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Americans Souring on Biden – and Washington
Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2021 | Pat Buchanan

Posted on 09/17/2021 3:53:45 AM PDT by Kaslin

The California recall election turned out well for the Democrats.

With Gov. Gavin Newsom sinking in the summer polls, the party had been staring starkly at the prospect of losing the nation's largest state and seeing its governor replaced by talk-show host Larry Elder, who had vaulted into the lead among the 46 candidates seeking to replace Newsom.

Elder had rallied Republicans and started to surge, which terrified the Democrats. Not only might they lose Newsom, but they could get in the governor's mansion in Sacramento what leftists took to calling "the black face of white supremacy."

Result: A panicked Democratic Party defeated the recall by nearly 2-1, with Californians voting to retain Newsom in roughly the same percentages as they had voted to elect Joe Biden president almost a year ago.

That leaves California securely in Democrat control.

Not in 15 years has a Republican won statewide office. Every elected governor and U.S. senator after 2006, every lieutenant governor and attorney general, has been a Democrat.

The Congressional delegation has 53 members, and the Democrats outnumber Republicans 42-11. Democrats also have 3-1 majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

Richard Nixon carried his home state on all five presidential tickets on which he ran, and Ronald Reagan never lost California. But the era that began when Barry Goldwater won the June 1964 primary against liberal Gov. Nelson Rockefeller is history.

Yet, everything is not coming up roses for Biden.

An Economist poll finds his approval rating underwater, with 49% disapproving of Biden's performance in office to 46% in approval.

The latest Quinnipiac poll, out Tuesday, is more ominous. It has 50% of the country disapproving of the Biden presidency, with only 42% approving, the first time Biden's rating has fallen into negative territory. More worrisome: Independents disapprove of Biden by 52-34.

When broken down by issues, the news is no better.

On his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden's rating has plunged from 53-40 approval in August to 48% approving and 49% disapproving now. Fifty-five percent disapprove of his handling of his duties as commander in chief.

His mastery of foreign policy was supposed to be his strong suit. But here the numbers are even worse. Only a third of the nation, 34%, approves of his handling of foreign policy, while 59% disapprove.

On the economy, Biden also gets a negative rating, with 42% of the country approving of the job he is doing to 52% against.

With Biden's numbers underwater overall and on the three major issues – the economy, foreign policy and his handling of the coronavirus – Democrats have to be looking nervously at November 2022.

"If there ever was a honeymoon for President Biden, it is clearly over," says Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy. "This is, with few exceptions, a poll full of troubling negatives ... from overall job approval, to foreign policy, to the economy."

What makes this especially ominous for Democrats is that the recent negative news is likely to continue on many fronts, while the possibilities of positive achievements appear limited.

Biden conceivably could pull off twin victories this fall in Congress -- with passage of both the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and the $3.5 trillion family infrastructure bill. If so, this would put him in the history books as a transformative president alongside Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.

But Biden faces problems on many fronts.

First among them is the return of inflation. The soaring price of food and fuel is beginning to be felt. There is new skittishness in the markets. And the jobs picture is not as rosy as was anticipated this summer.

While the country credits the president for ending America's longest war, the future news out of Afghanistan is likely to be filled with stories of the Americans left behind and Afghan allies facing executions.

The invasion across our southern border is now producing 220,000 border crossers every month.

We are still in the fourth wave of the coronavirus, with the number of American dead, already over 670,000, rising at a rate of 2,000 a day.

If the wave does not break, this will depress the mood of a country that believed, just a few months back, that the worst was behind us and brighter days lay ahead.

And the poll numbers are not only the worst Biden has received. They are not all that good for the nation either.

Seventy percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the USA. The president's disapproval exceeds his approval rating by eight points, just eight months in office. Republicans and Democrats in Congress both get negative ratings from the American people. And only 37% of registered voters approve of the Supreme Court's handling of its role. Half the country disapproves.

If all three branches of the U.S. government have lost or are losing the confidence of their countrymen, what does that suggest is the future for our democratic republic?


