After Campaigning On Healthcare During Midterms, Democrats Go Back To Russiagate
“With just days to the Midterms, Russiagate is MIA,” The Nation‘s Aaron Maté observed on October 29. Multiple polls have shown that the vast majority of Americans do not care about the alleged Russia collusion when compared to other topics and issues. According to a Gallup poll, 80 percent of American voters consider healthcare to be very important, 78 percent think the same about the economy and consider immigration a top issue, 74 percent are concerned with how women are treated in American society. Gun policy, taxes, foreign affairs, wealth distribution, Brett Kavanaugh, trade policies, and climate change are “extremely” or “very important” to Americans. Investigations into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election ranks at the bottom.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published in July similarly suggested that Americans care about issues like healthcare and immigration the most. There is no mention of Russiagate in the poll, indicating that the alleged collusion appears to be a non-issue in the eyes of the American public. Americans, so it seems, are more concerned about their own health and well-being, focused on policies that impact their lives, rather than on alleged coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Perhaps this comes as no surprise given that — as Slate has observed — election meddling by the United States, as much as against the United States, is and has been “surprisingly common” for decades. Noam Chomsky similarly observed, as the Inquisitr reported, that countries like Israel meddle in U.S. elections “openly, brazenly and with enormous support.”
Healthcare, the economy and immigration are the most important issues for midterm voters this year. https://t.co/06bNe0h9bS
— GallupNews (@GallupNews) November 2, 2018
According to a study by the Wesleyan Project — which was published ahead of the midterms — between September 18 and October 15, nearly half of campaign advertisements referenced healthcare. Only 0.01 percent referenced Russia. Clearly, having paid attention to polls and studies, the Democrats decided to campaign on issues American voters actually care about.
“New strategy: Democrats go all-in on healthcare in midterms,” an October Boston Globe headline reads. “Democrats are — surprise, surprise — yet again expressing confidence that the issue of healthcare will be a political winner for the party this November. The difference this time, however, is that their candidates are actually behaving like they believe it,” Slate observed on October 15.
Russiagate is once again dominating our news cycle & raising hopes of a Trump presidency in peril. My breakdown of all the latest developments, and warning not to believe the hype: https://t.co/kK1p9Etelf
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) November 30, 2018
Focusing on healthcare seems to have paid off. The Democratic Party recaptured the House running on healthcare issues, but the tables appear to have turned once again: Russiagate is back in vogue. In an op-ed published yesterday, The Nation‘s Aaron Maté, reflecting on his October column, opined — while noting that it is imperative that the Democrats protect Mueller and his probe — that with Russiagate back in vogue, Trump’s agenda stands to benefit the most.
