Disappearing midterm election debates: Democrats dodging their opponents this year
This year, the U.S. House appears to be poised for a repeat of the same thing that happened in 2000, when the Democratic congressional leadership failed to produce a single question about the 2000 midterm elections in order to avoid facing the same questions about how their party lost control of the House. This time around, the parties will avoid the subject of midterm elections because each side is locked in its own battle over redistricting.
In 2000, Democrats were saddled with the responsibility of explaining the failure of their party to retake the lower house. In this year’s midterm elections, the blame lies with Republicans who are trying to avoid answering questions about their party and their efforts to take back control of the House — and Democrats, who’re refusing to explain why they lost control of the House.
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Despite the fact that every other day, there’s a debate about redistricting in American politics, the subject is missing from this year’s debates. A good portion of the debate is the question why, in these post-truth times, the media is not covering the debate in the House.
The subject of redistricting is a legitimate one — and one that a large portion of Americans want answered. Democrats, because of the makeup of each party’s majority in the House, have a legitimate interest in understanding how the GOP got so far from normal midterm elections. Meanwhile, Republicans have a legitimate interest in knowing more about their opponents who’re now running on a platform that’s completely divorced from the results of the last few elections.
The answer is that both sides should be interested in the subject while also acknowledging that not everything has to fit into the traditional box of either good or bad. When it comes to the subject of redistricting in these midterm elections, and even beyond, the debate should be informed by fact, not perception