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bidenadmin; demonrat; gavinnewsom; kalifornia; residentbiden

1 posted on 09/17/2021 3:53:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
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Elder had rallied Republicans and started to surge, which terrified the Democrats

And then he denied voter theft on 11/3/20, and his campaign fell apart. Back to the Relief Factor commercials Larry, your political career is OVER!

2 posted on 09/17/2021 4:01:31 AM PDT by JonPreston (Q: Never have so many, been so wrong, so often)
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To: Kaslin

CA is irrelevant. Sick of hearing that it leads the rest of the country. Hasn’t been true in 15 years. I’m sure just a coincidence that was the last time the Stupid Party was competitive there.


3 posted on 09/17/2021 4:04:30 AM PDT by No_Mas_Obama
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To: JonPreston

“And then he denied voter theft on 11/3/20, and his campaign fell apart.”

I think that lost him tons of votes. But the cheating during the days before the election would have not changed the outcome, anyhow, I believe.

For a “conservative” so say that Biden won fair and square is insane. He probably thought it would help him, but it did the opposite. Politically tone-deaf conservatives are people we don’t need in power.


4 posted on 09/17/2021 4:07:19 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (“If TPTB can force you to take a shot, what CAN'T they force you to take?” - T. Carlson (paraphrased)
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To: JonPreston

I may have this wrong, but I think Elder, on the one hand, denied that the Democrats stole the election from Trump in November 2020 and, on the other hand, warned that the Democrats were preparing to steal the election in CA from Elder in Sept 2021.

I don’t think it’s wise to try and have it both ways. I think the GOP should push for election integrity and constantly say the Democrats win through fraud. Pushing for verifiably honest elections seems like a no-brainer to me.


5 posted on 09/17/2021 4:07:31 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (China is like the Third Reich. We are Mussolini's Italy. A weaker, Jr partner, good at losing wars.)
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To: No_Mas_Obama

You are correct. It does not.


6 posted on 09/17/2021 4:12:03 AM PDT by Kaslin (Joe Biden will never be my President, and neither will Kamala Harris)
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To: Kaslin

souring???????, he stole the election and the rats helped


7 posted on 09/17/2021 4:19:51 AM PDT by ronnie raygun
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To: JonPreston

You nailed it...When Larry Elder denied the industrial scale voter fraud in California it gave the Democratic machine the green light and they mashed the gas...

What had Gavin so scared was that the democratic apparatchik was worried about being exposed... Larry basically told them he was not going to contest another stolen election and guess what...industrial scale voter fraud continues...


8 posted on 09/17/2021 4:21:53 AM PDT by WinstonSmith1984 (The DOJ is a far left militia.)
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To: ronnie raygun

Correct!!!


9 posted on 09/17/2021 4:27:56 AM PDT by Kaslin (Joe Biden will never be my President, and neither will Kamala Harris)
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To: WinstonSmith1984

California is the future. An entrenched ruling elite and billionaire technocracy; dining at their $1,000 a plate restaurants and living in gated mansions, while the citizens are left with prices for food and fuel they can’t afford, rotted cities, homeless, and feces strewn sidewalks. Welcome to the 21st Century New Feudal Society.


10 posted on 09/17/2021 5:37:40 AM PDT by Flick Lives (We may or may not have reached herd immunity, but we've definitely achieved herd stupidity.)
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To: WinstonSmith1984

Yep, when he did that (trying to move past the fraud of 2020), he dumped a bunch of voters and votes.

Why should I vote for you? If you think everything was cool in the 2020 election, and the other party didn’t rig it, why are you running?

This is the lesson that every person with an R after their name needs to learn quick. Dismissing the concerns of your supporters puts you on the street. And mouthing a few words about ‘election integrity’ ain’t gonna cut it.


11 posted on 09/17/2021 5:49:16 AM PDT by Not_Who_U_Think
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To: Flick Lives

Your post answered Buchanan’s closing question:

<>If all three branches of the U.S. government have lost or are losing the confidence of their countrymen, what does that suggest is the future for our democratic republic?<>


12 posted on 09/17/2021 2:42:40 PM PDT by Jacquerie
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