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Monday, November 1, 2021

Why Does This Keep Happening and What Are We Going to do About It?

NBC News Reports Drop in Biden Job Approval

NBC news has reported a job approval rating for President Biden at 42 percent.  One of the Democratic pollsters made the statement that "what people voted for was stability and calm and what they got was instability and chaos."  

I find both the poll numbers and the statements from "Democratic pollsters" hard to believe.  

By what standard is "instability and chaos" being evaluated?  Trump hasn't even been out of office for a year, and have we forgotten that instability and chaos?  And if you want credibility, don't just jaw about "instability and chaos."  Point something out.  What they came up with was Afghanistan, which was a Trump mess left behind to clean up, the "new surge" of coronavirus cases and deaths, rising inflation, "disappointing job numbers," and Democratic infighting over the President's agenda.  

That's it?  

The one aspect of Biden's Presidency so far that I might broadly associate with the term "chaotic" would be the border situation.  And there wasn't really much mentioned about that, a passing reference to immigration, but they got this backward.  

If this is what passes for journalism these days, then there are some questions to be answered about the poor quality of the journalism programs at universities who offer it as a major or minor.  I see a lot of following, but not a lot of stepping up and leading.  This is one poll.  Granted, there are others who show an erosion in support for Biden, some more credible than others.  But there are polls, several of them, with larger samples, that show a much higher level of support for Biden.  

This particular article blames the drop on "key elements of the Democratic base."  That's what makes this hard to believe.  Really?  There's been some grumbling from progressives about the betrayal of the party's values by Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin.  But that other stuff, sorry, that may be what this group of journalists is fretting about, but I can't imagine a segment of the Democratic party that lacks the kind of intelligence and thinking skills it would take to consider Biden's coronavirus response and the current economic situation as "instability and chaos."  That's what these journalists are projecting, not what Democrats are thinking. 

Major Frustration

The Republican party has, since the days of Richard Nixon, gradually abandoned the American Republic, for which their party is named, in favor of a "winner take all" approach that demonizes their opposition and attempts to disqualify them not only from participation in the government, as either a minority party or the majority, but also from their constitutionally-guaranteed rights.  Extremist propagandists in right wing media, like Rush Limbaugh, Rupert Murdock and Steve Bannon, pushed the narrative along to create the conflict.  

I realize that rolling up into a tight little ball like that goes against the very core values of the Democratic party.  But we're at a point now where "winner take all" spells the end of the American constitutional republic and the beginning of a deterioration of civil society.  The Democratic party finally has the numbers to keep this right wing lunatic assylum out of power.  But it needs the will to use it.  

I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher shortly after President Obama was elected.  Hey, censoring everything leads to ignorance.  It was one of the best five-minute segments I've ever seen on that show.  He pointed out that the Democrats are now in power and they should immediately begin taking advantage of it by bulldozing their way right through Republican opposition at full steam ahead.  He advocated for busting up the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court, getting as much of the progressive, liberal agenda into law and butressed by clauses that would prevent an eventual GOP majority from dismantline the reforms.  He pointed out that on the occasions when the Republicans have found themselves in the same position, a Republican President and a congressional majority, they get as much done as they can manage, not caring about bi-partisan support.  They're willing to go with just GOP support.  

When are Democrats going to do that?  And when does the defense of our freedom begin?

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