Democrats have been sounding the alarm regarding the state of the country with President Joe Biden at the “steering wheel”.
With the US economy predicted to head into recession by the end of 2022 or the start of 2023 because of high inflation, energy prices and decades-high interest rates introduced by the Federal Reserve, a spate of other recent policy setbacks have further eroded trust in the POTUS.
“It’s infuriating. Our house is on fire and it seems like they’re doing nothing to put the fire out. They’re just watching it with the rest of us,” a top Democrat strategist was cited by The Hill as saying.
Roe v Wade
There remains no organized plan among the Democrats regarding action in the wake of the Supreme Court’s repeal of the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling.
The landmark precedent prevented states from adopting laws limiting the right to abortion unleashed protests in major US cities. As a number of states moved to enact abortion bans via the so-called “trigger laws”, Biden called the court’s ruling a “tragic reversal”.
He vowed to fight to protect women’s rights, saying, “This is not over”. In the aftermath of the ruling, Democrats promised the passing of a federal law enshrining the right for abortions if they swept the November mid-term elections. But there is no clarity regarding the legislative path towards that. Biden earlier promised to support making an exception to the filibuster to codify abortion rights, with senate lawmakers reportedly split on the issue.
Speaking about the Biden administration’s lack of swift action on abortion, political commentator Bakari Sellers, a former member of the South Carolina state House, was cited by CNN as saying: “I’m not sure what he’s doing. I can tell you what he ain’t doing.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat Representative for New York's 14th congressional district, tweeted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, “We have been sounding the alarm about this for a long time”.
She also argued that there was “time to fix this and act. But we need to be brave”.
Gun Violence
Inability to tackle gun violence is another issue that has been brought to the forefront of late. A mass shooting left six dead and more than 40 wounded at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Northside. It came in the aftermath of recent mass shootings at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
After the mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, advocates and victims of gun violence have been pleading for Congress to pass gun control legislation. Biden signed into law the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in decades - the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
It is set to enhance background checks for buyers under the age of 21, restrict firearm ownership by convicted domestic abusers, and providing funding for "red flag" laws and mental healthcare, among other provisions.
But critics deplore the fact that too little action is coming ‘too late’.
They point to the fact that this year alone, the US has seen more than 200 mass shootings, including 27 at schools, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Cost of Living
Joe Biden’s attempts to tackle the cost of living crisis have also been criticized as ineffective. Inflation hit a 40-year high last month, at a rate of 8.6 percent - the highest since December 1981.
Amid soaring energy prices, Biden has taken unilateral action, such as releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He recently floated a proposal from the Oval Office for Congress and state legislatures to implement a 90-day holiday from gas taxes. However, members of his own party and Republicans appeared opposed to the tax reprieve, making it look unlikely to gain traction on the federal level.
Biden was recently ridiculed by the US Oil & Gas Association for his Twitter post imploring that "companies running gas stations" should simply "bring down the price you are charging at the pump".
US energy producers tweeted that they were “working on it”, and suggested that the 79-year-old Democrat POTUS should make sure that the White House intern who posted the tweet in question “registers for Econ 101 for the fall semester”.
Biden's tweet came as petrol prices per gallon averaged $4.812 nationwide - up 5 cents from one month ago.
None of the steps taken by the Biden administration in recent months to tackle the spate of worries are anticipated to reap significant results, according to frustrated Democrats.
Polls Gloom
Recent polls have also added to the sense of gloom. A Gallup survey published on 5 July revealed that only 23 percent of Americans have confidence in the institution of the presidency. This is down 15 percentage points from a year ago. Another survey released on the same day found 88 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
A mere 10 percent of those surveyed by the Monmouth University poll believed that their country was “on the right track” - the lowest number in a Monmouth poll since 2013.
Biden needs to change course, Democrat strategist Joel Payne was cited by The Hill as saying.
“There’s the administrative part of the job and the political part of the job, and it seems like this president is leaning more in the administrative role at a time when his coalition is thirsty for political clarity and leadership. The president and his team have to be vigilant about providing that and balance the need to do both,” Payne said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked at press briefings about complaints from Democrat lawmakers, activists and pundits over Biden’s perceived ‘lack of urgency’ on certain issues, responded by saying the POTUS worked “tirelessly” to deliver “every way that he can.”
Doug Heye, a Republican strategist, said Democrats’ expectations of Biden “have been way too high”.
“They have a small majority in the House and no real majority in the Senate, so what did they expect?” he was cited as saying.