Polarization, hate and the political blame game
Crisis after crisis, government dysfunctionality and ineptness to coalesce to resolve problems and political party fighting for self-interest begets public hate, divisiveness and a weakened U.S.
Scary stuff in today’s media:
Polarization and threat to democracy
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that "extreme polarization" in the U.S. is currently the greatest threat to democracy in America. “The whole of our society seems to be coming unhinged. And there's just - I've never seen so much hatred," he said. "It seems to me that it underscores the theme that China is sounding around the world that the United States political system doesn't work, and that the United States is a declining power," Gates said.
A base that defends the defenseless
President Biden needs a base. "Every politician has to have a base," a member of Congress once said. "Your base is the people who are with you when you're wrong."
Biden has so far failed to deliver on many of his campaign promises - police reform, immigration, voting rights, a federal minimum wage hike, eliminating the filibuster. He did deliver a withdrawal from Afghanistan but in a way that most Americans saw as incompetent and humiliating. To make matters worse, the economic recovery appears to have stalled. Inflation is threatening to get out of control, which leads to speculation that Biden could become another Jimmy Carter.
Biden lacks the base previous presidents had. Democrats could abandon Biden if they don't believe he can offer them leadership and political cover.
The fear factor
Trump overplayed "the fear factor." He was so vengeful, he ended up frightening the voters. And he paid a price for it at the polls in 2020.
Democrats could abandon Biden if they don't believe he can offer them political cover. That often happens when a president's job approval rating drops below 50 percent, which is what happened to Biden after the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. Somewhere, sometime, members of Congress must understand that they cannot defy the president with impunity. They must fear him. Biden hasn't established "the fear factor" yet.
Defund the Police - Is New York next
Question 2 on the Minneapolis ballot, perhaps better known as the referendum on "Defunding the Police is up for public vote. The City of Minneapolis is a progressive, Democratic stronghold, yet the question will finally bring some clarity to how much mojo the "defund the police" movement really has against the backdrop of a city where gun violence is careening out of control.
A poll by PBS' Frontline with other local news organizations last month suggests Minneapolis voters are split fairly evenly on the issue of defunding the police, with a plurality indicating they would just as soon do away with the MPD.