"Voters tell us utterly contradictory things. Around 60 percent tell pollsters that four-time-indicted former president Donald Trump should drop out. But then nearly half say they’ll vote for him. Which is it? There is a hefty amount of research that what voters say they want doesn’t align with how they vote. Whether it is gas prices or the war in Ukraine or the candidates themselves, respondents often give contradictory answers, suggesting they either don’t understand the question, don’t really know what they think or respond based on tribal loyalty.- Jennifer Rubin, 'I Don't Write About Polls and You Shouldn't Worry About Them Either'. The Washington Post
"We need the media to see 2024 not as a traditional election, but as an effort to mobilize a mass movement that would undo democracy and splatter America with more blood like what was shed Saturday in Jacksonville. We need to understand that if the next 15 months remain the worst-covered election in U.S. history, it might also be the last." - Will Bunch, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 'Journalism fails miserably at explaining what is really happening to America' , Saturday, Sept. 2
" I grind my teeth when someone mentions the "terrible economy" and high cost of food and gas as if Biden is responsible, or when his age is mentioned (though Trump is only a couple of years younger), or when the subject of migrants comes up (so Trump's kidnapping of the children and locking them in cages was better?)." - Commenter on NY Times column, 'Why So Many Americans Are Down On Biden'
"I never understood how good German people could have allowed Hitler to rise to power. I totally get it now. People who are brainwashed don’t know that they’re brainwashed. They aren’t less intelligent. It starts with people having a particular bias. It metastasizes over time into a cult of like-minded minions." - Recent answer from one Quora expert on how Trump became so popular even after Jan. 6 insurrection.
"Imagine for a moment that Biden is suffering from some form of advanced senility. That means “thinking abilities so impaired that it interferes with daily functioning”. So show me one report from any current or past Biden White House staff suggesting that he is incapable of “daily functioning”. The answer is that there are no such reports." - Quora expert addressing person asking: "Why won't liberals just admit Biden is senile?"
"Demonstrate, but don’t mistake demonstrating for political action. Organize people who don’t normally vote to vote for Biden. Mobilize get-out-the-vote efforts in your community. Get young people involved.
— Don’t get deflected by the latest sensationalist post or story by or about Trump. Don’t let the media’s short-term attention span divert your eyes from the prize — the survival of American democracy during one of the greatest stress tests it has had to endure, organized by one of the worst demagogues in American history." Blog post, 'The Terrifying Road Ahead' by Robert Reich, on Substack
"Former Wyoming GOP Sen. Alan Simpson, one of the most acerbic characters in our politics, used to call Republicans “the stupid party.” But Sen. Simpson wasn’t done. Democrats, he said, were “the evil party.” Which would you rather be right now, the stupid party or the evil party? My money says the evil party will find a way out of the Biden-Trump dilemma."
Telegraphing for us right there that he isn't doing those of us on the D-side any favors with his snarky suggestions. Not if he calls the Dems the "evil party". It is a baiting tactic to get Dems to agree and comply- pick a younger no-name- then lose and hand the country back to Trump. He confirms it with the next blather:
"Put it this way: The party that nominates someone other than these two will win the decisive votes of independents, and the election. The Republicans look locked into their forget-the-independents choice. I don’t think the Democrats are."
Right. Ok so what do the Dems do then, Henny? According to him:
"They can open their primaries to an array of
Democratic governors who would evade responsibility for Mr. Biden’s economic
policies: California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, North
Carolina’s Roy Cooper, Colorado’s Jared Polis, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, New
Jersey’s Phil Murphy or Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker."
Wait. "Evade responsibility for Biden' economic policies"? Why do that? As I already pointed out they are succeeding! See my post of Aug. 30th,
Media Disparaging Of Joe Biden Continues With WSJ Troll Not Fit To Shine His Shoes
Further, we learn from the article ('Consumers propel economic growth') on p. A1 of Friday's Wall Street Journal:
"Inflation
ran at a 2.1% annualized rate over the three months through July, close to the
Fed’s 2% target. Core prices rose at a 2.9% annualized rate over the previous
three months, the lowest such reading since January 2021…. The inflation
figures support the case for an extended pause in interest rates...
So why all the pissing and moaning? Well, because too many being polled are allowing their aspirational general election fantasies to get ahead of the political realities. Most of those polled, I wager, don't even keep close track of the deep political dynamic right now, and don't read many articles. They are literally political dilettantes so go with the 'flow' of whatever they see on their social media feeds or what friends tell them, or maybe what they see on CNN or FOX.
Henninger damned well knows this which is why he can offer the twaddle he does about some mystical choice that doesn't really exist in reality. I mean, seriously, does anyone with more than air between the ears believe Josh Shapiro or Gretchen Whitmer or any of the fine others (e.g. J.B. Pritzker) - have anywhere near the name recognition to best Trump? If you do you're consuming more magic mushrooms than even Henny. Who, btw, does have the sense to grasp Trump will be the GOP nominee as when he writes:
"It is
difficult to disagree with the assumption that the multiple prosecutions are
ensuring Mr. Trump’s nomination. Virtually every event related to the four
indictments ratchets up the Republican rage meter another several points for
the former president. You knew that Trump mug shot was worth millions the
moment you saw it. So too U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision to
plop down the Trump trial in Washington on March 4, hours before the Super
Tuesday primary.
