Republicans' Image Already Has Recovered From Jan. 6

Corporate media and liberal elites may be neurotically writing about the upcoming Jan. 6 anniversary, but most Americans are not focused on it.

Polls show that the riot that attempted to block certification of Joe Biden’s election victory diminished voters’ views of a certain wing of the GOP and caused the usual doomsday forecasts.

I don't understand the point of these sorts of columns. They're not actionable. There's this whole segment that wants to "talk more" about authoritarianism — to what end? Who are you convincing of what? https://t.co/W0vnbDVVtI

— Josh Barro (@jbarro) January 3, 2022

But a year later, Morning Consult’s data show the Republican Party’s image has already rebounded.

“There is no lasting stain on the Republican brand, and though most voters continue to blame Trump for the events as a congressional probe moves through his orbit and homes in on him, they do not appear ready to punish Republicans for the attack on American democracy,” the group explained.

They also reported that from August 2020 to early last year, the percentage of voters believing the GOP was headed in the right direction fell from 32 to 24. But now, sentiment about the Republican Party’s trajectory is better than it was before Jan. 6.

According to the data gathered in late December from 2,000 registered voters, more than one in three say the GOP is headed in the right direction. Improvement was most notable among Republicans, with 65% now saying their party is headed in the right direction — up 14 points since last January.

According to the latest survey, nearly 60% of all Americans said former President Donald Trump is somewhat responsible for the events leading up to Jan. 6, while less than half blamed congressional Republicans. Both figures are down slightly from a year ago.

“But public opinion doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” the report added. “More voters have reason to believe that the GOP is on the right track given the conventional wisdom supporting their chances for midterm election victories, and as America gets further away from the Capitol attack, some of the improvements reflect voters’ reactions to a year of Democratic control of Washington and displeasure with Biden.”

Consult also notes that “Democrats are simply far more likely than other voters to think of the Capitol attack as a seismic event.”

Seven in 10 Democrat voters said Jan. 6 had a “major impact” on their worldview, compared with about a third of independents and 24% of Republicans.

Since July, the share of voters approving of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee has fallen seven points to below 50 — with the decrease across party lines.

Unsurprisingly, this travesty of a piece refers to Jan. 6 as “the most direct threat to our democracy since the Civil War.” https://t.co/TVHZKGGlON

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) January 3, 2022

Lastly the report explains:

“Overall, the trends signal a weariness verging on disinterest in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack one year later, as the midterm elections inch closer and Republicans at all levels of government continue to telegraph their intent to challenge the legitimacy of future electoral contests.”

Americans clearly have more pressing concerns this week than looking backwards.