Ukraine has given the Biden and administration and Democrats the opportunity they need for a reset. Putin’s invasion has shifted the conversation and united the country and our political leaders the way nothing else has. Biden’s getting high marks for his response, pulling to together allies to support the Ukrainians and punish Russia. He offers a stark contrast to the disjointed foreign policy of his predecessor and our allies seem relieved. 

Just two months ago, the failure of the Build Back Better bill, and the infighting that preceded it, made Democrats look divided and impotent, despite earlier legislative successes. Now, that debate seems like a distant memory. The party has an opportunity to move on. The Ukrainian situation will help Biden’s approval rating in the short term, but the party still needs to find legislative success in passing a more modest domestic agenda. 

The invasion of Ukraine has also given old school, establishment Republicans an opportunity to retake their party from Trump’s nationalists. The Trumpers are finding themselves on the wrong side of most Americans. Trump’s unabashed admiration for Putin now looks more like a liability and his enablers and sycophants like Madison Cawthorn are getting scorn from the leaders of their own party. 

Tucker Carlson, Fox News, and other right-wingers are still pushing pro-Russia propaganda, but it’s putting them on the fringe instead of influencing the middle. As the sheen comes off of Trump and his enablers, the people who support them may lose their enthusiasm for voting. They are the infrequent voters who showed up in droves to support Trump, but didn’t show up in 2018 when he wasn’t on the ballot. If Trump’s world view is on the wane, they won’t be likely be motivated enough to go vote for more rank-and-file Republicans like Pat McCrory while the middle may be reluctant support Trumpers like Ted Budd. 

Inflation will continue to dog the Biden administration and will outlast Americans’ focus on Ukraine. Regardless, the administration needs to continue to blame higher gas prices on Russia just like the Republicans are blaming them on Biden. Neither story is true. Gas prices are going up because of disruptions caused by COVID. As one analyst explains, demand plummeted when COVID first hit and production followed suit during the last eight months of the Trump administration. With countries across the globe now recovering, demand is outpacing supply. But since that’s too much information for most Americans to digest, they’re likely to blame somebody. Republicans want it to be Biden. And Biden needs to keep blaming Putin. 

In addition, Republicans in state legislatures are overreaching. Anticipating the gutting of Roe v. Wade, Republicans are pushing anti-abortion bills that will anger and mobilize young women, driving a deeper wedge between voters under 40 and the GOP. Most people aren’t paying enough attention to stop the legislation from passing, but they will wake up and find their rights sharply curtailed. There will be a backlash, if not in 2022, then 2024. 

When Americans finally return to focusing on domestic issues instead of the horrors of Ukraine, Democrats need to have a more tempered approach. They should be pushing back on their left flank and show middle class Americans that they are on their side, trying to control inflation and offering concrete solutions to ease the pain of rising prices. They should be celebrating the return to normalcy instead of talking about additional mask mandates. And they should be bashing Republicans for their radical anti-women legislation. In short, they should be addressing the concerns of mainstream America instead of pushing an aggressive agenda supported mainly by their interest groups.