LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Let's get a take on the countdown to the midterms from Paul Begala. He's a longtime Democratic strategist who worked in the Clinton administration. He's now a political contributor to CNN. Good morning, Paul, and welcome back to the program.
PAUL BEGALA: Good morning, Leila. Thanks for having me back.
FADEL: So Mara Liasson just told us that this election is about the political advantages Democrats have with voters versus structural advantages for Republicans. In your view, what is the better advantage to have?
BEGALA: Well, the structural advantages the Democrats have - the fundamentals, the most important thing, the one thing is that Republicans are the status quo in a time of change. Republicans have the House, Republicans have the Senate, Republicans have the White House. God knows they have the Supreme Court. People want change and the only way to get change is to vote Democratic.
We've seen this trifecta. You know, I've done this a long time. President Clinton, who I worked for, we lost 54 House seats in our midterm. President Bush lost 31 in his second midterm. Obama lost 63. Trump lost 41. The Republicans are going to lose 40 or more. Book it. It just - it's a structural thing. You add to that those things Mara talked about - the president's deep unpopularity, the terrible inflation, especially gas prices, groceries, rent, utilities, the enthusiasm gap. I mean, the...
FADEL: I...
BEGALA: My advice to Republicans - build an arc, man.
FADEL: I have a question about that, though, because the president, yes, is polling badly, but the Democratic Party is also polling quite badly. Does that temper your expectations?
BEGALA: No. It's like that old joke about the two old guys at the diner and one says, the food here is terrible. And the other says, yeah, the portions are so small, too. I'm a Democrat. I've been a Democrat all my life. I would tell a pollster I'm not happy with the Democrats. Democrats are unhappy with their party 'cause they're not fighting Trump enough. Republicans are unhappy with their party because the Epstein files, the Iran war and inflation - these are things they did not vote for, you know?
I mean, I know I'm a Democrat, but 75 million people voted for Trump, and they're good people. They did not vote for high inflation, high tariffs, foreign wars and to - they believe - cover up the Epstein files. So their base is depressed. My base is excited. They're unhappy with the party, but they're excited. That's how you get a wave. You know, the amplitude of a wave is the peak to the trough. And their trough is very low 'cause their enthusiasm is low. Democrats are very high 'cause their enthusiasm is high.
FADEL: But we're also seeing a lot of that excitement about candidates that are quite left, including a key state in Michigan. The race for control of the Senate looks pretty close, and as Mara told us, the Democrats have a choice between a left-wing populist and a moderate. Who do you consider to be a better pick to attract swing voters in November in a swing state like Michigan?
BEGALA: Oh, it's not even close. My biggest worry about 99 days from now in the midterm is that the far left will taint the Democrat brand. Keep in mind, the democratic socialists are not Democrats. They have their own party, and they have their own, to my mind, very eccentric platform, things like no U.S. Senate, no police, no military. I mean, it's - it is - they are, to most voters, nuts.
FADEL: But they also argue that the Democratic brand is not popular with voters, and that's why the Democrats have been losing.
BEGALA: Yeah. Because they're trash at it. The far left gave us, you know, Dr. Jill Stein, who helped elect Mr. Trump. I mean, they gave us Ralph Nader, who helped elect George Bush. So yeah, the Democrat brand is down in part because the socialists are attacking us. That means we're doing something right, the Democrats. But I am worried. I am very worried.
You know, we have this wonderful, moderate candidate in Omaha, OK? This is a district held by a Republican incumbent but carried by Kamala Harris. Classic swing district. And it's Omaha. It's a great town. Denise Powell is a Democrat. The Republicans - she's a mom, she's a small business owner, you know, public school advocate, healthcare - she's just a very mainstream Omaha Democrat. The Republicans are calling her DSA Denise, like she's a socialist. So I'm very worried about those extremists tainting my party's brand.
FADEL: Now, the New York Times reported over the weekend about troubles inside the Democratic National Committee. One is that the party is broke. Now, NPR has not independently confirmed that reporting, but if true, how does that impact the party going into the midterms, given that the Republican Party has so much more money?
BEGALA: Sadly, the national parties have become almost irrelevant. And I think that's a shame. But the candidates are raising enough in the Democratic Party. If the Democrats lose - and they won't, it'll be a landslide - but if they do, it will not be 'cause of lack of money. Jon Ossoff, the incumbent senator in Georgia, which Mr. Trump carried twice, he's got $42 million cash on hand. I mean, he can spend a half a million dollars a day for the rest of the election without raising more.
James Talarico, the very impressive Democrat in my home state of Texas, has raised 72 million. So the Democrats will have enough money. They ought not whine about that.
FADEL: Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Paul Begala. Thank you for your time and your insights.
BEGALA: Thanks, Leila.
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