Doesn't it feel like we're asking the same question every election cycle: What exactly does the Democrat Party stand for? Democrats don't really want to tell us, because most of what they'd actually do with power isn't popular. So we end up knowing a lot more about what Democrats are against than what they're for. Since Donald Trump entered presidential politics in 2015, the one thing Democrats have reliably stood for is opposing him.
We usually say that as a punchline. Turns out it's literally true. Heading into this year's midterms, nothing has changed, and now we finally know why the Democrat Party isn't selling voters a vision for the country.
According to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, 54% of Democrat voters said they'll back their party's congressional candidates specifically to stop President Trump and Republican lawmakers from passing their agenda. Only 46% said their vote is about helping Democrats enact their own policies. Compare that to Republican voters, who lean the opposite direction: 57% said they're voting to help Trump and the GOP pass their agenda, and only 43% said their main motivation is blocking Democrat policies.
Among all voters, 45% said their vote is about stopping Trump, 28% said it's about supporting him, and 27% said Trump isn't a factor in their decision at all.
Voters are otherwise evenly split on almost everything else. They're even divided 36% to 36% on whether Democrat control of Congress would improve or worsen their personal finances, and split again, 37% to 37%, on whether Democrat policies would protect or threaten their culture and way of life. So, in the end, the Democrats really aren’t convincing anyone that they’ll make things better. Hatred of Trump just runs that deep.
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None of this should surprise anyone. In every election since I've followed politics, Democrats have largely voted against the Republican candidate rather than for their own. The only real exception was Barack Obama.
It'd be nice to think Democrats could someday stand for ideas instead of being driven by hatred, especially once Trump leaves the political stage. I wouldn't count on it. The Left has a well-worn habit of treating whichever Republican happens to be president or the Republican presidential nominee as history's worst villain. George W. Bush was compared to Hitler when he first ran for president. John McCain became the new Hitler during the 2008 election. Even Mitt Romney got the same treatment in 2012.
Of course, what makes this so ironic is that Bush's, McCain's, and Romney's reputations on the Left all improved once a new Republican became the primary target of outrage. That tells you everything about how the Left's hatred actually works. The intensity always shifts to whoever is the current focal point. Bush, McCain, and Romney didn't get less controversial. The Left's designated villain just moved on to someone else. I honestly expect that eventually, Democrats will be nostalgic for the Trump years.
For now, one thing is clear: Democrat voters aren't showing up in November because they buy what their party is selling; they hate Trump and want to stop him. The Democrat Party runs on grievance, and the polling proves it.