The support for Mr. Trump is overwhelmingly an emotional rush and blood feud. But come election time, Democrats won’t do emotion. They’re bloodless, with eyes only on the prize."
So why should we accept his take on Trump being a 'slam dunk', but not Joe Biden? Well, because as a Trump cheerleader he wants the orange maggot to win! Thus, he's being absolutely disingenuous when he writes that last sentence about Dems "eyes only on the prize". Not with the younger potential candidates Henninger trotted out - ONLY with Joe Biden. So only a fool would gamble putting anyone else to run against Trump given Biden already beat his ass in 2020. So no, there will be no new Jim Clyburn moment. Don't hold your breath, just stop daydreaming. Think also of the dire consequences if Trump does regain power, starting with turning our constitutional Republic into an autocracy, i.e.
Latest Political News Should Make Every American Voter's Blood Boil
Which denials of rights is already underway in Texas, i.e. to prevent women in that state from using roads to get out of state to abortion providers, e.g.
Excerpt:
"Ordinances like the one proposed in Llano — where some 80 percent of voters in the county backed President Donald Trump in 2020 — make it illegal to transport anyone to get an abortion on roads within the city or county limits. Antiabortion advocates behind the measure are targeting regions along interstates and in areas with airports, with the goal of blocking off the main arteries out of Texas and keeping pregnant women hemmed within the confines of their antiabortion state."
Then there is the REEP plan, should Dotard become president, to expedite their "Project 2025" to immediately hire "20,000 henchmen" to exterminate all remaining green or alternative energy programs. According to columnist Jim Hightower ('The Right's Plan for Success: Let Earth Burn'): the Reeps "intend to implement their project in the first 180 days of a Republican administration." Adding: "They've already drawn up a list of agencies and policies they will begin eliminating on Day One." Hightower then quoted one Reep spokesperson who asserted: "This is where the conservative movement sits at this time."
Namely accelerating all oil and gas drilling, even in national parks, defunding all environment agencies and spreading propaganda in schools like Desantis is doing in Florida regarding black history and trans rights. Hightower then claims: "It damn sure won't sit well with the American people, who're currently suffering the ravages of our rapidly overheating climate." True, it may not "sit well" with them, but they have to prove that with their votes in next year's general election.
That highlights one of the more disturbing pieces (Trump’s Status as an anti-hero is making him unstoppable ) encountered over the weekend, by Financial Times columnist Jemima Kelly. She notes that Trump may be guilty of sexual abuse of women, lying, cheating and insurrection but he "also has all sorts of redeeming features: charisma, charm, relatability, huge stamina and the ability to be very funny, among other things." In other words, the attributes of the "anti-hero" along the lines of Godfather Michael Corleone, Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid, and John Dillinger. Attributes that too many Americans are suckers for. Kelly also writes:
"In the real world courage, conviction, humility, honesty and fortitude can defeat an anti-hero ..but
unfortunately these are now in short supply – which makes Trump increasingly
threatening."
The latest indication that too many have lost their minds and bearings- and aren't paying attention- is the NBC poll in which 51% award Trump superior "accomplishments" to Joe Biden's 41%. What "accomplishments"? Trying to overthrow the government? Fomenting an insurrection? Have these twits forgotten all the crimes Trump committed and has been indicted for? Or do they simply not care, enamored by the cult of the anti-hero?
And also the WSJ poll that 59% fault Biden on economics. What MJ candies or magic mushrooms are these goobers gobbling? Has the national I.Q. suddenly plunged below moron level? All I hear from Janice now when these headlines, stories appear is: "See. I told you your countrymen were a pack of uneducated idiots!"
As if to put an acidic exclamation point on her comment, LA Times columnist Jonah Goldberg in his column today ('Joe Biden’s age poses a big issue he can’t get around' ) wrote this mindless twaddle:
“the basic problem for Biden is that, while Americans don’t necessarily know a lot about the finer points of public policy or the arcana of the legislative process, they do know what an oldster, already well-past life expectancy, looks like when age starts to take its toll. The Democrats are betting that even if Americans think Biden is physically unfit for the presidency, he can beat Donald Trump because Trump is characterologically unfit. The bet might pay off, but it strikes me as a wildly irresponsible gamble.”
So Goldberg admits upfront 'Muricans "don't know a lot about the finer points of policy" - which they don't - but then argues going with Joe Biden is an "irresponsible gamble." Against what? Nominating a younger next to 'no -name', untested in a sure to be toxic presidential campaign and with no campaign machinery (or power of an existing position) to fight from? Sorry, that is a certain loser bet I would not make in any Vegas book. Short of Trump suddenly getting dementia and being unable to string two words together, it is a non-starter. Besides, Trump is not only "characterologically unfit" but ethically and morally unfit (serial rapist, admitted "pussy grabber"), apart from being a twice- impeached, 91- felony count indicted insurrectionist traitor. I rest my case.
