Hello, this is the Free Political Newsletter. My name is Justin Robert Young.
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On the most recent episode of my podcast Politics Politics Politics we discuss Ron DeSantis’ melting campaign and speak the forbidden words… “Trump might actually be running a good campaign.”
The Democratic Party has plenty to smile about. Just ask them.
Joe Biden has led unprecedented job growth. The White House debuted the term “Bidenomics” to stem the tide of unrealistic negative feelings about the economy. Inflation is cooling, which is nice. It’s not going down. Just not accelerating as fast. So if you are cheating on your spouse with seven people and then the next month you are only cheating on them with six, make sure to frame that numerical shift as “cooling infidelity.”
So, why are they frowning?
Take this opinion piece by Michael Tomasky of The New Republic.
“You’d think people would take that pretty seriously. If we were all watching a Star Trek episode in which a teetering democratic society faced an imminent, dangerous threat, we’d be cheering for the society to come to its senses and work in unison to defeat the threat. That’s what should be happening in real life. But instead, a lot of people have chosen this moment, when the democracy is hanging by a few tattered threads and its future depends directly on the result of next year’s election, to say, Hey, let’s have some fun! This is all a game anyway.”
But things are going so well!
Joe Biden has united the world in opposition to Russia. Pay no attention to North Korea launching a new intercontinental missile or countries turning to Beijing when in need of diplomatic or economic help.
This should be a slam dunk. The chaos of Trump’s COVID-plagued world against the architect of the Great American Comeback? He Who Built Back Better?
And yet… much of the dialogue of the last weekend hasn’t been focused on the achievements of Joe but rather the villiany of the No Labels movement.
What is the No Labels movement, and how are we supposed to know who they are if they refuse to wear one.
No Labels was founded ten years ago and most notably helped found the Problem Solvers Caucus in congress. But this year they crossed a big line, they’ve indicated that they might run a third-party ticket as Americans seem particularly unenthused by a rematch of Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden.
Of course, many voices connected to the Democratic party believe this is subterfuge. No Labels really only has one mission: to steal the election from Joe Biden.
Current Democratic Senator Joe Manchin attended the policy rollout of No Labels yesterday in New Hampshire. So did John Huntsman. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is also affiliated and has been rumored to possibly fill out a presidential ticket.
Why would the villainous No Labels dare to run people in the (checks notes) “Normal” lane, asks Tomansky?
We have one candidate who is “normal” in the context of American presidential electoral history. We have another candidate who has already proven he is way outside normal, given that he watched eagerly as a mob sought to kill his own vice president. And No Labels wants to run another normal candidate, obviously splitting the normal vote.
It is true, presidential elections have long since been neck and neck affairs with the margin of victory often being only a few hundred thousand votes spread across three or four states.
One might think that in a situation that tight, candidates from the two major parties would want to mine every inch of real estate they could. Possibly moving further to the center to activate non-voters or lure lapsed leaners.
You could leverage the incomparable brand loyalty that comes along with being a member of one of our two major parties. You could use the tens (hundreds!) of millions of dollars that flow into a presidential re-election campaign. Biden hauled in $72 million this quarter! Conceivably, you’d be able to get your message out clearly through partisan media.
But that’s not enough, is it?
No, you need people who are not members of your party to do the same thing. Anything less would be cowardly, states Tomansky.
But that would require courage, and courage is in short supply in today’s America when it comes to opposing Trump, defending democracy, and recognizing and articulating the stakes.
On ABC’s This Week Sunday, Democratic strategist Donna Brazille said “I see them making the argument that there needs to be a moderate in the race, well the moderate is Joe Biden.”
America, now is your moment. Please, simply agree with the following statement: Joe Biden is the moderate candidate no matter what you might think. Anything else is cowardly and undemocratic.
Say it out loud, believe it in your soul.
Maybe then the Democrats can smile again.
DeSantis Reboot
Ron DeSantis had a good fundraising quarter but recently fell below 20% in the Real Clear Politics average for the first time since launching his campaign. His SuperPAC Never Back Down is now focusing their fire on Donald Trump in Iowa. New rule: DON’T ATTACK A REPUBLICAN FOR ATTACKING OTHER REPUBLICANS. Newer rule: SPECIFICALLY IF THAT REPUBLICAN IS DONALD TRUMP.
It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t work. It makes you look like a whiny little baby.
Pence Campaign Death Watch
Mike Pence raised $1.2 million last quarter. That’s not a bad number, it’s an awful number. In comparison, Vivek Ramaswamy a political neophyte that was not a vice president of the United States raised $2.3 million to go along with $5 million of personal money.
Pence also had a truly horrendous time on stage in Iowa (where he would need to win to have any hope at all) while on stage with Tucker Carlson this weekend.
The Campaign Undertaker might have his first victim.