Democrats, panicking over their crumbling chances to maintain control of the House or Senate after the midterm elections in November, are casting about desperately for a way to alter the dynamic of the campaign and give themselves hope for a miracle.
The most recent generic congressional poll has Republicans up by six points — a number that would turn the midterms into a slaughterhouse for Democrats. And with Biden’s favorability equally underwater, Democrats know they have to do something in a hurry if they’re going to turn in a respectable midterm showing, much less maintain control of Congress.
With the State of the Union speech coming up on March 1, a growing number of Democrats are pointing to that date to begin the turnaround. They are urging President Biden to consider the bold move of lifting all mandates and restrictions that are within his power to do so.
“There are a bunch of us that are pushing the White House to really use the State of the Union as a sort of declaration of the new phase,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat facing a close race this fall.
White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said Mr. Biden and his administration are in active discussions with public health experts both inside and outside the government, as well as state and local leaders, on how to approach the next phase of the pandemic.
In setting policy, the White House continues to defer to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends universal masking in schools and that masks be worn in indoor public settings where transmission is substantial or high. While Mr. Biden extended a federal mask mandate in December requiring masks on airplanes, trains and buses, decisions about implementing CDC guidance in businesses and schools fall to state and local officials.
Related: Biden Now in Search of a ‘New Normal’
Biden knows the importance of this coming speech; he knows that it could signal the “reset” he has been looking for since the first of the year. Whether the voters will accept that is another question, but even a deflating lifeboat is better than none.
But are Democrats in danger of putting too much stock in the speech?
“It is the singular moment on which perhaps this entire presidency will be judged,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D., Minn.) about the speech, adding he wants the president to address the administration’s response to the pandemic and economic recovery, as well as how to tackle rising crime and broad divisions in the country.
Asked in an NBC News interview that aired on Thursday if Democrats were moving too quickly to loosen mask mandates, Mr. Biden said it was “probably premature.” He added that people were growing restless with Covid-19 restrictions, saying the series of variants “have had a profound impact on the psyche of the American people.”
Well, the variants have certainly impacted the “psyches” of some people, most notably in the White House and on Capitol Hill.
But Rep. Phillips has a point. There are other problems that need to be addressed that the president and the Democrats are refusing to focus on — at least, the way that the voters want them to.
Still, the issue that could have the biggest impact on the president’s poll numbers and the Democrat’s hopes is easing or eliminating COVID-19 restrictions.
“After years of forcing unnecessary lockdowns and mandates on Nevadans, Democrats have now changed their definition of science because they think it will help them win re-election,” said Adam Laxalt, a Republican challenging Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, after his state’s Democratic governor loosened mask rules.
The White House’s public deference to the CDC has at times masked frustration within the Biden administration. Some administration officials have privately said the agency’s guidance has sometimes been confusing for Americans to follow and sometimes slow to evolve.
Americans aren’t generally inclined to forgive politicians who arrive late to the same conclusions they came to months ago. But as with everything these days, it will depend on how the “Return to Normalcy” is framed and spun.
If that’s the case, don’t count the Democrats out.
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