Former Republican, former New York City mayor and former 2020 Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg has joined the chorus of people warning Democrats that they’re in for a drubbing in the 2022 midterms.
Bloomberg is urging the party to change course, but isn’t it already too late?
It sounds like the school board upset in San Francisco was a wake-up call for him.
He writes at his namesake, Bloomberg News:
San Francisco Shows Democrats Have a Seismic Challenge AheadThe political earthquake that just occurred in San Francisco should be a dire warning to the national Democratic Party, because the same fault line stretches across the country and the tremors are only increasing.In 2018 and 2020, I strongly supported efforts to win back control of Congress and the White House, because never in my lifetime have protection of the Constitution and the preservation of democracy been so threatened by domestic politics. I continue to believe that a healthy and vibrant Democratic Party remains essential to beating back the Republican Party’s dangerous turn toward authoritarianism and its tolerance for election subversion. But I am deeply concerned that, absent an immediate course correction, the party is headed for a wipeout in November, up and down the ballot.Three months after Republicans scored major election upsets in Virginia and New Jersey, largely because of the frustration parents felt with Democratic officials who catered to teachers’ unions and culture warriors at the expense of children, voters in San Francisco recalled three school board members by margins of nearly three to one. Coming from America’s most liberal city, those results should translate into a 7 to 8 on the Richter scale, because the three main factors that drove the recall are not unique to the Bay Area.
New polling from Emerson seems to reflect Bloomberg’s concern. The top priority of voters is now inflation and independent voters are more in line with Republicans than Democrats:
February 2022 National Poll: Inflation Tops Nation’s Concerns, Perception of Covid’s Public Health Threat DropsA new Emerson College national poll shows President Biden’s job approval underwater: 42% approve of the job he is doing as president while 50% disapprove; 8% are unsure. This is a slight increase in approval from November 2021, when 41% approved of Biden’s job performance and 50% disapproved…Hispanic voters are most critical of Biden’s job performance: only 35% approve while 56% disapprove. White voters are more favorable of Biden’s job performance: 41% approve and 51% disapprove. Black voters are the most favorable of Biden’s job performance: 66% approve while 28% disapprove.Within the Democratic party, 73% approve of the job Biden is doing as president while 19% disapprove. Among Republicans, the majority (71%) disapprove while 22% approve. Independents also generally disapprove of Biden’s job, at 27% approve and 63% disapprove.Inflation is seen as the most important issue facing the country among a plurality (24%) of voters. Covid-19 follows with 20%, closely followed by healthcare with 16%, and immigration with 11%.
Even if Democrats wanted to change course, as Bloomberg suggests, it’s not clear how they would navigate such a move. Their base is more aligned with the far left than the center.
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