Winter Woes Cause Democratic Strategists to Panic

Amid supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages, rising gas prices, and the threat of an increase in coronavirus cases, Democrats are concerned that their party is not going to be able to convince America that they should remain in the White House. 

According to an article from The Hill, “[T]he White House and Democrats have struggled to sell their accomplishments, stirring worries within the party.” A Democratic strategist interviewed by The Hill shared, “‘The White House needs to figure out how to effectively communicate what it’s trying to do or people will lose faith.’”

Needing to assure Americans that they are responding effectively to the obstacles we will face this winter, the White House has a tough challenge ahead of them. Some Democratic strategists are uneasy about the prospects that the Democratic party will be able to maintain support given some of their recent election losses. 

The Hill reports, “It all adds up to a difficult winter and potentially troublesome holiday season for President Biden, who already has seen his approval numbers drop amid a challenging few months for his administration. Fears that Biden’s party could lose the House and Senate in next year’s midterms are also up after a disappointing showing in last week’s elections in Virginia and New Jersey.”

Scrambling to find some good news to report, the White House seems to be putting all of their hope in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. 

“Biden suggested in a speech on Saturday that the infrastructure bill would ultimately help relieve supply chain bottlenecks by allowing companies to get goods to market more quickly. He also said the public would begin to feel the impacts of the bill ‘within the next two to three months’ as people are hired to work on new projects it funds. It’s unclear how long it will take the infrastructure bill to have any impacts on supply chains, however.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has prepared his excuse if the bill fails to make any real changes having stated on Monday that “‘[t]he best way to end a pandemic-related shortage is to end the pandemic, and that’s why the vaccine push is so important.’”

Still, the threat of a difficult winter for Americans is a resounding alarm for those worried about being able to heat their homes and get household necessities, let alone being able to traditionally celebrate the upcoming holidays. Failing to relieve the hardships Americans may face is likely to sink President Biden’s approval ratings even lower. 

“Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm acknowledged Sunday on CNN that Americans will see higher heating bills this coming winter. She also said that Biden is considering tapping into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to address rising fuel prices.” Although the White House claims to have a slew of options for taking action in response to the situation, they failed to provide any details on the steps they are considering regarding this matter. Though some are predicting there will be progress, others still remain pessimistic.