My recent newsletter from Axios has a thick section on people complaining about “Biden complacency”.
While I appreciate how nervous people have become about the election, may I just remind people that the Republicans are the ones on the glide path to defeat. There are multiple good reasons to believe this, including:
- They plan to nominate Little Dictator Donald Trump. I’m not going to condescend to tell you all the reasons this is a terrible idea.
- The economy is good and stable. Presidents with bad economies are turned out of office. Ones with good economies take a whole lot of effort to defeat, and usually something truly terrible to happen to the country.
- The Republican Party adopted an anti-abortion plank in their platform. I know you don’t believe they have a platform, and neither do I. But there it is.
- The Republican Party is not a legitimate political party. They don’t have the good of the country at heart. If you look at their position on any issue, picked at random, it’s bad for the bulk of the voters.
I am distinctly not saying that the Biden re-election campaign couldn’t improve. In fact, I expect it to improve. Campaigns are never static. Effective campaigns learn as they go.
This is one of the reasons the DeSantis campaign has been such a disaster. He’s impervious to new facts or experiences. He picked his beliefs in the 1950s, and no knowledge need apply.
Rather than give advice to President Biden or his campaign, my advice is for these people to go campaign for Democrats. Really, any Democrats. Washington Post. Barack Obama. Jim Messina. David Axelrod. Campaign for a Democrat running for Congress or a state office or even a local office. It’s probably the most effective way of contributing to the presidential campaign. That’s because if a voter shows up to vote for a down-ballot Democrat, it is virtually certain they will vote for a Democrat for the White House on the same ballot.
Okay. Okay. I’m going to break with my advice and offer this idea. Not because I think the Biden campaign is defective or I want to “light a fire” under anyone or because I’m a nervous Nellie who fears a defeat. But because I think we have an opportunity to turn this into a crushing defeat for the Republicans.
Focus on one issue that stands for what we believe in.
That could be a better healthcare system or better jobs for U.S. citizens or ending climate change as we know it. Whatever. Point to the progress already made by the Biden Administration and say, “You, Americans, could have more of that! More of the good stuff.”
The key to this is the message. That message should be, “You, voter, must vote for a Democrat in November because that’s how you get a much better future. And here’s why...”. Followed by our one issue.
This is critical. In 2020, Joe Biden won because he ran on (1) Getting rid of Donald Trump, and (2) getting rid of covid. That was great for winning the presidency. But it didn’t create the kind of coat tails we need. Result: We eked out a bare majority in both houses of Congress.
By adding a huge initiative on some issue, the Biden campaign can give every down-ballot candidate something to run on and help them win. And if that were to result in a couple more seats in the House and a couple more seats in the Senate, imagine how much better that would be.
I think we are on the path to a Biden re-election. I’ve looked at the American people, and I just don’t see them turning back to a guy they literally threw out of office because they hated the job he did. Not to mention, the guy is totally unlikable. Even his supporters seem to vote for him out of resignation, rather than excitement.
Yeah, a few of them are nut cakes, but he has an enthusiasm gap. With normal people.
Now we have the opportunity for so much more. Seize the day!