Remember When Joe Told Us the Fever Would Break?
I’m so old I remember the first time. It was in an interview on Nov. 4, 2012, with Chris Matthews, when Biden predicted an Obama victory would be the game-changer: “We need leaders that can control their party, and I think you’re gonna see the fever break.”
He sang the same tune in May 2019, during his presidential campaign. “The thing that will fundamentally change with Donald Trump out of the White House, not a joke, is you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.”
“Many” is carrying a lot of weight there, but the bigger problem is that Joe’s friends, while they might milk the aggrieved rubes for votes, aren’t listening to Tucker Carlson and Q and believing what they hear. Hayseed Fever has not broken.
I never forget that Biden is from the same corporate school of democracy as Coons and Carper. Notice the Republicans remain “my friends” to Biden and that he strives mightily to live in the past. The Republicans believe themselves to be “winning”and are way past considering violence to ensure they win in perpetuity, and say as much. We needed a fighter and got Joe instead. As noted hayseed fever has neither broken nor decreased. That and Obama said virtually the same thing.
Biden did what he needed to do. He beat Trump. Now it is time for someone who wants to beat the entire GOP, and that is only going to come from someone who is not afraid of activating the Democratic base.
I’m trying to envision what an activated dem base looks like these days and I’m drawing a blank. I asked a few of the younger kids in the office (who I would hope represent the base) about whether they would vote next week and all I got were blank stares. If the events of the past two years havent lit a fire under them, I don’t think any fresh firebrand is is going to do any better.
I suppose that speaks to how thoroughly Democratic voters have been beaten down by the Democratic Party.
I think “democratic voter” presupposes that there is a base. In 2022 there are republicans and then there are people who don’t vote republican. I can’t remember meeting anyone in the last 20 years (removed from politics) who identified themselves as a proud democrat.
WFP is the closest thing to an activated base in Delaware but they are often at odds with mainstream dems. They might as well be a third party.
A true base doesn’t exist as far as I can tell, and mainstream dems either are blind to the fact or take being “not republican” for granted to the blunt that they dont care to cultivate a base
Coincidentally, this crossed my screen today. Granted my view is from across the border. Still the points in the article reverberate here as well. The crux for the TLDR crowd, is that a large part of the base is at risk. They perceive the party as. It caring about them any more.
As an aside, they especially sneer at the term “Latinx” and want to know who thought they had permission to make that change. That comes from both sides of the border. It’s Latino, if you please.
As always, glad to hear from you and I hope everything is sunny south of the border.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/11/hispanic-voters-fleeing-democratic-party/671851/?utm_source=apple_news
Forgot the link.
That was a really excellent yet sobering article I read yesterday too.
Demographics is not destiny if you do not give the demographic any reason to vote for you.