It may be just weeks away, but the 2018 midterm elections are already an early talking point on Fox News and talk radio. Fox anchor Bill Hemmer has invited GOP pollster Frank Luntz onto the network to explain how vulnerable Democratic candidates may lose their seats because of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Luntz also discussed that and the “blue wave” during a September 12 appearance on Fox Business Network.
Hemmer asked Luntz about an interview he did with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on September 10. During that interview, Luntz discussed “Trump Derangement Syndrome” -- the idea that even reasonable people could be pushed into opposing President Trump because of their political animus towards him. According to Luntz, those people could be affected in “swing districts,” as if they exist. Hemmer noted that Luntz did not agree with the premise that “anyone who wants to beat Trump is going to lose.”
Hemmer also wondered aloud why Democrats have to work so hard to convince voters that they support “open borders” and are not in favor of secure borders. And why do Democrats push the narrative that they want universal health care while also pushing policies that would “get rid of private health care?”
Hemmer then raised the idea that the recent midterm election was the result of Republican enthusiasm and that Democratic candidates had “trouble uniting a team” because they were dealing with too much infighting. Hemmer did not mention that Republicans have already been winning midterm elections since 2006 by an average of eight points. Instead, he claimed that “some Democratic candidates seem to be running away from ObamaCare.”
Luntz continued Hemmer’s line of questioning. He used the opportunity to criticize the Democrats’ support for universal healthcare as “lazy” and suggested that Democrats should work to “disadvantage” Republicans. He was also skeptical of the idea of “free college for all” and argued that most voters “aren’t interested in open borders.”
From there, Hemmer raised the recent controversy surrounding the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which passed a non-binding resolution criticizing President Trump for his response to the mass shooting in El Paso, TX, that left 22 people dead. Hemmer seemed to equate the non-binding resolution with actual legislation and implied that Democrats would not be able to defend their support for more gun control.
And he claimed that the idea that Democrats are not in favor of open borders is just a lie. He brought in fellow Fox Business host Trish Regan to state that Democrats “want open borders. And they've been trying to bring in all these refugees. And we have an election coming up.” She pointed out that many of the Democrats in Congress have represented districts that are home to “tens of thousands of Somalis, who are pouring into these communities -- and they want to increase this.”
Luntz agreed that this immigration is a winning issue for Democrats and made sure to reiterate that “Democrats have done a good job of keeping this out.” And Hemmer agreed, telling viewers, “They've done a very good job of messaging this.”
Regan then played a clip of Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod arguing that there was “hate all over this” and that Democrats need to “take our voices out there and talk about the things that actually matter to people, that they care about in their community.” Elrod also explained that the focus on impeachment is harmful to the Democrats and argued that the national discourse “is moving away from the issues that matter to working families.”
Regan seemed surprised by the argument.
Hemmer agreed that it sounded as if Democrats were “running away” from the issues they supported. He also expressed skepticism that Democrats will be able to push through more gun control legislation. He then asked Luntz about this, asking why “Democrats don't embrace” the message of “common sense gun laws? Luntz answered by saying that Republicans are too afraid to talk about it and that Democrats are not being “strident enough.” He added that President Trump’s focus on “illegal immigration and sanctuary cities” means that Republicans are not getting distracted by their own issues, which will force the media to cover the other issues, such as gun control.
Luntz added that Democrats are not presenting a good message on immigration.
Hemmer also brought up the potential for a “blue wave” in the upcoming midterms and wondered if this is another “red wave” that Democrats should be afraid of. He asked if this idea of a blue wave means that the “momentum is with the Democrats.”
Luntz quickly responded that there is not “necessarily” a blue wave coming. He explained that the Democrats’ lead in generic polling does not mean that there will be a large swing of seats. However, he then added that if Democrats are able to show that they are “moving from the socialist side to the progressive side” and “focusing on the things that Americans care about, like the cost of healthcare -- it could make a difference.” He then mentioned that even “centrist Democrats” might be willing to vote for some of the legislation.
Hemmer also played the clip of former Republican Senator Rick Santorum saying that “this is not a blue wave,” suggesting that the Democratic Party is being “dismissive” about the threat of a midterm loss. Luntz agreed, adding that he does not “see a blue wave coming.” He told Hemmer that the Democrats were very lucky in the 2018 elections because of the “gulf” in enthusiasm between their supporters and Republicans. He also told Hemmer that because Democrats are relying on “anti-Trump fury,” they are pushing their voters away.
Hemmer then turned to the “blue wave” theme again. He brought up that he thought that “momentum was with the Democrats” last year and that Democrats were “not making this easy on themselves.” Hemmer also accused Democrats of “playing footsy with Bernie,” who is expected to launch another campaign.
From there, Hemmer brought up comments from a Republican pollster who said that the most important issues for voters are immigration and health care. He then asked Luntz if it is a “fallacy to assume that because Trump did a terrible job of talking about the economy, Democrats can do a better job of talking about it.” He then asked if they will be “overtaken by the anti-Trump wave?”
Luntz quickly responded that he does not think it is “necessarily a wave.” However, he said that he does think “this is going to be a close election, but a negative environment will not necessarily give us the change we need.”
Hemmer also brought up Elrod again, saying that Democrats want to work on issues that “make Americans’ lives better.” He then brought up Elrod’s comments about “hate” in the Democratic Party and argued that the Democrats had “hate” on the agenda because of the GOP’s approach to immigration.
Regan suggested that Republicans are “falling short” in talking about issues such as health care. Luntz agreed, stating that Republicans have been making the issue of health care “irrelevant” in recent years. Luntz said that while Democrats are focusing on healthcare, Republicans are “still talking about Trump” and that this is “not good for Republicans” and that they should instead be focused on issues that matter to voters. He then added that if Democrats want to win back the Senate in 2020, they need to focus on issues other than healthcare.
Hemmer then brought up comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said that it is “very hard for Democrats to keep from talking about impeachment” and “that’s going to be distracting to her voters.” He then brought up a recent Democratic donor who said he was frustrated with Pelosi because he does not think that “she can say anything about Trump without being told she's being divisive.”
Luntz quickly agreed.
Hemmer then brought up some other recent polls that suggested the idea of a blue wave was not accurate. He also said that while Democrats are not necessarily focused on winning over voters, they have no “message other than ‘the opposition to Trump’ and this may be an effective tactic in the midterms. However, he then asked if this is a bad strategy for 2020.
Luntz responded, “This is a bad strategy for any midterm or any election.”
Hemmer then brought up comments from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) who said that it is hard for Democrats to talk about healthcare because they have not “had a chance to articulate their vision.” Luntz quickly jumped in, saying, “The best way to talk about healthcare is not to focus on it, but to talk about how you're going to get the cost down and talk about things that you can do with Medicare and Medicaid that will not increase cost.” He added that the focus on healthcare is “divisive.”
Regan then noted that Luntz and others have said that it is important to go into “what is going on with your healthcare and what happens, when you go to the doctor, and you can’t get in. And what is this ‘affordable care act?’”
Luntz agreed. He went on to explain that the way to push health care reforms is not to go “back to the same message” that “health care is a right” or that “health care should be free.” Instead, he recommended that Republicans push “
