Commentary
NOTE: Before I offer my commentary on matters political, I want to thank you for your indulgence in my recent blogs on the University of Michigan football team. It was a great year for the maize and blue, beating Ohio State again, defeating Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game, the semi-playoff victory over Alabama, and Monday’s defeat of the Washington Huskies to become the National Champions of college football.
There’s a phrase, “the natives are getting restless,” that emerged from racist colonial origins, that has been avoided for obvious reasons; it appears to set up two groups of people – a ruling class and a group of natives.
I’ve chosen to use it here because the admonition against using it fits so well the scene I want to set for this commentary. The “natives,” as we are led to believe require something to appease them, like fairness and equality, to words often woven in remarks by President Biden. In fact, executive orders he issued on his first day in office reflect them, and are now policy driven.
If you haven’t noticed, President Biden and Vice President Harris recently made appearances in separate black churches in South Carolina designed to sooth blacks. Obviously concerned over losing support among blacks.
The latest New York Times/Siena College poll and that of ABC News revealed signs of Biden losing ground among black voters, didn’t go unnoticed to the Biden-Harris campaign. However, I believe it was the statement by South Carolina’s Rep. James Clyburn expressing concern that stirred the White House. It was Clyburn who Democrats say propelled Biden to victory in 2020.
“It’s because of this congregation and the black community of South Carolina and – not exaggeration – and Jim Clyburn that I stand here today as your president, because of all of you. That’s a fact. That’s a fact. And I owe you. And I’ve done my best to honor your trust,” Biden said.
I found it laughable that during his reminder that he committed to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court, that he had to say, “Her name is Ketanji Brown Jackson,” knowing she hasn’t made an impact. “Guess what,” he added, “she knows what she’s doing, and by the way, she’s smarter than the rest of these guys. Whoa.”
Sportswriter and sometimes opinion writer Greg Moore of the left-leaning Arizona Republic was moved by Biden’s references to “white supremacy” and “systemic racism,” saying, “I tremendously appreciate Biden’s acknowledgment,” calling it a “bold and forceful start.”
Vice President Harris rehashed Jan. 6, conjuring up a scenario “when a mob violently attacked the United States Capitol, using brutal force and fear to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election. They tried to overturn the votes of millions of Americans.”
While she asserted that “we (Democrats) fight to protect the sacred freedom to vote while they (Republicans) try to silence the voice of the people,” knowledgeable Americans see how Democrats are attempting to not only keep Donald Trump off the ballot, but other opposition like Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Marriane Williamson.
Here’s what Stirred Biden-Harris
“While Americans have been lukewarm (putting it mildly) about Biden for a majority of his administration, the president is losing support at a faster clip among people of color.” – ABC News
Biden started his presidency with an 86 percent average approval rating among black Americans, according to ABC News. But by July 2022 that number was down 23 percentage points to 63 percent. Then, since early 2023, it had dropped to 60 percent.
Among Other People of Color
You need to know that ABC News recognizes that there are other people of color, reporting that “His (Biden’s) numbers among Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans have reached a new low.”
Democrats have been warning about signs of Latino voters turning toward the GOP for years. “When Biden entered the White House, he had an approval rating of over 70 percent among Hispanics and Latinos,” according to ABC News. “But that declined through the rest of 2021 and early 2022, when it plateaued in the mid-40s.” Now it is closer to 40 percent.
Biden’s approval rating with Asians and Pacific Islanders started in the high 70s, but steadily declined through 2022 and early 2023, and is now in the below 50.
Another View
In an Arizona Republic Viewpoint piece, “Why do Latinos like Trump? Answer might surprise you,” columnist Phil Boas writes of two other surveys of Latino voters revealing that they favor Trump over Biden.
Both the USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll and the CNBC All-American Economic Survey found that Trump has a five-point lead with Latino voters.
“One of the reasons for the shift in Latino attitudes may be that Trump’s Republican Party is not your grandfather’s Republican Party,” says Boas. “Trump’s Republican Party is decidedly more working class and that has drawn especially Latino men.”
Enter the Obama’s
With the knowledge that Biden’s staff is made up of a number of former President Obama’s administration, conservative pundits have often suggested that he’s the “shadow” in Biden’s shadow government.
We are expected to believe that Biden invited Obama for a recent private lunch in the White House to discuss a range of topics, when, according to The Washington Post, the former president “grew animated” in discussing the 2024 election as he recommended Biden seek counsel from Obama’s aides.
Meanwhile, former First Lady Michelle Obama made news when asked what keeps her up and night and what is her biggest fear when she commented that she was “terrified” about what could happen in 2024, while appearing on a podcast.
Speaking of being “terrified,” that thought has surfaced with talk of her replacing Biden on the Democrat ticket.
May God continue to bless the United States of America
