2018 Midterms: Both Parties Hoping The Other Will Screw Up More
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BAILEY T. STEEN | MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018
Once upon a time, not long ago, political parties actually tried everything in their power to win elections. Heck, on special occasions, they would do this by using the smart tactic of running unapologetically for populist beliefs on the left or right wing. However, with a reality star in America’s highest office, with a messy Republican party on all levels of government behind him, facing pathetic opposition from the Democrats, the 2018 mid-terms and following 2020 presidential race may be another case of idiocracy.
If Washington were a boxing match, with Republicans sporting a perceived national villain in their current President Donald J. Trump (polling at 59% negatives via Gallup), this would be good grounds to see any strong opposition rise to the challenge, right?
The 2018 midterm elections are likely to be a referendum on Trump’s governing, from his abundance of shitposty tweets poking war at North Korea to his sad lack of political accomplishments outside the majority-unpopular tax bill he passed. Scan articles from the mainstream Washington Post to staunchly conservative alternative media like the Ben Shapiro headed Daily Wire, and they show the polling in Democratic favor… until Democrats, expectedly, have begun to screw up a sure thing.
The Hill reports that, among exclusively registered Democrats, their champion may take the shape of former Vice President Joe Biden, polling at 27% among a list of eleven other potential candidates. Coming in second among registered Democrats was Senator Bernie Sanders, the Independent candidate for Vermont, who remains America’s most popular politician.
This is the man who managed to pull in moderate Republicans and the far-left in 23 key states during his 2016 Democratic race against frontrunner Hillary Clinton. A sensible strategist would see going with the most popular guy, in what amounts to the ultimate popularity contest, would be what Democrats would lean towards… and yet they choose “Middle-Class Joe,” who recently snubbed his millennial base by addressing their grievances with the quote, “give me a break.”
