By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Phil Kerpen with American Commitment wants to see those who are against government expansion begin to use their voices as pandemic restrictions continue to ease.
"We're looking at really, the most radical left-wing agenda we've ever seen from a presidency," Kerpen said. "Given how much the American people have been distracted by COVID and now, may be distracted from their relief that it's kind of over and they can get back to life, I think there's a low level of engagement. That makes it dangerous, because when people are paying a low level of attention, Washington can do some bad things."
Kerpen believes engagement isn't just important in the case of the usual swing vote suspects in the U.S. Senate, but throughout the entire process, because these aren't robust Democratic majorities.
"If something can get through the House, then the question becomes can they hold together every single Senate Democrat and get it through and maybe have to change Senate rules to get it through, if it's subject to filibuster and that kind of thing," Kerpen said.
Right now, Democrats have a 219-211 majority in the House with five vacancies and a 50-50 tie in the Senate, with Vice President Harris serving as the tie breaker.
"Politicians tend to be followers more than they are leaders," Kerpen said. "They put a finger in the wind and they follow public opinion most of the time. Not always, of course. A lot of them did something they knew was very unpopular with Obamacare and then they lost re-election. They thought it was worth it. That's very rare. The vast majority of the time, when there's public outrage and anger and pushback, they sort of scatter."
The party of the incumbent president tends to lose ground during midterm elections, so it's not far-fetched to say that much of President Biden's agenda will likely need to pass before campaigning really ramps up for 2022.