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My friend's dinner comments about MAGA inevitability had me questioning these accepted "myths" [1]
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Date: 2023-09-10
We were debating about team Biden’s seeming lack of effective messaging against the Trump machine, and that so many could still support The Orange Diva in the face of obvious lying and criminality. (Obvious to us that is.)
I argued that things might have been different if Biden had spoken out more against the BIG LIE, and promoted his great accomplishments in infrastructure, technology and green energy advancements, and so on. Otherwise this audience are continually in a FOX, talk radio, Trump bubble of disinfo. (The Hunter Biden case doesn’t help either.)
My friend shook her head. These people (Trumpers) are so far gone and hopeless, she countered, that no amount of messaging ould have changed any of them one iota. All of this ongoing MAGA momentum was sadly inevitable.
While I agree that’s true for the hard core, we’ve heard that are also the quasi-supporters.
So, I said, even though these quasi-Trumpers come and go (drift away and drift back); and we see articles that it’s a comparison for them of two disliked candidates — you’re saying that better messaging and presence from the WHITE HOUSE would have no impact on that, even on these marginal folks?
A recent CNN article actually polled these “undecided” and shifty voters in the middle (including those from independents, DEMS and GOP) and of late there is a slight but scary shift back toward Trump. Much of that driven by disapproval of Biden and his “image”. If we just look at ACTIONS alone: Trump is the one pumping out messaging and energy (all of it poison!) and Biden is the one hanging back in a “dignified silence,” that actually hurts him according to Charles Blow of the NY Times.
Let me ask: If Ukraine’s Zelinsky had declined to fight against Putin’s invasion, Russia would have overwhelmed them easily of course. And if two months later, one of us said: “Hey, if they had really defended themselves, could it have made a difference?” How many of us would have said: “No way, Russia’s army was so determined and large, nothing would have helped. This was inevitable.”
(We could throw up our hands and say: yeah but people are freaked about inflation. Yes, but with so many good accomplishments to sell about the economy (full employment, business activity, the tech and green boom fueled by the IRA act, the dow...) and inflation now falling, are we saying no effective messaging could lift this image?)
So I’m left with : In the face of negative messaging against us: Does the lack of a concerted counter-effort mislead us into believing that certain outcomes are inevitable?
And that brings me to another comment my friend made when I asked “Why can’t we let Biden face solid primary challengers?”
“We can’t afford to have the party appear divided at this time,” was her answer. “And the would-be challengers (like Klobuchar, Whitmer) all realize that.”
But I’m thinking: aren’t we already divided on whether Biden should run? And won’t a solid primary process actually confirm for us that we made a “choice” rather than risking being left with it taken somewhat out our of hands? We always come together when the primaries are decided, don’t we?
But her third comment, had me thinking again:
“I’m sure there’s much going on behind closed doors we don’t know about.” I agreed there. I hope it’s good stuff to come…. we could use it.
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