President Joe Biden is refocusing on roads, crime, and other local issues as he and the White House seek to elevate his few legislative wins amid poor polling and consequential foreign policy tests abroad.
Biden getting back to basics before this November’s midterm elections makes sense given that local politicians, such as mayors, are among “the most moderate and popular political figures in our country right now,” according to political commentator Thad Kousser.
“There is never a bad time to associate yourself” with them because they “stand above the partisan fray of Washington, D.C.,” Kousser told the Washington Examiner. “They are a rare exception to the polarization of American politics.”
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Simultaneously, for Kousser, Biden’s emphasis demonstrates his and his aides’ belief that his $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law may be his “one and only” accomplishment before the November contests.
“He wants to keep reminding Americans not only that he was able to pass it with a bipartisan vote in Washington, D.C., but that it’s leading to things that will make their lives better in their hometowns,” the University of California San Diego politics professor said of Biden. “This is a political winner for him at a time when he doesn’t have a winning hand right now.”
Although the infrastructure law — the late passage of which was somewhat lost in the omicron COVID-19 variant surge, inflation concerns, and supply chain snarls — may improve Biden’s prospects in a potential 2024 reelection campaign, it may not be enough to boost Democrats before the coming midterm cycle, Kousser added.
“It would be astonishing if he can rebound so sharply that the Democrats don’t lose the House,” Kousser said.
Juggling high-wire diplomacy between Russia, Ukraine, NATO allies, and Eastern European partners, Biden addressed the National Association of Counties 2022 Legislative Conference on Tuesday afternoon. Before roughly 1,500 elected and appointed local officials, convened to discuss enhanced intergovernmental collaboration, Biden recalled his years as a New Castle County councilor in Delaware.
“I know from personal experience how hard the job you have is,” he said. “They lose faith in government. You’re there. You represent the front lines of public service.”
Biden’s local politician embrace coincides with 56% of respondents telling Morning Consult pollsters in a survey published last week that they trust their local government “a lot” or “some.” That percentage was larger than the portion who reported trusting the federal government, their state government, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the electoral process. But more specifically, it beats Biden’s 40% average presidential approval, according to RealClearPolitics.
Biden’s remarks Tuesday precede a Thursday trip to Ohio, his fourth to the Buckeye State since his inauguration. There, he will promote how the infrastructure law is “rebuilding roads and bridges, upgrading water systems, cleaning up the environment, and creating good-paying union jobs,” according to White House guidance.
The Ohio visit constitutes a return to touting the infrastructure law, Biden’s last jaunt being to Pittsburgh in January. Other travel has tried to amplify different Biden measures, from those aimed at combating high prescription drug prices in Virginia to increased gun crime in New York, as he and aides attempt to underscore what he has done rather than simply what he hopes to do.
For political commentator Bertram Johnson, Biden’s local strategy targets “kitchen table” problems, including the economy and public safety, as the president’s party pushes a “Democrats Deliver” message.
“Voters care more about what they can see in their own environments, whether on the drive to work or on the local news, and less about foreign policy, which seems distant and intangible,” the Middlebury College politics professor said. “This could change if Ukraine develops into a full-blown conflict, but for now, it’s not at the top of voters’ minds.”
Biden knows how important it is for the public to appreciate his achievements, namely the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan and the infrastructure law, before the midterm elections. It is a cycle that history suggests will swing against Democrats as the party in power. Republicans also hold an average 3-point advantage on a generic congressional ballot, according to RealClearPolitics.
“I have to make clear to the American people what we are for,” Biden said during his January press conference. “We’ve passed a lot. We’ve passed a lot of things that people don’t even understand.”
Meanwhile, Republicans continue undermining Biden’s case, criticizing his inflation and crime responses.
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“Producer prices spiked twice as much as expected in January,” Republican National Committee spokesman Tommy Pigott said. “Inflation is not ‘transitory.’ It is not ‘peaking.’ It is surging. But what do we hear from Biden? The repeated insistence that those worried about it are a ‘son of a bitch’ or a ‘wise guy.’”
