- Media has focused on GOP's issues, but Democrats are deeply divided, particularly regarding Biden's potential 2024 election candidacy
- Biden is unpopular, trailing Trump in battleground states, and facing economic challenges
- Illegal immigration is causing problems, and divisions are evident on issues like Israel
- Four Democratic groups have different approaches to address Biden's potential 2024 election candidacy
- Ongoing debate over Biden's 2024 election bid is tearing liberals apart
The media has relentlessly focused on the GOP's troubles - no viable candidate to beat Trump, an ever-shrinking presidential candidate field, a dysfunctional House led by a conservative speaker, and Trump's litany of legal problems, including close aides pleading guilty.
But, the fact is, the disarray among the Democrats is far more severe. As the White House's governing party, things are going terribly for the Left. President Biden remains hugely unpopular, with polls showing him losing to President Trump in the battleground states. Nationally, the I&I/TIPP poll shows the two in a dead heat. Trump has hefty leads with women (45% Trump, 35% Biden), white voters (47% Trump, 37% Biden), and among all those earning $75,000 or less (average 45% Trump, 36% Biden).
Under Biden, the government's debt is spiraling out of control, with Moody's joining Fitch in the summer to downgrade US debt. The President’s emergency requests to fund Ukraine and Israel have stalled. The Ukraine counteroffensive has become a stalemate, even by Ukrainian admission, and the world has turned its attention to a much more severe problem in the Middle East. Some Democrats are bitterly divided on Israel, with Congresswoman Rashida Talib being censured by the entire House for her pro-Palestine comments, with twelve Democrats joining.
On the economic front, stubbornly high interest rates and inflation are levying a hefty tax on all Americans. Due to high interest rates, Americans now pay 11.4% for used car loans and 7.8% for mortgages. Under Biden, buying a new car has become unaffordable for most Americans, and owning a new home is an unattainable dream. For 18-24-year-olds, the resumption of student loan payments has added a $500 monthly expense at a time when entry-level jobs are scarce.
The national debt is ballooning to $34 trillion. Social Security and Medicare unfunded liabilities add another $75 trillion in red ink. That leaves each household with a burden of over $600,000, 1.5 times the median price of an American home.
Meanwhile, over 7 million illegal immigrants have inundated America's cities, and mayors are crying out for help to deal with the surge - while even more are crossing the border. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated on Tuesday that he must make significant cuts including NYPD to offset the costs of sheltering and serving tens of thousands of mostly Latin American migrants who arrived in the city since last year. Adams said:
In all my time in government, this is probably one of the most painful exercises I’ve gone through.
In these challenging times, there are four tug-of-war ropes on the Left, each pulling in a different direction.
The status-quo group. With the megaphone of the White House complex and Air Force One, the Biden administration wants to make Americans believe that the problem is not Biden's policies but inadequate messaging: The stupid voter doesn't understand how good his policies are. This vast group with vested interests in returning to plum positions also has the levers of government power at its disposal - waging lawfare against Trump, announcing new spending plans (like more money for Amtrak), or forgiving $127 billion in student loans through creative rule-making even though the Supreme Court expressly forbade the administration from doing so.
The Biden-can-turn-it-around group. Jonathan Martin of Politico is a crucial voice of this cohort, believing that Biden is in trouble, but he can turn things around by leveraging new senior leaders at the helm. He wants you-never-want-to-let-a-serious-crisis-go-to-waste Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff, to chair Biden's reelection campaign. He also wants to help recruit Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney, avid Trump haters, to target the Never-Trump and TDS crowds to browbeat them into voting for Biden.
The dump-Biden group. In recent days, leading Democrats, for the first time, are openly discussing various ways to stem what could be a rout for them in 2024. David Axelrod, former President Obama's strategist, publicly aired a view that no one had the guts to do and suggested that Biden not be a candidate for next year.
Only @JoeBiden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it's in HIS best interest or the country's?
The challenge-Biden group. Seeing an opening in Biden's demoralizing poll numbers, others have announced a challenge. Congressman Dean Phillips, from Minnesota's 3rd congressional district since 2019, said he would run against Biden in the Democratic primaries. Jill Stein, the former Green Party candidate, accused by the Left of siphoning enough votes from Hillary Clinton in 2016 to help elect Donald Trump, announced that she would seek the Green Party nomination. It is unclear if Stein is to the left of author Cornel West, also running as a Democrat. Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat from West Virginia, said he would not seek reelection to the Senate. There is talk that Manchin may launch an independent third-party bid. With Robert Kennedy Jr. announcing that he would also run as an independent, there could be three candidates along with the Democratic and Republican nominees on the 2024 ballot.
Election Day is fewer than 51 weeks away. Much can happen before then, but Biden is in big trouble if the elections are held fairly. The pull at the tug by varying forces only makes his problems worse. The next few weeks will be interesting to watch.
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