In his most recent Washington Post column George Will laments that the midterm campaign season has given us a master class in things we probably don’t want to know about ourselves. Here’s what was to me the most salient part:
If on Tuesday Hispanic voters continue their drift away from Democrats, the reasons might include these: Self-identified “strong progressives†are only about 10 percent of voters, but they have a disproportionate effect in setting perceptions of the Democratic Party. Sixty-six percent of them say this is not the world’s greatest country, and 94 percent say racism is built into the nation’s policies and institutions. Hispanics disagree with those propositions by 70 percent and 58 percent, respectively.
Also, many Hispanics fled socialism, or have family memories of it, and are repelled by progressives who admire it from a safe distance.
I don’t think it’s just Hispanics.
I agree that Hispanic vote will be a key subtext of the election.
But if one left out Biden’s name and party and just said an administration did the following in its first 2 years.
– Inflation from 1.4% to 8.2%; unemployment of 6.4% to 3.7% — so the misery index went from 7.8 to 11.9.
– Stock market that is down after 2 years.
– Campaigned on doing better then the previous administration on a pandemic and ended up with more people dying from COVID during its first year in charge then the previous administration; and ended up adopting the approach of the previous administration
– Issued broad sweeping vaccine mandates that were struck in court as unlawful
– Gotten involved in a proxy war that comes closest to the use of nuclear weapons since 1962 and arguably 1945
– Mismanaged and reacted late to a baby formula shortage
– Mismanaged a withdrawal from an 18 year war
– Chaos in the Southern border with the surge in migration that’s unprecedented
That’s bound to cause issues for any political coalition that got said administration in power.
I’m surprised CO made such a surprising list of “accomplishments†created during the last 2 years. I guess when the R and D can be eliminated next to a politician’s name, it’s easier to look more clearly at the positive/negative effects of a party’s policy.
I’m also dumbfounded by how authoritarian the Dems have acted during the past 2 years. They have literally ignored the common person’s voice as to what they want from their government, and thrown down a gauntlet of oppressive, deceptive moves and legislation. Ironically, though, they toss the ball of criticism back to Trump as being “bad,†while most view his years of leadership as being positive and productive, despite the obstructive chaos cultivated around him by the party of resistance – the Dems. Consequently should this red wave materialize, most would say “good riddance†to those voted out of office – those who only made life more miserable for everyone but a few elite rich.
Again, the US does not have a workers’ party. It has a business party and a party that caters to the super rich and freaks.
I do not think the Hispanic migrants are fleeing socialism per se. There is substantial, often majority support, for socialist parties all over Latin America. What the immigrants are discovering is that the Democrat Party is not a socialist party in any meaning of that word.
“Self-identified “strong progressives†are only about 10 percent of voters, but they have a disproportionate effect in setting perceptions of the Democratic Party.”
I’m not sure that is correct. Progressive policy positions are not just perceptions, but are espoused by the party leadership: Biden, Schumer and Pelosi. Further, perceptions are heightened by the dominance of progressives in legacy media. I think we are seeing the downside of living in an echo chamber.
I’m still trying to figure out how governing by edict aligns with democracy. Exigent circumstances? Again, how does that align with democracy?
Just to address one of COs points, it should be noted that Putin is walking back his nuclear threats and Xi is now criticizing Putin for ever making them. That might be due to the pretty consistent efforts by the Biden admin which has handled this pretty well, or maybe it is due to the discovery of a very large gas field by China. China may not be feeling so dependent upon Russia now that know they have tech to successfully drill and they have some reserves.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277590.shtml
Steve
CuriousOnlooker: the misery index went from 7.8 to 11.9.
Most of those effects are due to the pandemic and its aftermath. Biden’s mistake was promising a quick fix for things that will take considerable time to work through.
CuriousOnlooker: – Issued broad sweeping vaccine mandates that were struck in court as unlawful
Whether you agree or not that OSHA had the authority, it leaves the United States vulnerable to future pandemics, because states don’t control their borders. The Supreme Court did uphold the vaccine mandate for healthcare providers. Congress should be proactive.
CuriousOnlooker: – Gotten involved in a proxy war that comes closest to the use of nuclear weapons since 1962 and arguably 1945
Resist in Ukraine now or there will be a much greater risk later.
CuriousOnlooker: – Mismanaged a withdrawal from an 18 year war
Who could have imagined that a 20-year debacle could end in a debacle?!
Jan: I guess when the R and D can be eliminated next to a politician’s name, it’s easier to look more clearly at the positive/negative effects of a party’s policy.
Except the list leaves out the positives, including the infrastructure bill, reductions of prescription drug spending and health insurance premiums, investments in green energy, re-shoring under the CHIPS and Science Act, and cracking down on billionaire tax cheats. Not to mention ending U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and deftly leading the coalition against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
This recent Atlantic article is pretty good at illustrating the problem of Hispanics as a Democratic voting block.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/11/hispanic-voters-fleeing-democratic-party/671851/
I think one mistake Democrats continue to make is assuming other ethnic groups are like blacks, who really do vote as a block, although even that is changing with generational changes.