Hello, Mr. Biden.
I’ve been selected to talk with you. OK, it was me, but still... What I have to say is important. Unlike the other advice you’ve been getting, mine will actually prove helpful. Forgive my tone, but this is straight talk that might just right the ship.
First, the bad news.
You might want to sit down for this:
The poll, conducted by Democratic pollster David Binder for the group Focus on Rural America, shows Warren leading the field with 20 percent of the vote, a statistical tie with Harris at 18 percent and Biden at 17 percent.
Not good Joe. NOT GOOD. It would be one thing if you were upsurging, but you aren’t. You fell HARD.
For this debate, all you had to do was not take any damage. You had the easiest job. You blew it. And you blew it with a line of attack you should have seen coming from a mile away.
This is kind of a big deal since this is the first poll to show anyone other than you in the lead. There really is no way to sugar coat the self-inflicted damage you caused for yourself. Your massive lead is now gone. Worse for you, Harris has now moved to second place in the latest CNN/SRSS poll and Quinnipiac University survey.
Joe, you were considered “most electable” because of your name recognition, but as I’ve told you before, this “electability” thing is complete BS. Trump is an alleged sexual predator, has run into the ground every business he’s tried (even freaking casinos, which print money!), mocks war widows and POWS, and has insulted just about every demographic group in the nation. Yet he STILL got elected. He convinced just enough people to go along with his base to drag him across the finish line.
That is the one thing he gets right, Joe. Trump knows who is base is and is laser-focused on them. Everyone else is invited to come along for the ride, but he doesn’t compromise with his base. Maybe there was a time you could take us for granted, but your multiple gaffes and poor debate performance means you are no longer the “safe” candidate. With Harris and Warren surging, that strategy has to end.
By the way, if you want to talk about laser focus, see what Harris and Warren are doing right. They aren’t just listening to their base, they are leading them. They don’t care about the moderate fringe—they are invited to join the ride, but they are not catered to.
You, however, do the opposite. You seem to be going hard after the elusive “moderate” fence-sitter, but don’t care about us. This was always going to be an issue in the general election, but this has now become a serious issue with even getting the nod in our primary. Iowa is just the start. It’s whiter and righter than the rest of the nation, and if you lose here, it’s going to start a chain reaction that gets worse with each state.
Arrogantly, you are listening to the same damn consultants I’ve been railing against for years that think moderate Republicans are more important than those who vote in the primary elections. That’s why you tried to justify the Hyde amendment, talk about state rights, and bragged about working with segregationists. Let me ask—how has that been working out for you?
If you have any shot left of winning this nomination, and more importantly, this election, you better start refocusing your campaign. It’s no longer enough that you have ties to the rust belt. This is our time. Trump has opened up races across the nation that we shouldn’t even be competitive in, and we intend to win them. We are beyond just getting someone who isn’t Trump—we need someone to lead the revolution. People can see Warren and Harris in that role. But you? Not so much.
Maybe you need to start talking with progressives about progressive issues? Instead of fighting AOC, maybe acknowledge that it’s her party now and learn a few things that she can surely teach you.
I know you have it in you, Joe. You were consistently ranked as one of the most liberal senators. You promoted bills fighting for climate change and clean energy before they were popular. You authored the Violence Against Women Act, and even beat the NRA with an assault weapons ban back when they actually had power. You can take a lot of credit for the Affordable Care Act getting passed.
Now we are focused on a Green New Deal, dignity for immigrants, a living wage, healthcare for all, and making the 1% pay their fair share. Why the hell aren’t you out front talking about these things?
You aren’t out, yet. Your buddy Obama also had a miserable performance in his first debate with Romney and came back swinging for round 2. He won handily.
Reagan had the worst performance of anyone I had ever seen in his first debate with Walter Mondale, where he hemmed, hawed and stuttered so much that many questioned whether he was simply too old for the job. Reagan returned for the rematch with one of the best zingers I ever heard about age on the debate stage and reversed his fortune in a single night. He would go on to win every state sans one.
Your debate performance was bad, Joe, but it wasn’t Rick Perry bad. There was nothing you said or did that you can’t bounce back from, but your window is closing. Warren and Harris are still behind on national polls, but their support is growing, while yours is falling. In other words, I’d rather be Warren or Harris at this stage.
I hope I’ve given you some things to think about. I like you Joe, and don’t want to see you end this way. You are a much better politician than the one we’ve been getting lately, and we deserve to have a horse race with everyone performing at their peak capacity. Maybe you turn things around.
Well, not with me, most likely. I’m pretty solid with Team Harris. But who knows? Maybe you can change my mind? You should at least try. After all, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to try to convince me to follow you than the Republicans you seem to be pointlessly pursuing.