Meanwhile, Janice's dubious take of Americans' intelligence is supported by WAPo columnist Jennifer Rubin's observations (see top quote) that they routinely contradict themselves in polls. A take with which the right-leaning Wall Street Journal agrees - noting in yet another polling piece:
"Two-thirds of voters who usually side with Democrats say the economy is in excellent or good and inflation lower…At the same time, roughly 3 in 5 voters polled by the Journal disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, and 63% of voters don’t like how the president has handled inflation."
So the economy is rated "excellent or good" by two-third of voters, yet 3 in 5 (60%) don't believe Biden had anything to do with it? Or lowering inflation?What? It was Martians? Oh wait, maybe the Repukes? The same lot who might crater our credit in two weeks with a government shutdown. No wonder Janice repeatedly complains that Americans are a "pack of idiots." I asked her if there's any event that can prove to her otherwise. "Yes!", she said. "When I see Joe Biden win in a landslide next November!"
What may be also true is the mainstream U.S. political press has again proven itself incompetent to objectively cover a critical presidential election. This is the take of LA Times columnist Michael Hiltzik, ‘Foolish Fixation on Biden’s Age May Tilt Election’, as when he notes:
“The consequence of the press’ fixation on the issue of Biden’s age, despite his evident capability for governing, is that public opinion will be skewed in Trump’s favor. The importance of the press in reporting fairly and incisively on the issues at large in the coming presidential election is inescapable. So far its failure has become more evident with every passing day. Time’s getting short for it to turn itself around.”
The sober upshot of all the above is that come November next year, non-Trumper citizens need to have their heads screwed on straight, not in the clouds with electoral fantasies or infected by ditzy aspirations of younger candidates. In other words, it is literally Biden or Bust. (At least if you want to prove to Janice you have an I.Q. above room temperature digits!)
And don't even remotely entertain the idea of sitting this election out or voting No Labels, unless you want all aspects of the Trump-Reep nightmare to come true!
See Also:
by Robert Becker | September 16, 2023 - 7:12am | permalink
The world is divided between cultures that esteem older people for their wisdom and experience vs. those that denigrate aging as a slow, burdensome decline to oblivion. Weirdly, despite zero appealing “youngsters” willing to challenge an incumbent president, two-thirds of Democrats want someone else. Are these grumblers terrified the guy running the show will keel over – or freeze in front of a camera? In the end all that matters is performance, not fear-driven, crystal ball speculations. At any age, I’d take Biden over misfits Trump, McConnell, DeSantis, Cruz, or Hawley. Forget the doddering ancients.
Not only that, but listen to this absurd poll: 77% of Americans want maximum age limits for all elected officials. Talk about age discrimination! Who draws that line? Most ludicrous of all, a recent Wall Street Journal poll alleged that 60% think Biden lacks the mental acuity to be president (vs. 49% for Trump!). Such folly decimates confidence in majority rule. On his worst day, Biden runs a functional, scandal-free White House that makes Trump’s look like a farcical, insane asylum. Another contradictory poll posits that 60% of Americans think Trump should not run at all.
by Heather Digby Parton | September 7, 2023 - 7:51am | permalink
And:
Opinion | Polls are ruining our politics. Stop paying attention. - The Washington Post
And:
by Robert Becker | May 11, 2023 - 6:38am | permalink
And:
Biden’s Age, Economic Worries Endanger Re-Election in 2024, WSJ Poll Finds
And:
Trump Is Top Choice for Nearly 60% of GOP Voters
And:
Biden attacks amount to ageism | READER COMMENTARY (baltimoresun.com)
And:
9 of 10 Say Country "Is On the Wrong Track?" Why The Anti-Biden Polling Fools May Never Get It
And:
Even with Manchin, RFK Jr. On Ticket The "No Labels" Third Party Option Is A Non-Starter
And:
by Thom Hartmann | September 1, 2023 - 6:57am | permalink
And:
Excerpt:
Legal scholars are arguing that under the 14th Amendment, former President Donald Trump "is ineligible to hold office under Article III of the Constitution's 14th Amendment because of his alleged involvement in a criminal conspiracy to steal the 2020 election and remain in power."
United States Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said during a Sunday interview with ABC'sThis Week,"In my view, the attack on the Capitol that day was designed for a particular purpose at a particular moment, and that was to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power of as is laid out in the Constitution. So I think there's a powerful argument to be made."
During Sunday night's episode of MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan Show, Hasan spoke with Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser, asking, "If this ends up in the Supreme Court, which I assume it will be, if a state takes the radical stamp of disqualifying one of the two major presidential candidates from running on the basis that is a violation of the 14th Amendment, what will the Supreme Court with three Trump justices do?
And:
Sorry, Henny, Voters Already Decided Trump's Future - No Redux Needed- Or Wanted!
And:
No comments:
Post a Comment