Trump and Biden were supposed to debate tonight. Are Americans really better off?
What a difference a week makes. It’s often said that a day in politics is equivalent to a lifetime, and the old truism has certainly been validated by happenings of the past week.
As every American political watcher knows, today was set aside by both campaigns as the occasion for a second presidential debate, a town hall style match-up where supposedly “ordinary” citizens pose questions to the candidates and receive instantaneous answers. The program was to be refereed by moderator Steve Scully (who once interned for Joe Biden, a fact that escapes the mainstream establishment media’s coverage of the race) and televised on every conceivable national media entity.
The debate was to be held in Miami, Florida, having moved from its original slated location at the University of Michigan. Fears of spreading the Chinese Communist Party (CCP, or Wuhan, if you prefer) virus caused the original venue change, and the theoretically bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates similarly (and unilaterally) cited worries about disease transmission as the justification for ruling out an in-person town hall event tonight.
The Commission announced its decision the morning after last week’s vice presidential debate (won rather convincingly by Vice President Mike Pence), whereupon President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t show if it weren’t in person. Trump labeled a “virtual” debate “a waste of time.” It’s understandable how the media-practiced president would want every opportunity to stare Democrat Joe Biden in the eye, but some believe it might’ve been an error to dismiss it entirely.
Regardless, Trump and Biden won’t be seen together on stage tonight. They’ve each planned their own festivities and the hours will pass as though it were just another day in the ultra-odd 2020 campaign. Grampa Joe himself might regret the chance to see Trump up close as well, since he’s been making more than his already inflated share of gaffes of late. As an example, Joe said if Americans feel they’re better off now than they were four years ago (i.e., before Trump), they shouldn’t vote for him. Yes, he actually said it.
Jessica Chasmar reported at The Washington Times, “In an interview with Cincinnati’s WKRC, the former vice president was asked by reporter Kyle Inskeep to weigh in on a Gallup poll that said last week that 56% of registered voters had reported being better off now than they were four years ago under the Obama-Biden administration.
“’So why should people who feel that they are better off today, under the Trump administration, vote for you?’ Mr. Inskeep asked Mr. Biden.
“’Well, if they think that, they probably shouldn’t,’ Mr. Biden answered. ‘If they think — 54% of the American people are better off economically today than they were under our administration? Well, their memory is not very good, quite frankly.’”
Regardless of a person’s memory, their cognitive capacity must undoubtedly be better than Biden’s. If you’re a Biden staffer or donor, do you really want your candidate saying that people shouldn’t vote for him under certain circumstances? One can imagine every Biden aide within shouting distance of the babbling dunce removing their footwear and preparing to hurl the shoes at their candidate to get him to shut up, lest he cede a majority of the voters in this country to his advantageous and deserving opponent.
Grampa Joe is renowned for his innate capacity to lie and fumble and gaffe and stumble, but this one’s particularly egregious. The candidate didn’t stop there, either; he also couldn’t remember -- again -- what office he was running for, and he also referred to Mitt Romney as the “Mormon senator.” You can’t make this stuff up, but apparently Biden can. And he’s good at it, too! No one ever claimed Trump was 100% accurate in all his utterances, but at least the New Yorker knows where he is and what he’s supposed to be doing at every given moment. (Trump later jabbed at Biden on Twitter.)
And what’s extra agreeable for Trump supporters here, Biden just gave his blessing to 56% of Americans to vote for the incumbent. That’s very nice of you, Joe, especially since people are being candid when they tell a pollster they’re better off than they were after eight years of you and Obama! Trump administration policies are responsible for fostering an impressive economic boom, having accomplished it while simultaneously being mercilessly hounded and investigated by Democrats who don’t give a lick about truth and veracity.
As details continue to emerge from the phony “Russian collusion” narrative that was dreamed up and paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton’s campaign and furthered by the higher-ups in the Obama White House, it’s evident that being “better off” has deeper meaning than just how many coins are rattling around in one’s pocket. Government accountability is a fleeting concept these days, and lord knows, if Grampa Joe Biden is elected, no one will ever learn the truth about what happened in late 2016 and early 2017.
Still, it's a little surprising that Gallup found so many people describing themselves as better off, especially since, according to the establishment media, large swaths of folks remain terrified of the dreaded CCP virus. Polls allegedly reveal Americans overwhelmingly blame Trump for the Chinese plague that’s killed over 200,000 countrymen and there’s no end in sight. Persistent rumors of a vaccine haven’t even stopped the doomsday whisperers, since about half of the people indicate they won’t accept the government’s say-so as to its safety.
All of this leads to the conclusion that the Trump-Biden horserace polls are flat-out wrong. Happy folks don’t vote for change in political leadership, especially when the alternative is a lifelong swamp creature who has trouble combining thoughts into coherent sentences. Some people won’t vote for Trump because they don’t like his personality and fondness for mixing-it-up in the political mosh pit, but if they authentically consider their lives improved under the current regime, why would they opt to go back to the old ways?
