![]() ![]() Maybe we should call this the "Democratic panic syndrome" or simply chalk it up to a healthy regard for the vicissitudes of electoral politics. And I'm sure you'll also recall that that red tsunami turned out to be a tiny pink trickle. I'm sure you will recall just how apoplectic everyone was all the way up until election day. The rise of inflation, supply chain shortages, a surge in illegal border crossings, the persistence of Covid, mayhem in Afghanistan and the uproar over " critical race theory" - all of these developments, individually and collectively, have taken their toll on President Biden and Democratic candidates, so much so that Democrats are now the underdogs going into 2022 and possibly 2024. In December of 2021, Thomas Edsall of the New York Times wrote a story headlined, " Democrats Shouldn't Panic. Just two years ago there were endless stories about Democratic hand-wringing in advance of the 2022 midterms, mostly due to the off-year win by Glenn Youngkin in the Virginia gubernatorial race that supposedly portended a red wave like no other. Subscribe today to support Salon's progressive journalism 14 months later, Obama beat Mitt Romney in a romp. The media was full of stories of unhappy centrists, moderates and progressives alike, all of whom were sure that Obama was in trouble. "There is tremendous discontent with his direction." "In my district, the enthusiasm for him has mostly evaporated," said Representative Peter A. Obama's troubles could reverberate down the ballot into Congressional, state and local races. N a campaign cycle in which Democrats had entertained hopes of reversing losses from last year's midterm elections, some in the party fear that Mr. The New York Times reported in September of 2011, "Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama's Chances": It had been a very rough three years trying to recover from the financial crisis, not to mention the rise of the Tea Party and a political massacre in the 2010 midterms. Similarly, at the same point in the 2012 election, there were rumblings from certain quarters that it might be wise to run a primary challenge against President Barack Obama after his approval numbers fell to the 30s in some polls. ![]() 14 months later, Clinton won a decisive victory. The only thing that seemed to unite the party at the time was a mutual loathing of Newt Gingrich. The huge Republican win in the midterm election of 1994 as well as the non-stop scandal-mongering and investigations by the congressional Republicans had Democrats everywhere wondering how Clinton could possibly win re-election. ![]() At the time there were pitched battles going on among the centrists and the progressives which made the prospect of solidarity in the party a distant dream. Dionne, who wrote in September of 1995, "There is little unity among Democrats or on the center-left on the desirability of reelecting President Clinton." He was right. I'm reminded of Washington Post columnist E.J. ![]() It's a tradition - and it's always most dramatic when an incumbent Democrat is facing re-election. It's that time in the presidential campaign cycle again when Democrats feel the need to express their discontent with their choices and political journalists, in turn, declare that the party is in a panic. ![]()
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