In recent weeks we’ve been reading (and hearing) reports claiming that voter-support for Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats has definitely taken a turn for the better. Democrat-shills in print- and broadcast-media have been breathlessly reporting that The Kid – meaning our much superannuated Good Old Joe – is coming back. The way things seem to be going, Dems holding onto both houses of Congress looks possible – contrary to previous predictions of an election doomsday for Democrats in November. Several polls seem to confirm that things are definitely looking up for the beleaguered Democrats. Happy days might be here again – at least for one side of the political spectrum.
Is this for real? After all, the economy is in the dumpster, gas prices are still close to $4.00 a gallon, inflation is over 8%, crime is running wild in big cities, police forces can’t find enough cops, and thousands of illegals are streaming across our southern border every month. With all this, could Joe (The Kid) and his merry band of brigands and poltroons somehow work a miracle in time to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat in the November midterms? Do miracles still happen?
Yes, miracles do sometimes occur, but not necessarily on demand, and not too often in politics when a party in charge has really messed up. As a 70-year observer of political strategies and elections, I would say that this story of “Joe da Kid’s” miraculous comeback smells like the usual election-strategy Democrats employ when their prospects are ranging somewhere between slim and none.
How does that strategy work? We’ve seen it in numerous election cycles, over the years, although many voters seem not to realize how they’ve been played. For their benefit (as well as my own) I’ll review what Dems do when they’re in deep doo-doo with Normal Culture voters. Basically, the elements are Claims, Objectives and Means. Books are written on all this, so we’ll just sketch a brief outline here.
Claims.
When Democrats are trying to salvage an election for a president and/or Congress whose policies and executive actions have made a mess for the country, they generally rely on their allies in the print- and broadcast-media to blanket the country with claims along the following lines (not a comprehensive list):
(1) There’s really nothing wrong. We’re fine. Problems are much exaggerated, so quit complaining – nobody’s starving. Are you going to believe us, or your lyin’ eyes? The president’s Press Secretary usually takes the lead on this line, but various cabinet members will chime in, too.
(2) OK, some minor screw-ups might have occurred – no details – but we’re making corrections and things will be fine from now on. Relax – everything is under control. (“Shut up,” the president explained.)
(3) Our whole governmental system is broken. It has to be changed. The Senate filibuster and Electoral College have to go. We need statehood for DC and Puerto Rico. The outdated Constitution needs to be rewritten.
(4) Any real problems were caused by somebody else, not us. (“You’re responsible for the mess we’re in!” – Oliver Hardy, ca. 1930)
(5) Republicans actually caused our current problems by blocking our agenda and preventing implementation of our valuable improvements.
(6) Republicans are the real problem. Not only are their policies wrong, but they’re enemies of the State. They must be voted out.
(7) All Republicans are truly evil. They must be rounded up and arrested, or driven from the country entirely. (Sound familiar?)
Objectives.
Democrats’ political objectives never change:
(1) Persuade Democrat Party members to get to work and vote (early and often). Demand permanent installation of mail-in ballots and ballot drop-boxes. Take control of vote-counting, and bar Republicans from being present.
(2) Convince Republicans that the game is lost, and there’s no point in voting. This is one of Democrats’ oldest election ploys, dating back to FDR’s time when it was actually true. But that time is past. No Republican today should be buying it.
(3) Assure independent voters that Democrats are still their best bet. We’ll get it right this time. If you’re an independent voter who believes that, Brooklyn Democrats have a bridge to sell you.
Means.
(1) Polls and media. Pre-election polls are almost always wrong – sometimes grossly so – but Democrats keep using them to achieve the above objectives. Their media-allies continue to broadcast poll-predictions that are questionable (at best) or deliberately false (at worst). The Goebbels strategy of repeating a lie loudly enough (and often enough), until it is believed, is still Democrats’ most useful tool.
(2) Distractions. Events and proclamations to draw voters’ attention away from real economic and social problems are also valuable tools for Dems. Unforeseen events, like the death of Queen Elizabeth II, can boost a president’s low approval ratings by making him look “presidential.” But it’s only temporary. Planned events, like Joe Biden’s radical September 1st speech, when he branded MAGA Republicans as “fascists,” can furnish weeks of distractions for commentators and reporters to chase after – leaving real election issues tucked safely away from voters’ sight and hearing.
(3) Radical actions. We’re hearing the word “unprecedented” a great deal nowadays. Maybe it’s overused a bit, but I can assure my readers that harassment of a former president by federal law-enforcement – including an actual raid of his home by armed FBI agents – is absolutely unprecedented. Nothing like it has ever been done across our entire 233-year history as a nation. Even Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee were not arrested.
Dedicated anti-Trumpers might argue that all this is happening because we have never had a president as lawless as Donald Trump. (He was actually a businessman, for heaven’s sake! Of course he’s a crook.) But now, day after day, we’re learning that all those lurid tales of Russian collusion and abuse of power (etc., etc.) were purest moonshine. The so-called Steele Dossier, with its stories of Mr. Trump’s supposed Russia-collusion and salacious behavior, was paid for by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. FBI officials knew it was rubbish, but declared it factual to help Mrs. Clinton.
Democrats have been determined to bring down Mr. Trump ever since he and his wife rode down that hotel-escalator in 2015. The party of the donkey has become more hysterical and unhinged as salvo after salvo of sewage has failed to touch a thick-skinned New York tycoon who knows how to give as good as he gets. Dems’ clear objective in this no-holds-barred campaign of radical acts is:
- To actually indict President Trump and bring him to trial; or
- To smear him so thoroughly that he can’t possibly win another term.
How far will this go? Imprisonment of the former president? Actual violence? An armed standoff between the FBI and Mr. Trump’s Secret Service detail? Unless the deranged perpetrators can be stopped, there’s no telling how bad it could get.
Will all this radical governance, including politically motivated arrests, help Kid Biden stave off disastrous defeat? Is The Kid really coming back? Color me “doubtful” on that, but we’ll see. There’s plenty that I don’t know. But I am quite certain that this radical effort to destroy a former (and possibly future) president is setting a precedent that’s far from the America I ever knew. (I wonder if Joe Biden even realizes how this precedent will affect him after he leaves office.)
If we let this treatment of former presidents get established, there will be no going back from the Banana Republic we’ll have become. No true patriot – Democrat, Republican or independent – should want that. I urge a united effort to correct our destructive course and restore civility to our governance, without delay.
“Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.” (Ronald Reagan)
