Republicans set to win back Congress

NEWS AND OPINION:

Both Republicans and Democratic strategists should heed the results of a new NBC poll that suggests the GOP is primed for a positive outcome during the 2022 midterm elections.

A new NBC News poll finds that 47% of U.S. adults currently hope that Congress will be controlled by Democrats, while 46% say they want Republicans in charge — while a significant 7% are “not sure” about the matter.

And now, here come the hair-splitting details that suggest Republicans may be in luck when the polls open next year. Their positive ratings are actually going up.

In April, when NBC asked the same question, 42% of the respondents hoped for a Republican victory. Now that sentiment has risen by 4 percentage points. Sentiments about Democrats have not changed since then, however. The prior poll found that 47% were rooting for the Democrats then, as they are now.

Then we come to the undecided crowd: 11% were not sure who they preferred in April. It appears that 4% of those undecided have moved over to the GOP side in the last four months. And one more thing. The 46% who now hope Republicans will gain control of Congress is the highest favorability percentage the Republican Party has enjoyed and has only occurred twice before in similar polls that NBC News has conducted — in October 2010 and June 2016.

With the undecided respondents apparently in flux, that positive for the GOP could very well increase.

The NBC News poll of 1,000 U.S. adults was conducted Aug. 14-17.

“Democrats may be well-served to write off 2022 and focus on passing their agenda. They may not get another shot for many election cycles depending on how badly they perform next year,” advises Nate Ashworth, founder and editor-in-chief of ElectionCentral.com, a nimble political site.

THE WORST OF THE BIDEN HEADLINES

President Biden’s policies related to the Afghanistan crisis have produced, well, some interesting headlines — even from news organizations that had been traditional friends of the White House. Now many of those news organizations are looking askance at the president and the greater implications of this very difficult situation.

Here’s just a few recent headlines of note:

“Joe Biden’s defeat will echo for eternity” (The New York Post); “Biden to Afghanistan: Drop dead” (The Wall Street Journal); “Biden’s reassurances on Afghanistan contradict chaotic images on the ground, capping week of bad optics for his administration” (CNN); “Joe Biden’s Afghanistan actions might have lost America’s closest ally” (Newsweek); “White House: Look how well we’re cleaning up the Afghanistan mess we helped make” (Vanity Fair); “Americans’ harsh judgment on Afghanistan costs Biden’s approval, down to 41%” (USA Today); “‘The definition of gaslighting’: As chaos unfolds at Kabul airport, Biden team projects calm” (Politico Magazine); “Biden’s credibility crisis spreads far beyond Afghanistan” (The Washington Examiner).

GALLUP HAS A SAY

Well, things are not so happy out there.

“Americans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. has fallen to 23%, the lowest point since President Joe Biden took office. This marks a 7-percentage-point decline from July,” noted Gallup in an analysis released Tuesday.

“The Aug. 2-17 Gallup poll was largely conducted prior to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power, therefore curbing any potential effect that might have had on Americans’ views,” the analysis said.

“President Biden’s honeymoon is over, and as he continues to respond to the pandemic, he is also facing the first foreign policy crisis of his presidency. As long as these challenges continue and Democrats and some independents are concerned, satisfaction is likely to remain low,” it concluded.

REMEMBERING 30 AMERICANS

Salem Now, the streaming platform for Salem Media, is offering a new dramatic documentary titled “Fallen Angel Call Sign: Extortion 17,” which could resonate with many people at this time.

“On August 6, 2011, 30 Americans, including 17 U.S. Navy SEALs, most from the storied SEAL Team Six, along with five Navy support personnel, three Air Force Pararescue Operators, and the five-man U.S. Army flight crew, made the ultimate sacrifice for their country when their U.S. Army helicopter exploded over the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan, killing all onboard,” the production team said in advance notes shared with Inside the Beltway.

“Even a decade later, both the mission and the aftermath are shrouded in mystery and coverup. What really happened that fateful night to SEAL Team Six?” the producers asked.

“The film reveals the truth behind what happened to SEAL Team Six and the other brave Americans on-board Extortion 17 that August night in 2011. We had the rare opportunity, along the lines of ‘Lone Survivor’ and ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ of complete access to tell the story of the heroism and sacrifice of an elite SEAL Team,” said Don Brown, author of “Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six,” the 2015 nonfiction military exposé on which the project is based.

The new movie, a project of RPM Films and Triple Horse Studio, also includes commentary from family members and insiders; the movie is available to rent or buy.

Find the trailer and the access details at FallenAngelFilm.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 33% of registered U.S. voters say they are “much more likely” to do business with a company that does not require its employees to be vaccinated; 43% of Republicans, 35% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.

• 10% of voters overall are “more likely” to do business with the company; 12% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 22% overall are “much less likely” to do business with them; 13% of Republicans, 19% of independents and 34% of Democrats agree.

• 12% overall are “less likely”; 8% of Republicans, 11% of independents and 15% of Democrats agree.

• 23% overall have no opinion; 23% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.

Source a Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group poll 1,080 registered U.S. voters who are “likely general election voters” conducted Aug. 14-16.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com