As a wake-up call, I rank yesterday’s New York Times/Siena College poll right up there with Pearl Harbor, 9/11, and January 6.
This is the question that caused my jaw to drop:
The ‘tell’ here is that the answers are so divorced from reality, you just know the people aren’t referring to their own experience, but to stuff that has been spoon-fed to them.
With the wealth-backed forces arrayed against Democrats, their candidates must be talented speakers able to present their own case and tout their own successes. Kennedy could do it, so could Clinton and Obama. Jimmy Carter couldn’t, neither could Hillary or John Kerry.
Sadly, neither can Joe Biden.
We laugh when we hear that most Russians believe Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was necessary to keep ‘Nazis’ from invading Russia, yet we haven’t come to grips with the extent misinformation and disinformation have overwhelmed our own population. With the new assistance of social media bubbles, it now borders on mass-hypnosis.
We’re not just talking about MAGA here, a relatively small portion of the population who go into a frenzy over white Christianity and anti-immigration. This poll delves deep into the entire population, and pardon my cynicism, but I’ve been observing my fellow Americans for decades, and it’s my belief that the bulk of them are politically ignorant and tend to believe whatever they hear the most. That’s why they believe the lie that Republicans are better with the economy.
Here’s an example: With the election approaching, Republicans are pouring zillions into ads about the border, and Gallup now says Immigration, at 28% (+8 points from January), now tops ‘voter concerns’. That’s the power of ads!
Whatever you want to read into this and other polls, they CAN’T BE DISMISSED! We have tremendous work ahead. We can’t rely on the fact that Trump is a slime-ball insurrectionist. As long as the media continues to present him as a ‘respectable’ and viable candidate, the bulk of voters will consider voting for him.
Educated people find it hard to believe anybody would consider Trump a candidate for anything but prison, but incredible amounts of money are being spent to legitimize him. Every one of us has to vote for every Democrat, even if we’re not completely satisfied.