Midterms: Democrats must link protecting democracy with family economics

 To win in the midterms,  Democrats need to link protecting democracy with protecting family economics. The two are connected and can and should be linked.   The two campaign issues, protecting democracy and the economy, are being positioned as weighing choices between two separate unrelated values. The campaigns are shaping up as  Democrats are for democracy, and the January 6 hearings showed "there is a clear and present danger," but GOP is against inflation and high gas prices.  If that is the way the campaigns are conducted, Democrats are doomed. " It's the economy, stupid" is and always has been the winning line.  Voters may get the point that the future of democracy is at risk, and this is a bad thing. They can agree that concerns about both democracy and the economy are true at the same time, but the hard reality is a kitchen table and pocketbook pains trump other considerations in urgency and palpable impact.  How can Democrats position both issues in a way that makes the link and connection and seize the high ground on both?.   One way is to go on the attack as well as to be the defense. Democrats can paint MAGA opponents as being ideological fanatics hung up on cultural issues (CRT, don't say gay,, anti-vaxx, anti-choice, anti-gun constraints) that do nothing to fix family financial pain. Griping about it is all they offer on the economy.   They need to be challenged at every opportunity when they air their grievances.  Biden's point is "this is a choice between two alternatives", but so far, he has only made part of the equation,  a case that "the economic pain isn't his fault" and defending what he has been able to do that has not been enough. That is not a very strong campaign strategy, even if it is true.  He could make the additional point to tie the midterms to House and Senate races,  that he could do more with help of more Democrats in Congress than the gridlock we have now with the " just say no GOP" offering no will or way to fix the attack on democracy or the economy. 

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Polls give some hope to Democrats in swing states whose opponents are Trump supporters.  If a generic question is asked: Democrats v GOP, Democrats are behind slightly (44 to 41%) underwater, per a recent poll, but if Trump or a supporter of Trump is the candidate, the Democrats get a big advantage. .  This poll does not reflect the impact of  January 6 public hearings. Pitting a Democrat v a MAGA  supporter, the Democrats were 37% v the MAGA candidate at 30%.  The generic" Democrat got 11% of GOP voters who picked the Republican in the generic ballot question and 32% of third-party voters who initially went with the GOP contender".. ‘Persuadable’ Voters Favor GOP Over Democrats – Until Trump is Mentioned: Poll | Elections | US News