"Trump Leads in 5 Critical States as Voters Blast Biden, Times/Siena Poll Finds - Voters in battleground states said they trusted Donald J. Trump over President Biden on the economy, foreign policy and immigration, as Mr. Biden’s multiracial base shows signs of fraying."

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STFU. That's what all the boomer Democrats tell me when I express doubts about Biden. They're incensed, pissed that I would break the code, I must vote for Biden, because he's the only one who can beat Trump. OH YEAH?

Isn't it funny that the RNC has lost control of the Republican party and the DNC still has a firm grip upon the Democratic party.

What happened with the RNC is it lost control of the narrative, didn't understand its constituents, and then Donald Trump came along and took over the party. It's all MAGA, all the time. To the point where every elected official is afraid to say anything negative about him, they're afraid of being Cheneyed. Yes, go against the orthodoxy and you'll be primaried and you will lose. So everybody lines up, or gets in line after coloring outside the lines. They can't even impeach and convict this guy. A lot of Congresspeople decried 1/6, until they found out the public, their voters, and their news media, Fox, et al, thought it was a minor kerfuffle and Trump was innocent. Hell, Fox was afraid of having its lunch eaten by far right outlets, by OAN, so it too hewed to the Trump story.

A laugh, don't you think?

Well, you have no idea how much Republicans hate Democrats. Much more than Democrats hate Republicans. Republicans have been fed a diet of me-too for decades, MSNBC is no match for Fox, and Fox started indoctrinating its viewers years before. The Democrats are going to end democracy, don't you know? And they're going to take away your guns while they're at it, so you can't raise up in response, as if even AR-15s are a match for the military.

Don't bother me with the truth, it's irrelevant.

What blew my mind most this past week, what I can't get out of my head, was this piece I read in "The Week," from "The Bulwark."

"It is not polite to say so, but most voters 'are disconnected from reality,' said Jonathan V. Last. In a recent 'Bulwark'-organized focus group of swing voters, most parroted right-wing criticisms of President Biden that completely conflict with the factual evidence. One voter complained that 'our economy is in the dumpster due to Biden's "socialism."' In reality, unemployment is down to 3.8 percent, average wage gains of 4 percent are outpacing inflation, and the Dow is at 33,000 - 14 percent higher than at any point in Trump's presidency. Median household wealth is up 37 percent (!) since Trump left office, and as for 'socialism,' Trump raised the national debt by a record 7.4 trillion in just four years - a leap of more than 33 percent. One female voter conceded that 'Trump was just a nut,' but said he 'didn't leave the country in the shape that Joe Biden is leaving us in.' Hello? Trump left office with the unemployment rate at 6.3 percent, the economy in free fall, and more than 90,000 Americans dying of Covid every month, and with no real plan in place to distribute vaccines. When people are this misinformed, it's no wonder Trump still has a chance to regain the presidency."

So, please let's not talk about facts. They are not reaching voters. As for "Bidenomics," it's a riff on "Abenomics," the policies of the Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, which were seen as fully successful by few. Yup, that's the Democrats, go deep into Wonkville to come up with a moniker that most people don't resonate with. Good job guys!

Yes, the DNC has declared we all have to line up behind Biden. You'd think it's the law.

But it's not.

Friday night Dean Phillips was on Bill Maher's "Real Time," you know, the joke of a Congressman running to unseat Biden as the nominee. Not for himself, even he seems to know he's got no chance, but to illustrate the Democrats have a problem and someone else needs to be the candidate. And why? BECAUSE BIDEN IS JUST TOO DAMN OLD!

And boy was the point made listening to Phillips. He had power in his voice, verve, he was quick on his feet, he could crack jokes. When Joe steps up to the mic he seems to barely get it out, his voice is closer to a whisper than robust, and that does not inspire confidence.

Please stop telling me Biden's done a good job, I get it, I think so too. I've got my quibbles, but he's better than I thought he would be. And I tell these same people who tell me to STFU that if I could snap my fingers and make Biden the President for another four years, I would. But I don't have that power. This is not about the rearview mirror, but going forward. And going forward, it's absolutely clear, Joe Biden is too old.

Oh, don't tell me about ageism. You're only one step away from the college students with their microaggressions and trigger warnings and...everybody may be equal under the law, but that's not what we're talking about here. No one wants Biden to run except the Democratic cabal and some oldsters. The poll numbers are horrific, each and every one of them, a vast majority, seemingly almost everybody under the age of forty, along with many more advanced in years, think Joe is too old. But we're all supposed to hold our tongues, we can't go against the party line. Joe's our man!

Well, he's not mine. Nor was he mine back in 2020. He got the nomination, he won, but that was a cycle ago.

Oh, that's right, ABORTION! We are going to be saved by abortion rights, no one is going to vote for Trump. Well, it's really about only five states at most, forget the popular vote, and especially in the south, there doesn't seem to be the rabid anti-abortion sentiment there is up north. Furthermore, people have a long history of voting against their interests. So don't explain to me why people should do one thing while they do another. Just face reality.

I don't want to hear about Trump's indictments, I don't want to hear any criticism of Trump. The bottom line is only a few states matter and those states were tight the last time around, and now Biden has a record, upon which Trump can run against, which he didn't have before.

And Trump will whip out the right wing trope. That taxes are too high! Everybody wants to pay lower taxes, but they're not willing to forgo any services, which is why the debt rose so much under Trump.

