It seems like every time I look at the news these last couple of weeks, there is another piece predicting doom and gloom for the Democratic Party. The latest came from Harry Enten at CNN, who said the data shows the shutdown standoff in Washington is backfiring for the left.

“You might think,” he said, “given that the Republicans are in charge of both the House and the Senate, that a government shutdown might actually hurt the Republican brand. But in fact, it hasn’t. If anything, it’s been helped a little bit.”

Enten went on to evaluate the Democrats’ chances in the 2026 midterms. “If you look back to this point when Trump was president the first time around, Democrats were up 11 points. Look at where it is now — Democrats are ahead, but they’re actually only up three points. ... This is a concerning number for Democrats because it’s considerably worse than they traditionally do in midterm elections when there’s a Republican........

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