Actions are not working

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

How poorly do the Democrats think they are doing this presidential election cycle? Well, let’s look at their actions.

They are doing everything they can think of in the legal system to keep the Republican candidate tied up in court and off the campaign trail. They have hit him with every imaginable legal argument they can find in order to attempt to besmirch his reputation. It is not working. 

They are bribing every recent college graduate with loan forgiveness. Probably need to be careful here – there are more blue-collar workers than college graduates. The blue-collar workers are not happy to have this largess added to their and their children’s tax debt. It may be working; we will not know until the election.

Both parties are worried about the third-party candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But maybe because they have the access, the Democrats have hauled out an impressive portion of the Kennedy clan to speak poorly of him. More sinister, President Biden has refused to give Kennedy Secret Service protection.

The Democrats are starting to back-pedal on the immigration disaster. These people may be able to vote in the future, but in most places they will not get to vote in this election cycle. It may not have worked for now. President Biden has been protected from a largely friendly press thus far. He only takes softball, prepared questions. However, he has agreed to debate Trump. That may be the litmus test for Uncle Joe.

Overall, the Democrats are not behaving as people with confidence they can win the presidential election. Confidence derives from doing what the population wants. Or, if you think the population does not understand the threats and opportunities of the day, you spend time educating them, so they do. 
 
You don’t pass a bill called “the Inflation Reduction Act” which is named in a way to deceive the population that this is really the radical environmental agenda you have been pushing. You don’t write executive orders for everything you can’t get through Congress. You don’t keep saying inflation was 9% when you entered office, knowing good and well it was not.

It often seems as though the Democrats have an agenda that is not synchronized with the direction the country is headed or should be headed. Many of their initiatives do not appear to be aligned with what is good for the country. Biden’s policy when it comes to foreign affairs often seems downright dangerous. 

The Democratic Convention may be the defining moment. It would be pretty easy for President Biden to announce his retirement there, especially if he does poorly debating Trump. At that point, the question is, obviously, who replaces him? The Democrats do not have a deep bench.

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.

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