Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Election Issues Democrats

Yeah, MA Rep makes sense. A lot of voters voted against Trump, just wanting to return to normalcy and a saner time. But they also voted Republican down ballot which resulted in a 13 seat house loss, 2 state legislatures and a governorship. I agree, they wanted the moderate Biden, the Biden as a senator and as VP. Not the new progressive winger.

But isn't this the same mistake most presidents make? They get elected, perceive it to be a mandate, they govern to their bases wishes which lead to heavy losses in the first midterm. One needs to remember Biden had no coat tails. He failed to bring along a single democrat in his 7 plus million vote victory. He is the first president who won the popular vote via the presidency to lose house seats since 1884, Grover Cleveland. Now Cleveland won the popular vote by a mere 58,000 votes, not 7 million.

To me, 2020 was nothing more than a rejection of Trump by the voters, especially independents. Not a mandate, not an endorsement of the Democratic Party's agenda and ideals. I'd say far from the latter. Independents gave Biden his victory. They went for Biden 54-41 over Trump. In Virginia Biden won independents 57-38 over Trump in 2020, one year later, Youngkin, Republican won independents 54-45 over McAuliffe. That's an 28 point swing in a one year period. From a plus 19 to a minus 9.

I think this question explains Biden's and the Democrats problem - 2. So far, would you say Joe Biden has had the right priorities, or that he hasn't paid enough attention to the
country's most important problems?

Independents responded 64-36 that Biden and company hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems.

http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/images/11/08/rel7a.-.politics.pdf

A hint here, it isn't the BBB. In my opinion it's rising prices and the appearance of empty shelves in stores. As Bill Clinton once said, "It's the economy, stupid." 38% of independents said this was their most important issue. COVID 18%, immigration 13% etc. Most important with only a choicer of one issue.

Greger,
How have you been. I still have a little more than a year before I can get Medicare. When that happens, I will retire and move to FL. I cannot wait.

I was not a big Donald Trump fan, mostly because he had no idea how a POTUS should act, his policies, though, were pretty good. He was going to cruise to reelection had it not been for twitter. Having said that, people didn't want Joe Biden as President he was the least objectional candidate to many. If he took a minute to evaluate the 2020 election, he would have realized that people were sick of Donald Trump, not his policies. Depending on who is next in the White House, it could be a long time before the Dems are trusted again.

Biden has no idea of how to frame a policy, except in the worst possible way. America doesn't want $3.5T social engineering spending, hell they really didn't want $1.2T infrastructure investment. They want a quiet life with low taxes and no drama. The Dems are all about drama, high profile, touchy feely drama. They want to pay people money to compensate for them breaking the law. Now, I would give them bus fare back to Mexico, but that is me. They knew what the situation was, they knew the consequences of their actions, yet we should pay them for breaking the law? The polls say that immigration sits around 14% with independents, but greater than 50% are against the idea of paying them. Biden wants to shut down a pipeline in MI. The price of oil and gas are $1.50 more per gallon over just a year ago. Inflation went away with Jimmy Carter, now its back. There are empty shelves in stores, the first time in my life that has happened.

I don't have a whole lot of faith that we will solve these issues before 2022. If we can't, then we are in real trouble and the Dems will be tarred with the blame. Probably isn't all that fair, but self-inflected political wounds are hard to hide.

Tim

There's a paywall? Didn't know that.

Welp, I ran into it too. Dang, I didn't quote from it when I could. Here's the raw data from Suffolk University: https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suf...9D71EE1891062534BBCA26BE96FD4E39700398C2

True. But what Americans want and what Americans need are not always the same thing.

Cans have been kicked down roads for decades now, and while you might believe that everything is fine and nothing needs to be done about anything, I am of the opinion that a day of reckoning is coming if we continue on our current path.

Even though they didn't really want a $1.2 Trillion dollar infrastructure investment...they really needed it.

I would add to that: yes there’s a difference between what Americans want and what Americans need, but what t Americans want isalittle more than they’re willing to admit, in addition to low taxes and no drama.

Take away those paved roads and public schools and state and national holidays, and safe plane flights, subsidized agriculture products, and we’ll see how loud they yell. Because we want those things for free, no taxes, paid by an unidentified Somebody Else, because it’s owed to us, by god.

I agree with you two, what most Americans want and probably need, they don't want to pay for. They want low taxes with all the benefits of high taxes. Hence our national debt rises and rises and rises. The burdon of low taxes and wanting and at time getting without paying for it, that falls on our children, our grand kids, great grand kids and the unborn.

I agree, we'll end up paying for it at sometime. That sometime may not be that far into the future either.

I think the most extreme example, is bridges that have had maintenance deferred for so long they collapse.

As Al Franken said:
Infrastructure is vital to everyone because your Rolls Royce falls just as quickly as a Hyundai when the bridge collapses.

Near as I could tell, Trump's policies were all for the advancement of Donald Trump, but packaged up in Dr. Donner's Snake Oil Elixir.

"It's Good Fer Whut Ails Ya!"

(The ingredients, mainly boolshite, weren't listed on the label... bet one of those lawsuits against him is about truth in advertising.)