” proposal. The Florida senator’s pitch has been panned as a potential tax hike.
“We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare after five years,” McConnell said. “That will not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda.”
Democrats such as former consultant Christopher Hahn concurred that Republican disagreement could “change the math” Nov. 8.