People retire in sports, they retire in academics, but when it comes to politics we're told again and again that it's ageism, you should be able to serve until you die. Where else does this play? NOWHERE! They kick you out, or upstairs, and give you the title "emeritus."

Now you're going to respond to me with stories. About what Biden has done. But that's got nothing to do with it, as the "Bulwark" article and the "Times" poll tell us. Can you pull the lens back and look at the big picture?

No one is as rabid about Biden as they are about Trump. That's not what Joe inspires. And even worse, even though Joe has been running the country well for these past three years, the Republicans still control the narrative, the Democrats can't seem to come up with their own story and propagate it, spread it everywhere. There's no fighting spirit amongst Democrats, just self-satisfaction and exasperation, how can you win with that?

And I can't find a single person who wants Kamala Harris to be President, which is a big issue because of Joe's age, but I'm told she's a black woman and if she's excised from the ticket... Exactly what? Every black person and every woman is going to throw Joe or the ultimate Democratic candidate overboard?

That's the Democrats, the party of fear. They don't instill it, they just feel it. Which is why they're getting their lunch eaten in the Middle East crisis. Anyone paying attention, and there seem to be very few, knows that for decades now, BDS has been infiltrating college campuses. But no one seems to know that it's supported by the Palestinians. That's right, the Palestinians are better than the Democrats at getting their story across on campus. And in Hollywood. Come on, do you expect these sympathetic nitwits to understand world politics? If I watch one more show telling me about the poor Palestinians...

But now I've turned you off, now you've clicked away. Because you don't know the facts, that there are about the same number of Palestinians as Jews on the entire globe. But it's ethnic cleansing, genocide! Where did you learn math! As for the number of refugees... They're counting every descendant since 1948. Hell, by that metric, how many Americans can be called refugees? But don't let the facts get in the way of emotions.

And the point here is many of you disagree with me. And you're all bleeding heart liberals, who are never going to vote for a Republican anyway. But are you excited now that Biden is standing up for the Israelis?

Biden and Blinken, talking out of two side of their mouths, afraid to piss off constituents by saying the war must go on. These two are afraid of angering the pro-Palestinian cohort. They could try to educate people, now that they're paying attention. Have you seen videos of the tunnels? Whew! And the oxygen tanks for Hamas in the supplies. Do you know the water is used for rockets and the fuel is hoarded by Hamas? I'm not saying it's not a thorny issue, I'm just saying that all people can express is sympathy for the Palestinians. Well, where in hell is the sympathy for Israel, for the Jews? Oh, that's right, these rich f*cks deserved it. Or people say it's not their battle.

Yes, the Middle East war has divided Democrats and Biden is doing a piss-poor job of bringing them together. Why can't anybody speak the truth? That's why Trump won in 2016, his fans thought he was speaking to them, their truth, that he was not pandering to the usual suspects. Meanwhile, Joe is in the White House, a veritable bunker, barely coming out and saying anything! And too often when he does make remarks, they're equivocal.

IS THIS A WINNING STRATEGY?

Of course not. But it's heresy to say this. Heresy to say both the Middle East and the election are complicated. That we have to separate the issues, dig down deep. But how can we do this in a country where you can't say anything negative about "Now and Then" because it's by the BEATLES! That's what we've lost in the race from the humanities, the power of analytical thinking. Now everything is black and white, for or against. If I question Biden's bona fides for re-election, if I analyze his statements and movements, I'm a hater. Like we all live in a country ruled by Taylor Swift.

Turns out despite so many thinking otherwise, we might actually be getting back together with Donald Trump. Swift may move on, but not the public.

So please, start talking about this. Start breaking the seal. Ask your friends, is Biden too old? Would you prefer someone younger to run?

And ask those younger than you, and outside your bubble. Their vote counts as much as yours.

As for those who say to ignore polls at this point, to forget approval ratings... I'm with you, but Biden is getting older each and every day. He is not Dorian Gray. He's aging in front of our very eyes. Why do you refuse to see it?

Because you don't like change. Bill Maher... He's anti-tech, every problem is caused by social media. Sure, social media has an influence, but BDS started growing on campus long before social media existed. And you go where the people are, you don't try and shut sites down. I get it, you want to pull us back to the past. How'd that work for the record companies?

The main effect of this "Times" poll will be to get the DNC to question itself. And it will only effect change if you start agitating yourself. We want a primary of multiple candidates and we want it now, we don't want '68, where we try to rally around Humphrey far too late.

I still think Biden is not going to run. But he's afraid of saying so now, for fear of being seen as a lame duck and losing power.

But I'll also tell you that I'm not sure Trump will be the candidate either. When everybody else drops out, Nikki Haley is a formidable contender. And against Biden it's no contest, Haley wins.

Things can change overnight in politics. We've seen it again and again. Remember Muskie? Governor Dean? Bush from Florida? But one thing is for sure, Joe Biden is not going to get any younger, and if three plus years are an example, he's not going to suddenly inspire and grow confidence. That's not how it works.

Biden is the reluctant candidate. From those who think they know, and have been wrong for more than a decade, and those who are afraid.

Can't you fight? Can't you see it's a contest? Can't you risk?

Change happens more rapidly than ever before these days, but the DNC moves glacially, if at all.

And if we're looking for leaders... Biden may be President, but he's not Presidential. A President inspires, he leads, he's not afraid of making a public statement. He's out with the people, convincing them.

Sure, Biden is making a tiny effort, but none of it memorable. His heart isn't in it. Maybe because his heart is no longer as strong.

It's his age, don't you get it?

Joe's got to go.

And if you think otherwise, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.

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