Political Blue Gene

May 17, 2020

Positive Signs For Biden

Two recent polls show very encouraging signs for Joe Biden and the Democrats.  The first of these examined those voters who dislike both major candidates for President.  In 2016, there were a lot of voters who did not like both Trump and Clinton.  After the Access Hollywood tape was made public, it looked like the election was over as most in this group of voters were deciding to vote for Hillary.  Then, just 11 days before the election, FBI Director James Comey announced that maybe he was wrong and they were re-investigating Clinton.  Even though he recanted several days later, the damage was done and Trump ended up winning among voters who disliked both candidates by about 17%. 

In a recent Monmouth University poll cited by Politico, among those voters who dislike both Trump and Biden, Biden leads by 40%.  As we all know, anything can happen over the next 5+ months, but if this lead holds in November, Biden will be in very good shape.

The second piece of good news for Biden is the recent results of polling that looked at voters over 65.  This is a group that tends to be more conservative, generally, and that Trump won by 53% to 44%, according to a Pew Research poll.  However, in a recent Florida poll, Biden was leading among older voters by 52% to 42%.  With Trump’s less than either sympathetic or empathetic pronouncements about protecting the health of Americans, especially those over 65, there is good reason to believe that he may do much worse this year than he did in 2016 with older voters.  If the numbers hold, Trump will lose Florida (and several other states) and the election.

A Recent Discussion

Recently, I had an email exchange with friends that touched on the current state of the Republican Party and the differences among a Trump supporter, a Trump enabler and a Republican voter.  My contribution to the discussion began by saying that we should never pigeonhole people based on their opinions on one subject or another; there should always be room for diverse opinions.  That is why “pro-life Democrat” and “pro-choice Republican” are not oxymorons.  But I believe we need to put this into context for today’s campaign for President:

Donald Trump is not only the worst president in history, but probably the most dangerous American in history, certainly the most dangerous to ever have a position of power.  Among other issues, he makes every issue, even non-issues, into divisive issues, as the wearing of masks during the current pandemic clearly shows.

As Sartre said, “There is no reality except in action.”  In these very perilous times, politically and health-wise, there is only one action that everyone who cares about this country can take – vote for the Democrat against Trump in November.  No other action is on a par.  You cannot say “I don’t like Trump but I am a Republican.”  Anyone who does not vote for the Democrat is either a Trump supporter or a Trump enabler.  Period.  If the Republican Party ever abandons Trumpism we may eventually, once again, have the luxury of civil discourse and nuance.  But not now.

Gene on the Radio

On April 15 and then again on May 6, Gene appeared with his good friend and long-time political consultant, Larry Levine, (author of the always interesting blog, thepoliticaldish.com), on “The Uncommon Sense Democrat,” a one-hour show hosted by long time Democratic activist Eric Bauman on KCAA radio.  Below, are the links to those 2 shows.  (Note: About 5 or 6 minutes into the recordings, the shows begin with Eric’s coronavirus updates.)

We are scheduled to appear once again, on June 10 at 2pm PDT.

April 15:   podcasts.kcaastreaming.com/uncommondemocrat/20200415.html

May 6:   podcasts.kcaastreaming.com/uncommondemocrat/20200506.html