Dems must avoid 'great temptation' of one topic in midterms run-up: analysis

The Democratic Party has been urged by a commentator to avoid the obvious issue in the lead up to the midterm elections.

Though the party would be right to highlight the economic shortcomings of Donald Trump's administration, Amanda Marcotte believes Dem representatives must pick up on a fresh approach. Writing in Salon, Marcotte suggested the party must fight fire with fire and step up to the wild momentum set by the president and his administration.

Marcotte wrote, "There is a great temptation, as happens so often in politics, to fight the last war.

"Working under the assumption that because voters said they voted for Trump in 2024 because of the economy, too many strategists still seem to ignore the fact that the country had just gone through unprecedented national trauma with the Covid-19 pandemic and, like virtually every country in the world, reacted by tossing out incumbents.

"It’s not that people weren’t reeling from the economic upheaval; they were also reeling from five years of death, disruption and despair. It was never just about the eggs."

Though Marcotte notes they are valid topics, the Democratic Party must move the conversation along, the columnist notes, by stepping up to the plate.

She added, "However Democratic congressional candidates ultimately decide to approach this, they simply cannot behave as if we are living through a time of politics as usual.

"A Republican majority that is allowing Trump to use tariffs as a weapon that hurts average Americans, occupy American cities with paramilitary forces, brutalize immigrants, depose foreign leaders, threaten allies, blackmail law firms and universities, defund science and education, and essentially tear up the Constitution, all in order to appease a tyrant, is simply not something they can ignore. Democrats can’t pretend the only thing that matters is the economy."

Democratic Party wins in the lead-up to the midterms could come through Trump himself, too, with the president making contact with longstanding political rivals.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer have both been in touch with the president, who, Politico reports, reached out to the leading Dem representatives earlier this week. It may mean a mood change in the White House as one official suggested there is a consensus that could be reached between Dems and the Republican Party on housing and drug prices.

Alex Gangitano wrote, "For a president who wants his party to retain control of Congress, it’s a striking – even unexpected – level of outreach to some of the most liberal members on the opposing side. It comes as both parties compete for the mantle of affordability."