[I wonder why Democrats are jumping ship?  Buyer's remose, perhaps? -- SD]

From: https://tinyurl.com/mt69uxwt (theepochtimes.com)

===
   Vulnerable, Moderate Dems Breaking With Biden More Frequently as Midterms
                                    Approach

   By Joseph Lord
   December 8, 2021

   News Analysis

   As the 2022 midterms draw nearer, several Democrats are distancing
   themselves from President Joe Biden, whose popularity has dwindled since
   taking office.

   At the beginning of Biden's presidency, congressional Democrats marched
   largely in lockstep with the president. But as his first year in office
   approaches its end, that situation has changed drastically.

   Still reeling from the public opinion hit incurred by the Afghanistan
   withdrawal, and faced with ongoing supply chain, inflation, and energy
   crises, Biden has become far less popular with voters-a fact that has not
   gone unnoticed by congressional Democrats, who have started to break with
   Biden more and more frequently.

   At the end of May, Biden's approval rating hit a peak of 55 percent
   according to Rasmussen's Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. This popularity
   would be short-lived and would fall sharply following Biden's
   controversial Afghanistan withdrawal.

   On Aug. 9, before the Afghanistan fiasco began, Biden's approval rate was
   still at 49 percent. But after the fall of Afghanistan left hundreds of
   Americans trapped in the country, public support for the president
   plummeted.

   Polling at the time showed that nearly three-fifths of the country-59
   percent-felt that the Biden administration was not doing enough to save
   Americans trapped in the country.

Afghan Withdrawal Prompts First Signs of Trouble

   By Sept. 1, the tide of public opinion had turned substantially against
   the president, with only 42 percent of likely voters approving of Biden.

   This sudden drop in public support prompted the first wave of defections
   among vulnerable Democrats, who rushed to distance themselves from the
   president.

   Rep. Crissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), whose seat has been rated vulnerable by
   the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), was one of the
   first to criticize the president in a public statement.

   In her statement, she contended that she and others had warned Biden of
   the danger but said that those warnings "fell on deaf ears."

   Several other vulnerable House Democrats quickly followed suit.

   In the Senate as well, some Democrats began to distance themselves from
   the president: Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly
   (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and others made a point of
   criticizing the withdrawal and promising action and oversight.

   Since then, things have only gotten worse for President Biden, prompting
   more and more Democrats to jump ship in an effort to save their seats in
   2022.

Biden Unable to Bridge House Progressive-Moderate Disputes

   Beginning in September, House moderates and progressives descended into
   open conflict over Biden's plans to force passage of both the budget bill
   and the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill at the same time.

   Progressives argued that if the moderate-preferred infrastructure bill was
   passed, progressives would have no leverage to force moderates to vote on
   the much more controversial budget bill. Moderates, for their part, argued
   that the Senate's passage of the infrastructure bill was "a bipartisan
   victory for our nation" that should not be linked to the far more partisan
   budget.

   One moderate, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) went so far as to suggest
   that "[Democrats] can't afford to do everything" in the budget bill,
   despite Biden's contention that the bill would be fully paid for by
   increased taxes on the wealthy.

   Two closed-door visits by Biden to Capitol Hill-an exceedingly rare
   event-were insufficient to bridge these gaps, and neither the moderate
   faction nor the progressive faction yielded to Biden's plea to pass both
   bills.

   Eventually, both bills were passed through the House, but the reasons for
   both sides relenting in their demands are not entirely clear; The bills
   passed weeks after Biden's second visit, making it unlikely that he played
   a significant role in the change.

   Whatever the cause for this eventual success, one member of the moderate
   faction, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), voted with Republicans against the
   legislation. Like so many others distancing themselves from Biden,
   Golden's seat is considered vulnerable to a Republican takeover.

Vaccine Mandate Challenged By Some Senate Democrats

   Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), a self-described "conservative
   Democrat," announced on Dec. 3 that he would join Republicans in a motion
   to strike down Biden's unprecedented private sector vaccine mandate.

   Though Manchin often stands alone in opposing his party's proposals, he
   has been joined by another Senate Democratic colleague, Sen. Jon Tester
   (D-Mont.).

