As President of the United States and a man that supposedly some 30 million people voted for, you’d think just about anyone would be proud to attach their name to that of Joe Biden’s. However, in recent months, it seems even the staunchest of Democrats are avidly trying to avoid the slightest appearance of a connection between our sitting POTUS and themselves. And as the 2022 midterms draw closer and Biden’s approval ratings continue to diminish, this is essentially doing nothing but giving the entire party a rather nasty black eye.
In fact, when recently asked about campaigning for the midterms as a “Biden Democrat,” even top party leaders and members have shied away from doing so.
Take House Majority Leader Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, for example.
As the November midterms get closer by the day, talk of how current Congressional members will campaign is everywhere.
Politico recently published an article pointing out that back in the summer of 2021, there was so much faith in Joe Biden that party leaders had suggested that every Democrat who wanted to win and enable the party to keep their ever-diminishing hold on both the Senate and House of Representatives would need to begin campaigning right off the bat as a “Biden Democrat.”
In July, the DCCC’s executive director Tim Persico had said given the advice to “Run as ‘Biden Democrats.’” To him, that would emanate at least the appearance of a connected and “on the same page” party. He noted at the time that “everything we are doing and everything we’ve talked about doing is incredibly popular.” So why not tie your name to the guy behind all of these supposedly popular ideas.
However, with poll numbers continuing to slide abysmally for the president, few left-leaning members of Congress seem to be willing to do so.
When Hoyer was asked by the outlet in January about doing so and how effective it would be for House Dems, he actually refused to answer the question. Instead, he said, “I want every Democrat to run as ‘Democrats who deliver.’” He noted that if the party was to be successful, they had to point to “the record. Point to what was done.”
Of course, seeing as what has been done, i.e., inflation, epic government spending, broken promises, and a pandemic that just keeps going, on top of the ever-growing immigration problems, that might not be such a good idea either – not for Congressional members or the administration.
But as Politico pointed out, that seems to be just about the only option for them right now. And it’s certainly a better one than tying your name to the least liked president in US history.
I mean, at this point, even former Biden aficionados like failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who was once named to be on Biden’s shortlist for vice president, is avoiding him.
When Biden and Harris recently visited Atlanta to announce the “nuclear option” of nixing the filibuster, something Abrams is all for, especially when it comes to getting voting reform laws passed through Congress, the failed politician was nowhere to be seen. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she had a “scheduling conflict.”
Similarly, when Biden traveled to Pennsylvania last week, Democrat senatorial candidate, state Lt. Governor John Fetterman, and top Democrat candidate for governor, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, also failed to meet with the president. Again, a “scheduling conflict” was noted as the reason.
But was is it, really? Or were these party members simply not willing to be seen with the man who most of America blames for our current dismal state of affairs?
Hell, even “I’m going to take your guns” Beto O’Rourke, a man who Biden once gave extreme favor, has pretty much said that Biden isn’t welcome in his home state of Texas. As I’m sure you’re not surprised, O’Rourke is once again running for a seat he is unlikely to win. But when offered “help” by Biden to campaign, the serial election loser said he didn’t want anyone from Washington, including Biden, “coming to this state to help.”
So much for being a Biden Democrat, huh? It seems like the phrase will only warrant a serious black eye on just about anyone’s campaign.
