Democrats Stare Into the Abyss

Since mid-summer, Democrats have been trapped in a downward spiral of declining approval ratings for President Joe Biden, rising public anxiety about the country’s direction, and widening internal divisions over the party’s legislative agenda. The next few weeks will likely determine whether they have bottomed out and can begin to regain momentum before next year’s midterm elections.

Roughly since the rise of the Delta variant sent COVID-19 caseloads soaring again, the White House and congressional Democrats have faced a debilitating slog of dashed hopes and diminished expectations. …

But after months of steady retreat, Biden and congressional Democrats are currently engaged in intense negotiations that will decide whether (and in what form) they can pass their sweeping economic and safety-net bill. And after a Republican filibuster on Wednesday blocked the Democrats’ latest proposal to combat the voting-rights restrictions proliferating in red states, the party now squarely faces the choice that many activists consider an even more existential decision: whether it will reform the filibuster to pass that legislation. CONTINUED

Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic


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