The head of the Democratic House campaign organization warned members of his party Thursday not to “fall in love” with COVID-19 restrictions as many states began repealing mask mandates.
“We Democrats shouldn’t fall in love with mandates when they are not necessary,” with some sense of right, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) They insisted on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. “We must get rid of them as quickly as we can responsibly.”
Maloney added that he agreed with New York Gov. Cathy Hochhol’s decision to lift the statewide mandate for masks in New York, a move he called “scientific-based,” and said the state had reached the point where “authorizations – and that’s the point, not the wearing of masks – Authorizations are no longer necessary “due to the vaccines, booster shots, other treatments and testing available.”
Hochul, like many other governors, removed the mandate earlier this month in most settings, but kept it in place for students and teachers as the Empire State emerged from a wave of cases caused by the Omicron variant.
Maloney’s warning to Democrats about complying with mask and vaccine requirements comes as his party faces an uphill battle to retain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives in the November midterm elections. According to the RealClearPolitics average poll, Republicans have a lead of 3.4 percentage points in the general congressional ballot.
House Democrats have also had to contend with a wave of retirees, with Long Island Representative Kathleen Rice recently becoming the 30th member who announced they would never contest their seat again.
Another obstacle for Democrats to retain power is the mood of the electorate. On Tuesday, parents in San Francisco summoned the head of the school’s board of directors and two other members — a sign of the level of frustration with longstanding restrictions on business, dining, social gatherings and personal education.
Board members – Gabriela Lopez, Fauga Muliga and Alison Collins – have infuriated parents over the slow reopening of schools during the pandemic.
The summons was triggered in January 2021 when the school board proposed renaming 44 school sites it said honor public figures associated with racism, sexism, and other types of injustice — including Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). .
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on Wednesday that the recall “sent a clear message that the school board must focus on the fundamentals of delivering a well-run school system above all else.”
Other Democratic lawmakers also sounded the alarm with the prospect of the House being wiped out, staring in the face.
Senator John Tester (Democrat for Mont.), who represents the term of former President Donald Trump winning by 16 percentage points in 2020, recently warned members of his caucus that they need to start appealing to ordinary Americans.
“I honestly don’t think the Democratic Party can be a majority party unless we start appealing to Central America much more. I’m talking about the area between two mountain ranges, the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains,” Tester told David Axelrod. During an interview on “The Ax Files” Podcast last week.
“And if we are able to do that, I think it will be successful,” he said.
When asked how his Montana voters feel about the Democrats, Tester replied, “It’s toxic.”
“The national brand of Democrats in rural America in general is toxic, and that’s because, quite frankly, we don’t show,” he said. “I’m talking about the National Democrats.”
Tester continued to urge fellow Democrats to get out of Washington and travel to “places we don’t want and answer questions.”
“I think it’s very important,” he said. “If you are going to win, you have to go to those places. As miserable as it is, you still go.”
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