A funny thing happened on the way to the 2020 election – and I do mean funny. Truth began to waft into newsrooms and talk-a lot-shows, like the scent of orange blossoms on a breeze – or the appearance of all those American flags. Have you noticed? Flags are everywhere.
So, the funny bit. Bill Maher, a liberal, comedian-commentator, interviewed two “also-rans,” Pete Buttigieg, former mayor glad not to be one now, and Andrew Yang, Asian-American businessman who got left out the Democratic Convention, until he tweeted on it. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/andrew-yang-added-to-dnc-convention-speaker-lineup-after-tweeting-about-being-left-off-it/ar-BB17VmqU?ocid=uxbndlbing. That is inclusion for you!
Anyway, the interview proceeded, until Trump-Biden polls came up. Seems Trump is closing the gap. This unsettled the host, who expressed concern Biden was not “comfortably ahead.”
Looking for comfort from Buttigeig and Yang, he got little. The former mayor tried to explain Trump’s climb. “I think there are a lot of folks who heard a message – fraudulent though it was, a message that here’s somebody who sees you and cares about you.”
Hmmm, interesting. While congressional Democrats delayed aid to Americans and businesses, tying it to socialist spending, Trump just signed four executive orders to extend unemployment assistance, defer payroll taxes, freeze evictions, and pause student loan payments to yearend. See, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/511186-trump-signs-orders-on-unemployment-benefits-payroll-tax-after-talks.
That – along with reliance on medical experts, pushing to reopen the economy and schools, respecting Constitutional limits –sounds like authentic caring. The opposite does not.
Look back. Pelosi and Schumer held up critical small business funds – refusing a renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), to leverage unrelated spending. See, e.g., https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/23/houses-passes-coronavirus-relief-nancy-pelosi-held-small-business-as-leverage-for-weeks/; see also, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/whats-in-democrats-coronavirus-bill-arts-funding-union-help-and-more.
Their March delay – which drove 100,000 businesses under – may have been more insidious. See, https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/497519-more-than-100000-small-businesses-have-permanently. Reports indicate, Pelosi delayed aid so she could run “Super Tuesday” ads against Trump. See, https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/03/03/pelosi-delayed-vote-on-coronavirus-funding-so-dccc-could-run-super-tuesday-ads-against-7-gop-candidates/. The Democrats’ August delay was tied to socialism. See, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/08/10/chris_wallace_vs_pelosi_on_coronavirus_bill_didnt_you_mess_this_one_up.html; see also, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mccarthy-blames-pelosi-wish-list-coronavirus-stimulus-bill.
Either way, congressional Democrats have the “caring deficit.” Trump, by contrast, is doing what he can – to end COVID-19, get stimulus and tax relief, accelerate vaccines, assure Social Security and Medicare are sound. See, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/08/09/Kudlow-Trump-wouldnt-end-Social-Security-through-payroll-tax-order/9701596985351/. Trump’s caring extends to law and order in cities and suburbs, preserving life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness wherever he can – within bounds of constitutional authority.
Back to that interview. Buttigieg wants “change.” He looks past Trump’s achievements. Trump lifted every demographic group to record levels of employment. Maybe Democrats want a return to “go-slow” economics, reopening borders, money to Iran, coddling China, rebooting sanctuary cities, raising taxes coast to coast, defunding police, and rolling riots?
Biden’s latest un-bumbled idea is a “national mandate” on Americans to wear masks outside – or else! See, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/aug/13/donald-trump-rips-joe-biden-mask-mandate-push/. Of course, that would gut the 10th Amendment, which forecloses federal power grabs. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Supreme Court has been clear – the amendment lives. That is why Trump pushed no federal mandates.
Biden’s proposal tells us what a Biden-Harris future would look like. Perpetual lockdown, and evisceration of other constitutional rights. If you can gut one amendment, you can gut them all.
What else did Yang say? The host asked if the Democratic Party might be “too captured by its far-left fringe.” Prescient! What did Yang say? Goodness, no, not the problem. Yang told a story. When first running, when he told people he was a “Democrat,” he got a “negative reaction oftentimes.” That came “from truck drivers or waitresses or retail clerks that I thought the Democratic Party was fighting for.”
Or does he mean, owned? Presumably, those are the Americans Hillary Clinton called “deplorables,” and Biden feels – “Come on man!” – must vote for him, as an identity block.
Yang concluded: “Our message is not reaching certain Americans” and – two months left – “Democrats need to do some soul-searching.” Interesting. Perhaps the Democrat message is reaching Americans – and they do not like it. They do not want to swap freedom for socialism, trade work for dependence, security for riots, citizenship for open borders, history for hokum. As for soul-searching, that might be a bit late.
In any event, the latest polls are trouble – for Democrats. As Yang noted, Democrats deliver a “message” and say, “if you do not get that message, it is your fault.” He may be onto something. He regrets Democrats cannot speak so Americans “appreciate and understand.” Idea: Maybe they do understand – and do not appreciate – what Democrats propose for individual liberty.
Yang’s final epiphany: Democrats are “in danger of being perceived as this urban party or the party of the educated elite.” Right – only the danger is to America. The perception is accurate.
Nationally, Democrats have drifted far from their roots – into the “socialist” channel, seeking power at any cost, placing service and individual liberty behind absolute control.
Polls are tightening because Americans value liberty. Political ends never justify anti-American means. If Harry Truman or John Kennedy were alive, they would shake their heads. An increasing number of moderates see the Biden-Harris ticket as a will-o-the-wisp, a ghostly invitation back into the swamp – dangerous for America. That explains the shifting polls.
One footnote, to give the host credit. Trump is closer to Biden today than to Clinton in August 2016. In national polls, Biden leads Trump with a spread of 7 to 11 points. At this point in 2016, Clinton led by a spread of 9 to 15 points – and Trump had no record. See, https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/04/politics/hillary-clinton-leads-donald-trump-national-polls/index.html. At this point in 2016, Clinton was gaining. Today, Trump is gaining. Between mid-July and mid-August, Trump tightened in all seven swing states.
Funny thoughts, like picking up a scent on the breeze or seeing American flags everywhere. If Democrats hear footsteps, best not to look back – Trump is gaining.