Are you better off than you were four years ago? Let us count the ways
Trump won the election in 2016 because of several factors. One was the “forgotten Americans” felt left behind by the ruling elites and favored taking a chance on a bombastic outsider rather than rubberstamping the status quo and hoping things would somehow get better for them. Trump obviously possesses considerable political talent, but it was the voters’ attitudes that pushed him over the top.
Two, Trump won because Americans didn’t want the Supreme Court to keep making policy. Civics may not be a strong suit for a lot of individuals, but they still realize that the federal courts shouldn’t be populated with judges who regularly circumvent the legislative branch to make laws. With Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February, 2016, the issue of Supreme Court seats was front and center on the minds of practically everyone at election time. Trump prevailed, and simply put, citizens feel better off with Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the court than two more Ruth Bader Ginsburg clones.
And based on a few days’ worth of testimony, people will be thrilled to have Justice Amy Coney Barrett handling cases and controversies. Democrat attempts to pin Obamacare and the CCP virus against Barrett are failing miserably, a public relations disaster that will be fresh in the minds of Americans as they hit the polling booth in three weeks. Barrett’s understated and calm demeanor is reassuring to everyone who’s inclined to fairness.
Three, America is definitely better off in the foreign policy realm. Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of keeping our military out of needless overseas wars, and he’s kept his vow. Along the way, Trump ordered the bombing of ISIS and the targeted taking out of terrorist leaders including the Islamic State’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (who Trump described as “dying like a dog”) and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
In addition, Trump has negotiated or renegotiated key trade deals with our European and North American trade partners, demanded accountability from China and beefed up our military. Trump repeatedly says he hopes the military would never be used. Better off? America’s sons and daughters aren’t being sent overseas to die in conflicts unrelated to our national security. And this isn’t even mentioning Trump’s work to foster peace in the Middle East.
Four, there’s a greater emphasis on patriotism, self-protection and being able to earn a living under Trump’s guidance. Unlike Biden and Obama, Trump unabashedly promotes American exceptionalism and putting the needs of Americans first. There’s no reason to hide the flag or one’s support for first responders -- Trump even had a huge Blue Lives Matter flag proudly flying at his Florida rally.
Trump is also a true backer of Second Amendment rights, and judging by the record weapons sales this year (after the leftist instigated “mostly peaceful” protests, riots and looting), Americans feel they’re better off protecting themselves when the authorities aren’t able to do it. With numerous Democrat constituencies questioning the existence of police forces or prisons, a Joe Biden presidency wouldn’t guarantee anyone’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of property. These are the most fundamental freedoms of all, aren’t they?
Lastly (there are more, but we have to stop somewhere), President Trump has made people’s lives better because he supports unborn life. Whereas Republican establishment politicians regularly pay lip service to the pro-life cause, Trump has lent his name and face to it. As the first president to attend and speak at the annual March for Life, Trump didn’t hesitate to put the power of the office behind the cause of life.
Needless to say, Trump’s originalism-minded judicial appointments will interpret the laws rather than “discover” new rights in the penumbras of the Constitution. What better way to make one’s life better than ensuring accountability in government?
All in all, it’s not surprising that Gallup found 56 percent of registered voters admitting that they’re better off than they were four years ago. Remember this the next time some slanted establishment media poll finds Biden with a double-digit lead. Biden himself says people shouldn’t vote for him if they believe their lives are better than they were four years ago. Here’s thinking many will do just that (not vote for him).
Defiant Sen. Jones turns a deaf ear to Alabama’s voters; don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Doug
Among the many Democrats who aren’t concerned about making lives better is Alabama Democrat Senator Doug Jones. The liberal from a blood red conservative state says he doesn’t plan to support Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination. Like practically every other party member in the Senate, Jones is a servant of “Chucky” Schumer and his bitter and angry minions.
James Varney reported at The Washington Times, “Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama is by far the most endangered Senate Democrat on the ballot in November, but that won’t stop him from thumbing his nose one last time at his state’s overwhelmingly conservative electorate…
“He opposed the 2018 confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom polls indicated most people in deep-red Alabama supported. He also defied voters early this year in voting to convict President Trump on the House-passed impeachment charges.
“Now, just weeks before standing for reelection, Mr. Jones bucked Alabama voters again by announced he will oppose Mr. Trump’s latest nominee to the Supreme Court, federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett.”
Senators are tasked with representing the interests of their states, not bobbing and swaying to the whims of the radicals within (how’s that for another civics lesson?). Jones isn’t exactly doing his job when he refuses to seat a Supreme Court justice who will honor the legislative preferences of the states themselves.
People like Jones have turned the upper chamber into a smaller, snobbier House of Representatives. The fact Jones is on his way out gives all conservatives a better outlook.
Trump’s recovery from COVID-19 has transcended the damage done to his campaign from the first presidential debate. Paired with the impeccably professional testimony of Amy Coney Barrett, the news narrative is decidedly more positive than it was even a week ago. It just goes to show, a lot can change in a little time in American politics.
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