   The mandate, announced by Biden in September, would be enforced by the
   Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and has faced strong
   criticism from Republicans, business leaders, and others.

   Under a 1990s piece of legislation, Congress can overturn OSHA rules
   through a filibuster-proof simple majority vote; Manchin's and Tester's
   decision to join all 50 Republicans in this endeavor all but guarantees
   that the rule will be overturned in the Senate.

   The motion will nevertheless still need to pass through the House, where
   Democrats will face another litmus test to gauge lawmakers' support for
   the Biden rule.

Vulnerable Rep. Axne and Others Call on Biden to Address Inflation

   For the past several months, Democrats in both chambers of Congress and
   the Biden administration have insisted that the extreme inflation facing
   the country is only transitory, even as projections show that it will
   continue to rise.

   White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Biden himself have been
   especially supportive of this argument, insisting that the inflation is
   merely the short-term result of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus
   pandemic.

   But as inflation begins to squeeze middle America's pockets and with the
   looming threat of midterms on the horizon, this is a narrative that many
   Democrats facing reelection can no longer afford to parrot.

   In a Dec. 2 letter, Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) led a petition signed by 21
   other House Democrats calling on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
   (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to address
   increasing inflation.

   "We are concerned about the ongoing disruptions to our nation's supply
   chain, which are causing delays and increasing inflation for our
   constituents," the letter begins.

   "Congress must do more," the letter continued."We urge additional action
   by the House of Representatives to further address the disruptions and
   higher costs our constituents are experiencing."

   Only a few of the Democrats who signed the letter are not considered
   vulnerable by the NRCC.

   While the letter's signatories were careful not to place the blame on
   Biden himself, the mere recognition of inflation as a problem requiring
   congressional intervention is a break from the White House's position.

Biden's Many Crises May Make Him a Liability in 2022

   As an inflation crisis, an energy crisis, and other economic woes continue
   to plague the first year of Biden's presidency, sticking close to the
   president may not seem as safe a strategy as it has been in the past.

   Historically, presidential endorsements of tight congressional or
   state-level races have carried considerable influence; in fact, former
   President Donald Trump continues to exert considerable influence over the
   outcome of some races.

   But Virginia's recent gubernatorial election showed the cracks in Biden's
   ability to sway elections.

   Despite the efforts of Biden, former President Barack Obama, Vice
   President Kamala Harris, and others, Republican Glenn Youngkin handily
   defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in what some predicted would be a tight
   race.

   Observers argued that the race was a litmus test to gauge public support
   for Biden as he approached the end of his first year, a fact that
   encouraged Democrats to throw millions of dollars and a slate of
   high-profile endorsements into the race. Still, Youngkin, who said that "a
   vote for me is a vote for Donald Trump," won by safe margins.

   In another surprise, the gubernatorial race in New Jersey was extremely
   close, with Republican Jack Ciattarelli losing by extremely thin margins
   for the historically blue state.

   Some Democrats, like former Hillary Clinton running mate Sen. Tim Kaine
   (D-Va.), doubled down on their support for Biden's policy goals after the
   race.

   "A lot of politics is about timing," Kaine said. "And there was a time to
   [pass Biden's spending bills] that would have helped in both [Virginia and
   New Jersey]."

   Moderates in the party disagree, however.

   Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a relatively moderate Democrat, told reporters
   that the fault lies with McAuliffe.

   "You can't win in Virginia if you only appeal to very liberal voters,"
   Warner commented.

   But the message to vulnerable Democrats is clear: An endorsement from
   Biden cannot guarantee victory, even in states that have been historically
   blue or states that went blue in both 2016 and 2020.

   And the president's poll numbers have continued to drop, with Rasmussen
   showing that on Dec. 8, only 42 percent of voters think Biden is doing a
   good job. According to another Rasmussen poll, only 31 percent of likely
   voters think that the country is headed in the right direction under Biden
   and the Democratic Congress.

   Now, with midterms drawing nearer and no end to the supply chain,
   inflation, energy, and other crises in sight, even more Democrats may find
   themselves faced with the decision to distance themselves from the
   president or be defeated in 2022.
===

-- Sean

... After all is said and done, a lot more has been said than done.
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