Approval Rating of Democrats in Congress Signals Major Change is Needed

It's 19%.  

The difference between the approval rating for Democrats in Congress, and the polling data which shows the formation of a blue tsunami on the way in November is sending a message to which Democrats must pay close attention if they are to continue winning elections, especially down the road toward 2028.  We're going to win the mid-term elections, and in spite of media bias that includes the overanalysis and over-reporting of insignificant changes which mean nothing, will not only gain at least 25 seats in the House (I'm thinking 45 might not be overly optimistic) but we will also get the majority in the Senate.  That's not overly optimistic, that's just looking at day to day polling data without the media spin.  We're going to pick up two or three seats that will "shock" the clueless media.  

But it's not because we laid out a great plan for doing so.  Look at the difference between the approval rating and the generic ballot.  We will win because voters, especially a huge percentage of independents, have finally realized that electing Trump as President twice was the most ignorant and stupid political move Americans have ever made in our history, and he has to be taken down before he completely destroys everything this country stands for.  

Money in Politics is Not Just a Republican Problem

It's pretty easy to look at those first two years of the Biden administration and consider them a success in terms of the legislation that got passed.  We had the strongest economy in 60 years, with low unemployment, and steady growth of our gross national product, healthy and due completely to Biden's economic policy.  He managed to fix the major damage that Trump had done to our COVID recovery, in fact, and as a party, the Democrats got some things done.  

But, did we get done those things for which Democrats have been advocating and pushing for a decade or more?  And did we enforce the law against the criminal acts of the Trump administration, bring him and his cronies to justice and save this country from the disaster we are now facing?  Did we get big money out of politics?  Did we get the health care reform that we have been pushing for more than a decade now, that single-payer health care system that will actually make medical care afforable and accessible to all Americans without robbing us blind by the profiteering that goes on?  

We got a lot of excuses, especially when it came to the incredible incompetence of the Justice Department, and we got the same excuses we have always been given about health care costs and the changes to that system that are needed.  The Affordable Care Act has sputtered along, attacked and diminished, and is hanging by a thread, as opportunities to strengthen it and prevent the other side from killing it were missed.  Excuses and apologists, yes, but real action, no. 

There is a Clrar Indication of What Democrats Want Their Leadership to Do

The reality of the situation is that we need to win this midterm election in order to stop Trump and have anything close to a chance at repairing the damage he has done to everything American, including our reputation in the world, our economy, and to the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of the American people.  So we are going to support Democratic party candidates in the midterm elections.  

But I think the indications about where the party needs to go after that are pretty clear.  Graham Plattner is one good example of the kind of challenge new leadership is bringing to the table.  It seems that candidates backed by David Hogg's Leaders We Deserve, especially in state legislative primaries, have been successful without having the kind of money behind them that some old liners have.  Julianna Stratton, another progressive who was an underdog in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat being vacated by old school, old liner Dick Durbin, and who ran against big money, old line establishment Democrats and old school endorsements, won the nomination and will easily win that seat.  So Durbin, a good ole boy, old school politician afraid of risk and bold action will be replaced by a new leadership progressive who is not afraid to kick some Republican ass. 

We are well aware that Trump will remain in the White House after the midterms, if his health doesn't collapse like his mind has done.  We want a Congressional majority that will make his life miserable in the White House from day one, that will challenge everything he has done, undo as much as it can do, shut down the appointment of judges and work to use every lever of power that it has at its disposal to force a resignation or to move on impeachment articles that will set records.  

We also want to see our agenda set in place as much as is possible, preparing for the possibility of controlling both Congress and the White House after 2028.  Hit the ground running by major Supreme Court reform, which would require breaking the filibuster, amending the Judiciary act, and putting six or seven far left wingers on that court to silence the incompetence and restore justice.  

It's a Matter of Wanting to Win Elections or Keep Playing the Old Games

Both things are not possible.  It now takes a lot of independent voters to win elections, and if the leadership has been sharp enough to observe, it's the turnout of independent voters who have made the "No Kings" marches and rallies so successful and so large.  Democratic politicians are too preoccupied with their fundraising to take much advantage of this opportunity, it seems.  Those that are involved are mostly the progressives.  A lot of the credit for Democratic party gains this spring goes to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez whose rallies turned out tens of thousands.  

Hakeem Jeffries is experiencing some of the pushback.  He seems, at least to me, to be the kind of politician who listens before he makes a decision.  Some Democrats seem to think he's too connected to the big money and the old school.  If he were a little more visible and vocal, I think he'd earn more trust and get more people behind him as a leader.  On the other hand, a little pressure from the left and a little uncertainty about his role as minority leader before the midterms might not be a bad thing.  

Schumer has to go.  Resign, let Hochul appoint a new senator and retire.  

We want to win, and we want to restore America, leaving no opening anywhere for another fascist to challenge American democracy.