Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts is so concerned about his party’s inability to come together to pass President Joe Biden’s agenda that he isn’t banking on Democrats holding the House and Senate after 2022.
Lynch spoke to WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller on Sunday about his party’s chances of retaining control of Congress next November.
He admitted that he foresees Republicans potentially taking back both the House and the Senate if Democrats fail to “get [their] act together.”
“It’s the Democrats who seem paralyzed by dissident moderates, dissident liberals. What is going on?” Keller asked about Democrats at an impasse over massive new spending.
Lynch elaborated on the division within his party between the socialist wing and moderates like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who isn’t budging in his opposition to Democrats’ multitrillion-dollar spree.
“I think it’s a reflection of the country, Jon, but you’re right, you’re right, there is sort of a socialist wing now within the Democratic Party that is ultra-progressive to the point that I think they’re — we are having difficulty maintaining the moderates within the Democratic Party, so there’s real division there,” Lynch said.
Keller asked Lynch a number of pointed questions, including whether he is holding out hope that a deal can be reached between his party’s far-left wing and the moderates.
“What’s the end game?” he asked. “Are you hopeful that everything will settle down, these factions will realize the need for compromise, or are you not hopeful?”
Lynch didn’t sugarcoat the situation. The congressman reminded Keller of how slim the Democratic majority is in the House.
“Well, I have to remain hopeful,” he said. “You need to get to 218 in the House to get anything passed, and we only have a four-vote margin. Otherwise a bill goes down. If four Democrats don’t support it, the bill fails on its own weight.
“So look, I’ve served in the minority before,” Lynch said. “There are many Democrats who are there relatively recently, and they don’t know what it’s like to serve in the minority. And they’re going to get a chance to experience that if we don’t get our act together.”
“Do you fear you’re going to be in the minority again after the midterms?” Keller asked.
“I’m not a political expert,” Lynch said, “but I do listen to people like you and others that have predicted that. So I’m nervous that we will lose the House and the Senate.”
After two decades in the House, Lynch is exactly who you might think of when you hear the term “establishment Democrat.” It’s safe to say he knows the stakes in the fight to get Biden’s agenda over the goal line as well as anyone.
Democrats have surrendered a lot of goodwill with voters this year.
One of those Democrats, a career politician who has seen his party’s fortunes turn before, is not confident that his colleagues can deliver on one of the president’s biggest promises or hold on to their majority following the midterm elections.
Of course, with Republicans in control of the House and Senate, Biden’s entire agenda would essentially be dead in the water.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
