What lies ahead in 2022? While conventional wisdom might indicate that Democrats stand to lose big in this year’s elections, many factors could play against that. On this week’s episode of The Brief, hosts Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld talked about Democrats’ strategy for 2022 and how the midterm elections aren’t quite a referendum on Biden alone.

This week’s guest was Joe Trippi, a veteran political strategist who has worked on several major campaigns—including Jerry Brown’s bid for the governorship of California and Doug Jones’ run for U.S. Senate in Alabama—who joined the show to share his thoughts on why Democrats have a decent shot this year and the importance of having core messaging to give the pro-democracy movement a chance at succeeding.

Donald Trump remains extremely relevant despite losing his reelection bid in 2020, and he has shown no plans of relinquishing his influence in the political world. With Trump wading back into the battlefield and tries to call the shots and make endorsements, “that creates enough uncertainty [this year] that I think gives us an opening for optimism,” Moulitsas asserted.

At the same time, Eleveld noted that Trump appears to be on shaky ground with his base, highlighting the times he has been booed by the crowd after disclosing that he’d been vaccinated. Moreover, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sway is also diminished, creating somewhat of a power vacuum within the GOP.

This uncertainty, coupled with a positive outlook for Democrats, could bode well for the 2022 elections, Trippi argued. Pushing back against conventional wisdom, he stated his case for why Democrats have a decent shot this year:

1. Regarding redistricting, Democrats are doing much better than people thought, and may pick up a few more seats thanks to it.

2. Democrats are “better organized to get the vote out” this year.

3. The GOP appears to be nominating more extreme candidates who are all “fighting to become the [next] Trump wannabe,” as Trippi put it, and causing intra-party fighting.

Trippi also feels optimistic about Biden’s approval ratings improving over the next few months and sees an opportunity for a true democracy coalition to form and fight back against the forces that are pushing for authoritarianism and facism:

In that sense, what I want to help build is the kind of movement that we had … to use those tools to pull that coalition together. Regardless of ideology, regardless of party … it’s not ‘right’ versus ‘left.’ This is pro-democracy Americans … [against everyone else] … I really do think you’re going to see the energy behind that rise and grow every day from now until November 2022, and I really believe that Democrats will pull the House and gain some seats in the Senate. Because what’s really on the ballot? Democracy is on the ballot in November 2022.

Eleveld asked Trippi about what he has been seeing that others might be missing: “You’ve made a career out of seeing things that other people haven’t seen. What are you seeing in terms of the pro-democracy coalition that you’re talking about? I feel like a lot of voters really aren’t aware yet of how dangerous the Republican Party is—the fact that they’re trying to bury Jan. 6 and won’t talk about it. The fact that they won’t say anything negative about Trump, that they’re still kowtowing to him and whatever. Maybe you’re seeing it. Are you seeing it on a grassroots level, are you seeing it on an organizer level? Where are you seeing this energy starting to come from?”

Trippi thinks that the Jan. 6 commission will continue to unearth more facts about that dark day, “and every day more Americans are awakening to the threat” on the grassroots level. He blamed much of existing complacency on normalcy bias, since many breathed a sigh of relief and thought we could “go back to normal” after Biden was elected. In the same vein, however, he explained that “there are millions of Americans who do understand the threat,” and that we can recruit more people who understand the true nature of the battle in 2022. “I have a faith in the American people that a vast majority of them will sign up with the pro-democracy side. That’s the fight we need to have, because that’s what at stake right now.”

Eleveld and Trippi also discussed the dangers of the rush to get “back to normal.” As Trippi notes,

To solve this problem, Trippi voiced support for a core messaging strategy that is then disseminated through millions of pro-democracy supporters: “I think it’s really necessary to try to harness [the millions of pro-democracy supporters we know we already have] and get people to join a communications corps [to get the message out].”

Democrats will also have to be ready to fight legal battles on the ground and at the ballot box to get injunctions for anything else Republicans are going to try, Trippi suggested. “There are lots of attorneys who would sign up with Marc Elias to be part of a legal team on Election Day in a lot of states to plug into races that are going to need help that day. So I think it’s a big undertaking, but using the attorneys is a good example … How do we channel that, how do we fight the disinformation, the outrage machine by forming a communications corps that is actively committed to spreading [accurate information]?”

You can watch the full episode here:

YouTube Video

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