Despite his pledge to work across the aisle with Republicans, Biden never had any intention of doing so. This became manifestly obvious when 10 Senate Republicans went to the White House in February and offered to cooperate on a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill. He smiled, nodded, and ignored them. The meeting was reminiscent of the high-handed way Biden’s former boss treated Republicans during talks leading up to the passage of his 2009 “stimulus” bill. And, like that boondoggle, the coronavirus bill was cobbled together and passed by the House with no GOP input or votes. House Democrats no doubt hope that the small fraction of its $1.9 trillion cost that went to individual stimulus payments will protect them. For its part, the White House is trying to redefine the term “bipartisan.”…

Even if this Orwellian strategy succeeds, the Democrats face a uniquely unfavorable political landscape. First, despite winning the White House, they very nearly lost their House majority in 2020. Instead of gaining 10 to 15 seats, as many “experts” predicted, they suffered a double-digit loss. Their current majority is 219-212. The Republicans hardly need a “red wave” to take control of the chamber. Second, the president’s party almost always loses a significant number of House seats during the first midterm of his tenure (the Democrats lost 63 seats in the first midterm of the Obama presidency). Third, they will be forced to compete on a playing field tilted heavily against them by reapportionment and a redistricting process dominated by Republican state legislatures. Pew Research paints an unpromising picture: