Even Democrats are talking about how bad Biden's midterm pitch has been

Yet there are serious doubts, including among Democrats, whether Biden’s doomsday portrayal of Republicans has broken through as stubborn inflation and pocketbook issues weigh on voters. Some in the party say Democrats should have touched more on economic concerns earlier in the campaign and less about restoring abortion rights, which dominated Democratic ads for much of the race, in part on the advice of the “governing consulting class.”

“That was a mistake,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., arguing Democrats should compare Biden’s efforts to bring manufacturing jobs home versus Republicans who want tax cuts for corporations. “I’ve been saying for months that we need to frame this election as an economic choice.” …

“So, I ask you to think long and hard about the moment we’re in,” Biden said in a primetime speech last week. “In a typical year, we’re often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk.”

But there’s an underlying challenge with Biden’s depiction of a Republican takeover, according to Lynn Vavreck, professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA: many voters remember previous periods of Republican power in Congress not being especially catastrophic.

“It’s sort of like saying, ‘Trust me, this time it’ll be really different if they take over. The country will never be the same,'” Vavreck said. “It’s a lot of hyperbole. And you’re asking voters to believe something that the past suggests may not be true.”

[That’s true every time Biden opens his mouth. And Democrats are now just realizing that they’re about to pay for putting a decrepit demagogue at the top of their party. — Ed]