I wanted to call your attention at an opinion piece at The Hill by Jeremy Etelson, explaining why young voters are turning away from Joe Biden:
The generation that was raised during the global financial crisis and the onsets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been a stalwart for the Democratic Party for over a decade. I was knocking doors for President Obama and local Democrats in 2012 even before I could vote.
I served as a College Democrats chapter president through the 2016 election cycle, and then voted for President Biden in 2020. In 2024, less than four years into the Biden administration, the world and our country have entered alarming trajectories. If Biden is nominated for reelection, he will be the first Democratic nominee whom I do not support.
Biden is currently sitting on top of a seismic shift in the political parties’ voting coalitions. His average approval rating under 38 percent unfortunately is historically low for a president at this time in a first term. In 2020, Biden won young voters by 25 points.
Now disapproval of Biden is widespread among young voters, with him losing 18–29 year-olds and all under-45 voters when polled against all general election candidates. The dissent is not baseless, and not all young dissenters are doing so because of American support for Israel’s war against Hamas. Beyond Biden’s personal cognitive challenges, his administration’s policies are having indefensible consequences.
The United States is now entrenched in numerous international conflicts, each of which is increasingly dangerous and more complicated than a good-versus-evil narrative. Biden is largely responsible for escalating the Russia-Ukraine war, funding Ukraine through their incremental defeat while ignoring diplomatic negotiation and ceasefire offers. Biden has also allowed the funding of Iran throughout their proxy war against American and our Middle East allies. Meanwhile, North Korea has abandoned the decades-long reconciliation process with South Korea, following our escalation of multilateral military exercises in the region. Nuclear world war is now more probable than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Read the whole thing. In honesty I can’t follow his logic in some cases. For example, this:
The full effects of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, which together cost more than $3 trillion, remain to be seen. These new laws take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they are insufficient to meaningfully curb climate change.
Does he think that a second Trump Administration would do more to “curb climate change” than a second Biden administration? I doubt it’s even on Trump’s radar.
My only point in highlighting this piece is to illustrate a risk the Biden campaign faces.
“Does he think that a second Trump Administration would do more to “curb climate change” than a second Biden administration?”
That’s a rather deft non sequitur, Dave. The issue isn’t really Trump green policy (yes, I doubt he will follow suit), its young people’s issues with Biden that matter to them. Even young people have seen that every climate Armageddon pitch given them is pure horseshit. It never happens. Is Florida 2/3rds under water? As I write, I’m in Miami. Let me look outside and see if I need to order a Yellow Submarine……
The truth is, these bills were pork laden. They will do almost nothing for infrastructure or green initiatives. Its pure money injection, with little economic output to shoe for it. Inflation. Its Biden and the swamp at its, uh, finest? Maybe young people know pork, or arrant nonsense when they see it?
Pete B tells us $7.5B sits idly because of “technical issues” with utilities: while EV charging stations are hung up in “equity” crappola dictated by Biden. Yet EV purchase mandates remain. I could go on……
Young people may be more astute that we think. As in,………..where the hell is the economy going, and why can’t I afford rent or food, or get a job other than one best suited, and given, to low skill illegal immigrants? Kinda basic.
Joe Biden is the ultimate political whore: not bright, corrupt, and used to getting what he wants by trading with other political whores. No principles; just horse trading. Maybe young people see that their self interest does not lie with such men.
Another possible, the youngsters have not seen any result from all the big bucks being thrown around. Where are the charging station/green jobs, where are the cheap electric cars, why are pawn shops/payday loan/title pawn shops sprouting all over, why are food banks so busy and so on.
Doubt foreign affairs and wars matter much, military is all volunteer, nobody cares.
Nice to see Drew doing parody so early in the morning.
Few young people follow foreign affairs. Few actually care that much about the Israel/Hamas conflict and even fewer understand it. It will take years to see the full effects of the IRA. Young people are just like everyone else, though less experienced so probably more subject to current mood affiliation. Pretty much every economic indicator we have has been running positive, but the only number discussed is inflation so they think the economy is bad. I do think they are being more adversely affected by the housing issue. That’s really more of a local issue but in a presidential election the president gets credited or blamed for everything.
What’s odd is that they would consider Trump as an alternative.
Since Drew mentioned Florida, nice article on how Miami and Florida in general is adapting to sea rise and climate change effects. While DeSantis has made it illegal to use the term climate change Florida is spending billions to cope with the changes.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2024/06/miami-climate-change-floods/678718/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20240620&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=The+Atlantic+Daily
Steve