2016 was a shock. But there were some issues then that we don't have now. There was too much confidence from the Clinton campaign in the "Blue wall," and clearly not enough effort made by the Clinton campaign to shore it up when a week's worth of campaign appearances across those three states would clearly have been enough to eke out wins. We're not making that mistake, the Harris campaign has the money and they are using a multi-faceted strategy to reach voters on the margins. Evidence? She's now leading among independent voters and her lead is trending her direction.
If you want some re-assurance, go to the website for WCPT Radio 820 in Chicago, and listen to yesterday's Joan Esposito show. She had a guest host, a political analyst who made some observations about the campaign much clearer, including pointing out clues about what the internal data is showing, the strategies used, how effective they are and what Harris' money advantage is doing for her, compared to the scatter shooting, "do what we want" approach that Trump's PAC supporters take. This included a reminder that Harris has a large pack of billionaire donors on her side. Citizens United is terrible, but if those are the rules you want to play by, the other side can use it to their advantage, too. And we are.
Trump's second attempt at an election, his re-election, was a failure. And his run through the GOP primaries this time around, having already been in the White House once, can also be considered a failure. He had opponents, and with all of the face time he's had in the media, and all of the attention focused on him as the potential nominee from the day he left Washington, he got around 72% of the primary voters' support. Considering the absolute nobodies who ran against him, and the money he spent, that's a sub-standard performance.
So of course the fear of 2016 is there, as is the "fear" generated by what the media emphasizes was a narrow victory for Biden in 2020, electoral college-wise. Trump has always been a huge threat, and he did a lot of damage when he was President. But a lot of people saw that, and I think that led to Biden getting the win in 2020. Harris has not only made that a campaign issue, but she has rounded up and organized the conservative Republican opposition. And many of those people have a lot of influence, and some of them still have their credibility.
There is evidence, from credible sources, that Trump is weaponizing polling data, not only to boost his ego, but as a strategy to try and spread discouragement and fear, prompt pressure on the campaign from those who feel the fear, and maybe even cause resources and time to be allocated differently and less effectively. It has also become increasingly difficult to distinguish between solid journalists and journalism, and Trump infused propagandists and propaganda.
So your fear is justified.
But be confident. There's a lot of strong evidence to indicate that Harris is going to win the election, the Democrats are more than prepared for an onslaught of election-related legal challenges, some of which have already achieved rulings clearly in our favor, and there are an equal number of eyes on our side watching out for any potential messing with votes and election outcomes.
And I believe a majority of Americans know what's at stake, and are not blinded by prejudice, religious bigotry or influenced by propaganda posing as the free press. I feel fearful of being too optimistic and then being hugely disappointed, but I also have some confidence that the positive direction Harris has given to her campaign, and the obvious contrast between her good character, as well as that of Tim Walz, with a convicted rapist, criminal, insurrectionist liar and J.D. Vance, an opportunist who has proven to be a duplicitous liar like Trump, is a highly visible factor. Because of that, Harris will become Madame President-Elect whenever the election results are finalized.
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