Paul Waldman writes in the Washington Post about Dems' tendency to form circular firing squads in the face of setbacks:
"What happens when legislation fails? Your supporters grow disenchanted and demoralized, just as Democratic voters are becoming now. They feel unmotivated to organize and turn out to vote. And it doesn’t help when all they see from their own representatives are complaints about what a bunch of failures Democrats are.
President Biden hasn’t been much help, either. His first impulse is to reach out to the other side, but even when he doesn’t — as with the aggressive speech he gave on voting rights in Atlanta — it can come at a moment when defeat is already upon him.
And here’s a truth Democrats have trouble articulating, especially when they’re so worried that the odor of futility might be hanging on them: The boring, uninspiring answer to all these problems is to simply elect more Democrats.
If Democrats had an extra couple of senators (along with keeping the House), Manchin and Sinema would no longer hold the balance of power; the party could reform the filibuster, pass voting rights legislation, pass the BBB bill and do a bunch more besides. It’s as simple as that." (our emphasis)
