With two weeks remaining in the midterm election cycle, President Joe Biden visited the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters yesterday to help rally his partisan team. He ended up speaking for about a half-hour, emphasizing the stakes as voters head to the polls.
There was one point, however, he emphasized more than once.
“Look, folks, Democrats are going to protect Social Security and Medicare,” Biden declared. “Republicans have been very clear: They’ve stated boldly that they want to cut Social Security and Medicare — to the point that they’ll shut down the government, they say, and send the nation into default, which raises prices for everyone, if we do not cut Social Security and Medicare. I ain’t gonna do it.”
Looking over the transcript, the president used the phrase “Social Security and Medicare” literally 11 times during his appearance at the DNC.
Biden’s comments coincided with a Semafor report on Democrats’ newfound focus on the popular social insurance programs.
With just over two weeks to go until Election Day, Democrats are pivoting to a new economic message: That Republicans will crash the economy next year in order to gut Social Security and Medicare, a pair of politically popular safety-net programs. From President Biden to Speaker Pelosi to individual candidates in race after race, Democrats are pushing for a renewed focus on entitlements, a traditional strength for the party.
The article characterized this as an election-season “gamble” — recent polling suggests Social Security and Medicare are not among the issues voters are focusing on most — adding that the new Democratic messaging might also be a sign “that the party’s emphasis on abortion may not be enough to carry candidates across the finish line on its own.”
Maybe, but I also think that in campaign politics, sometimes candidates and parties are handed opportunities that can’t be ignored.
On the surface, the recent Democratic focus makes a lot of sense. With two weeks remaining, the party no doubt likes the idea of a unifying message that appeals to older voters — one of the party’s weakest constituencies — and keeps Republicans on the defensive. The Democratic line on Social Security and Medicare is popular; the GOP position is not; so it stands to reason that the incumbent majority would want to play to its strengths.
But just below the surface, Republicans effectively put this issue on a platter, all but daring Democrats to take advantage.
As we discussed last week, GOP officials have spent recent weeks making their plans for next year plain: They want significant changes to Social Security and Medicare, and if Democrats balk, Republicans say they’re prepared to crash the economy on purpose by refusing to pay the country’s bills.
These threats aren’t coming from obscure crackpots in the party. GOP leaders have freely and publicly espoused the plan — out loud and on the record, as if there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to House Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks both talked up the strategy in recent days, as have Rep. Jim Jordan and the GOP congressmen vying for the chairmanship of the House Budget Committee.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise has also embraced a partisan plan for significant changes to Social Security and Medicare, while Republican incumbents such as Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Republican candidates such as New Hampshire’s Don Bolduc have endorsed related, regressive plans. Let’s also not forget about Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a member of the Senate GOP leadership, who published a blueprint that would put Social Security and Medicare in even greater jeopardy.
Are Democrats recognizing that their current pitch is insufficient, or are they simply exploiting an unexpected opportunity?
