NEWS AND OPINION:
Former President Donald Trump continues to stage well-attended public events and offer regular commentary on the issues of the day. This practice is vilified or mocked by Democratic foes and in the daily press of course. Some say this aggressive response to Mr. Trump’s activities could backfire, however.
“What the Democrats and their flying monkeys in the mainstream media are doing is making Trump a living martyr,” wrote Stephen Kruiser, a HotAir.com columnist.
The attacks are merely fuel for Mr. Trump and his response, he said.
“His oversized personality soaks up their frothing pettiness and turns it into political gold. Trump has repeatedly said that attacks on him are really attacks on everyone who supports him, and that resonates in a way that the Democrats are unable to grasp,” Mr. Kruiser said, noting that the Democrats don’t appear to have any “inspiring leaders” for their voters in the first place.
Mr. Trump seems to have all bases covered.
“The Trump faithful know that he really is on their side. The Democrats can’t see the genuine affection he has for his supporters because they’ve built a demonized caricature of him in their empty heads that has nothing to do with reality,” the columnist said.
“Everything they do to try and keep Trump out of the 2024 political equation energizes him and the over 70 million people who voted for him in 2020. The false accusations are giving Trump permanent rent-free status in their heads. At this rate, they might not be able to beat Trump in 2024 even with the help of the Magic Mail-In Ballot Machine,” Mr. Kruiser noted.
AND ABOUT THOSE MAIL-INS
Here are some historic numbers of note from the 2020 presidential bout, courtesy of the “Survey of the Performance of American Elections” conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Nov. 4, 2020.
“The percentage of voters casting ballots by mail grew to 46%, more than doubling the fraction from 2016. On the other hand, the share of voters casting ballots on Election Day fell to 28%, from 60% in 2016. 60% of Democrats, compared to 32% of Republicans, reported voting by mail,” noted an MIT analysis released March 28, 2021.
Another 26% overall voted early and in person while 28% actually went to the polls and voted on Election Day itself.
The MIT survey of 18,200 registered U.S. voters included 200 respondents from each of 40 states and Washington DC, as well as 1,000 respondents from ten battleground states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
“Issues of drop boxes became salient during the election. When we asked people how they returned their ballots, in 2016, 2/3 mailed them back; in 2020, only half did. On the other hand, the percentage saying they dropped them off somewhere increased, with drop boxes leading the way,” wrote Charles Stewart — director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab and an MIT political science professor in an analysis published Jan. 22, 2021, at Medium.com.
The poll also revealed that 93% of Democrats at the time were confident “votes nationwide were counted as voters intended,” compared to 23% of Republicans.
REPUBLICANS WANT TO KNOW
Voter outreach is underway, an indicator that election fever for the midterm and the presidential bouts is intensifying. The art of asking voters thoughtful or provocative questions is now in the GOP mix, accompanied by a polite little suggestion to donate a little something to the cause.
Let’s peek at the newest Republican outreach, which asks participants 24 questions, points an accusatory finger at President Biden and is signed off on by none other than Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
“I can count on you, right? It’s true our party is seeing huge enthusiasm, but we only win in November if everyone gets involved. Americans are struggling and the Biden administration is ignoring them. Republicans will hold Biden and Democrats accountable in November, but we need your help. Please represent the patriots in your area by taking the Official 2022 Congressional District Canvass survey. Thank you and God bless you,” she writes.
Meanwhile, here’s a few sample questions, verbatim from the GOP survey:
Do you oppose non-citizens being allowed to vote?
Are you concerned that the radical Left is indoctrinating the American people?
Do you think Joe Biden has led our country in the wrong direction?
Do you miss President Trump?
Do you think the current Biden border crisis is out of control?
Do you want to see a Republican Red Wave in November?
FOR THE LEXICON
“The Vent Tent.”
Cornell University’s “reproductive health and justice organizations” organized a recent campus event titled “Our Bodies, Their Laws” featuring a tent in which students could “vent frustrations” about abortion rights.
The Campus Fix — a student-written news organization — reports that official “vent tent” was meant as a haven for those “triggered” by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade
The venting opportunity was supported by Planned Parenthood Generation Action, End Abortion Stigma, Gender Justice Advocacy Coalition and the university’s department of Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
“The event also featured a tent where attendees could vent frustrations regarding the current state of reproductive rights. The tables distributed snacks, informational pamphlets and free condoms to attendees,” noted the Cornell Sun, a student news organization on the campus.
POLL DU JOUR
• 47% of U.S. adults think that votes not being counted properly is a “major problem” in the U.S. voting system; 68% of Republicans, 44% of independents and 31% of Democrats agree.
• 26% overall say votes not counted properly is a “minor problem” in the system; 22% of Republicans, 28% of independents and 27% of Democrats agree.
• 27% overall think votes not counted properly is “not a problem” in the voting system; 10% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 42% of Democrats agree.
SOURCE: A CBS News poll of 2.085 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 29-31.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
