At This Rate, 2022 Could Be a Bloodbath for Democrats

The Democrats have been trying to dodge the spotlight.

After all, Republicans have their issues to overcome. They are still trying to figure themselves out as a party following the departure of Donald Trump as President (and from a lot of the media coverage he was receiving during his time in the White House). Media outlets are trying really hard to keep Trump and his acolytes in the news, but with a Democratic administration comes a focus on what the party in power is doing.

For years leading up to the 2016 election, the media was playing up talk of a Republican civil war, where the moderates and the conservatives were going to war for the soul of the party. The election of Donald Trump signified, to almost everyone, that the conservatives won. But, with politicians like Liz Cheney and others who have not been shy about their distaste for Trump and his style of politics, there was a small civil war within the GOP they could exploit for ratings and to keep the focus on the Republicans while trying to ignore the Democrats.

But, the party in power is struggling with its own members. The far-left wing of the party is slowly gaining more influence, forcing more moderate members to abandon their seats toward the middle or stand opposed to the cries for ultra-progressive bills and policies. The Biden administration, which came into office on the promise of compromise and bipartisanship, has taken far-left policies virtually across the board. Joe Manchin, the most powerful man in the Senate, must combat his own President and party on a regular basis, while the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wing of the party attacks and berates him, leaving members who wish to keep control (like Speaker Nancy Pelosi) constantly trying to navigate the conflicts within their own party.

This all puts Pelosi in particular in a tight spot: The House Democrats have the slimmest majority in decades (an advantage of only six seats – seven when Troy Carter of Louisiana is sworn in) and are looking at a full slate of retiring members in the 2022 midterm.

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