(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The idiotic yet completely inevitable Dem freakout over polling [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-06 When a Republican gets a poll they don’t like, they have one response: they claim it’s fake. Every.single.time. They don’t sweat it because they know in their little heart what the real deal is, and believe that researchers, journalists, experts and everyone else is working together to run a conspiracy just to keep their candidate down. Hell, nowadays they’ve moved beyond polls and claim even an election they didn’t win is fake and rigged. Reality just doesn’t faze these people. Yeah, it’s unhealthy and stupid, but that’s what they do. Democrats, however, go in the complete opposite of the spectrum---something just as unhealthy. They take the polls, even ones over a year out, waaaaay too seriously and freak the F out. “Game over, man!! GAME OVER!!” Some people on OUR side are calling for Biden, the freaking incumbent, the guy with an actual track record, to drop out for another candidate. WHO? It doesn’t matter. Maybe that MN congressman no one has heard of or Vermin Supreme. So-called serious pundits, like David Axelrod, are saying that now we need to get a new candidate to replace Biden because of a recent poll. Not because he’s old, mind you, but because of the PERCEPTION that he is old. Let that sink in for a second. Biden is the guy who outwitted McCarthy on the debt ceiling and the budget, was able to get the infrastructure bill that Trump promised for years to pass and has shown engagement and a steady hand during countless crises. For God’s sakes, Biden even got Mexico to agree to pay for border security! He’s always winning. But the entire right-wing machine has been blasting Biden’s age constantly and consistently, while hoping that few will notice that Trump is only 3 years older, makes constant gaffes, and would be the oldest person ever inaugurated if he won. Do you know the reason that Biden’s attacks have stuck? The reason the poll majority said Biden is too old but Trump somehow isn't’? The reason they think Biden is unhealthy although he is in better shape than me and rides a bike while the Orange Cheeze-it not only can’t ride a bike but can barely walk? And also thinks fast food is healthy if he washes it down with Diet Coke? It’s because people on our team love to freak out so much, they actually sometimes buy into the fake narrative the GOP always sets. Again, they aren’t arguing Biden is too old to function, but are freaking out that people are believing it and thus might lose. I’ll hear our people and the so-called unbiased media talk obsessively about this perception nonstop but won’t point out the reality that Donald is the one who is slipping. Meanwhile, DJT, who actually has a history of dementia in his family, is getting away with slurring his words, arguing that windmills cause cancer and kills whales, telling his supporters to drink Bleach or that hurricanes can be destroyed by nuking them, and that Revolutionary soldiers secured the airports in 1776. Just this past week he said he was running against Obama, that Biden would start “WWII,” and didn’t even know what city he was in. More disturbing are his open rants on his boutique social media site that have called for killing his enemies or literally terminating the Constitution. He’s not just slipping, he’s f***ing dangerous. Yet notice that not one Republican--not ONE--has criticized him for doing any of this. That’s the difference. That’s a big reason they don’t get traction—because if it’s only one side doing this, it’s partisan. Cenk, David and others are doing real damage when they call for Biden to drop out for no other reason than messaging. That’s what needs to be taken from the poll. The poll doesn't need to be ignored, because we aren’t Republican. Yet it does call attention to where the problem is. Good news...we can fix it! Biden is our candidate, and he needs our support, not attacks from his own flank. Gavin Newsom isn’t running, and even if he was, do you seriously think he’d be immune from GOP attacks? I promise you, Fox and Friends (like OANN and Newsmax), already have attacks lined up when he starts running. They will call him an out-of-touch coastal elite who wants to turn the rust belt into California. He would be far behind starting out, and he’s our best alternative. No one else come close. For those of you hoping for a Democratic candidate that would be immune from any Republican concerted attack, you can keep dreaming. Now the good news. First, the poll is a poll, not an election. The polls a year ago essentially said the opposite, but no one cared. My point is a lot can change in a year. But the poll is useful because it points out where we can focus our efforts, which seem to be the rust belt, and the messaging we can use. Biden hasn’t even started campaigning yet, while Trump has been campaigning for months and has spent millions already. Biden needs to hit the streets and the airwaves in MI, PA, and WI. He has a LOT to crow about—from the Inflation Reduction Act to Medicare being able to negotiate drug prices to the cap on insulin to name just a few off the top of my head. Better yet, you can contrast with what Trump is talking about. His entire campaign is about vengeance and getting even with his critics. How the hell is that gonna help your pocketbook? Trump also said that he wants to put a 10% import tax on all foreign good. YOU think inflation is bad now? Just wait if he gets in office. He’s on tape saying he wants to cut Social Security and Medicare. You want to talk economy? Bring it. I haven’t even gotten into Project 2025 and the terror that would be unleashed if Trump gets back in office. Second, the poll indicated that Trump’s multiple crimes are indeed a problem. So far, he’s just gotten indictments. Yet he’s as guilty as sin for all of them and the judgments are going to be coming fast and furious. In January, he has to try to justify smearing his rape victim. This is followed in two weeks about his pyramid scheme. Following the next month will be his case on his attempt to overthrow the election, and then his case on concealing hush money to a porn star, and in May, his trial on stealing nuclear secrets. Trump has not expanded his base since the last election, and that was when the entire GOP apparatus was behind him. This was before the rape, insurrection and treason, which are going to front and center next year. Third, the economy is doing quite well. As Larry Sabato put it, it takes months for voters to perceive it, and there’s time. Biden has been defying economists who have been predicting a recession for more than a year, with the economy expanding three quarters in a row. We added 14 million jobs, putting the total 4.5 million higher than before the pandemic. The unemployment rate dropped for a time to the lowest in nearly 54 years; unfilled job openings surged, with 3 jobs for every 2 unemployed job seekers. Trump, on the other hand, inherited a booming economy and in four short years, he crashed it and added almost 8 trillion to the debt. He also had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history. The message will get out. If you are one of those engaged in the handwringing, I urge you to get off the sidelines. I live in a swing county in Florida, Seminole County, and I can tell you that we don’t even have all of our precinct captains staffed. Please, join your local party, work a campaign and help out. We all need volunteers no matter where you are. Again, I’m not Republican. This was a scientific poll, and even though there were questionable things about the poll for sure, I do believe it. It shows Biden has work to do. I do, however, believe that people use polls to express dissatisfaction. For example, I imagine any Arab American in Michigan would tell a pollster they don’t support Biden right now to send a strong message about what is happening in Gaza. Yet, at the end of the day, will they really do anything to help the guy who put “Muslim ban” into our lexicon and supported Netanyahu’s worst impulses? Doubtful. Yet there are people who voted for Biden in 2020 and who aren’t supporting him in 2024. The good news is that it’s a year out, and these are Dem voters who we can bring back home. Instead of attacking our candidate, and to be clear, Biden IS our candidate, we need to be driving home all the good he’s done, remind them of the failures of Trump, and let them know what we can do going forward. Finally, we need to do a better job of explaining what will happen if Trump wins a new term. This poll should serve as a motivator to get off our asses—but please, let’s not wallow in despair. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/6/2204036/-The-idiotic-yet-completely-inevitable-Dem-freakout-over-polling?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/