by Eric Zuesse for The Saker Blog
Throughout this election-season in the United States, there have been many indications that the stupid voters who chose Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in 2016 are doing it yet again and chose Joe Biden over Sanders, and thus they handed Trump the victory in 2016 and are repeating that in 2020. A new poll shows it clearly.
Just like happened in 2016 when Democratic Party voters who were predominantly Blacks and/or seniors swallowed the propaganda-line from the billionaire-controlled ‘news’-media against the electability of Sanders, those voters have done it yet again and thus are re-electing Trump by having passed over the only candidate who could have beaten him: Sanders. (A 22 June 2016 Bloomberg News report right after Hillary had won the nomination headlined “Nearly Half of Sanders Supporters Won’t Support Clinton”. Of course, that was being reported too late for the voters to be able to do anything about it; and this is how the billionaires work.)
Unlike Biden and Hillary, who have had broad support but tepid support, Sanders has had support which is not only passionate but is also broader than does Trump. A close reading of all of the polls, both in 2016 and in 2020, indicates that the passion-factor is crucial to electoral victory (bringing a candidate’s voters to the polls, or “turnout”) but hasn’t been receiving the attention it deserves in the billionaires’ ‘news’-media; and, therefore, the stupidest voters haven’t even noticed it, but went instead for what they had been deceived to think ‘the more-electable’ candidates: Hillary in 2016, and Biden in 2020.
This fact is now receiving yet another powerful confirmation in an ABC News poll published on March 29th, headlined “Biden consolidates support, but trails badly in enthusiasm: Poll”.
It says:
strong enthusiasm for Biden among his supporters – at just 24% – is the lowest on record for a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years of ABC/Post polls. More than twice as many of Trump’s supporters are highly enthusiastic about supporting him, 53%.
It’s even worse than it was for Clinton in 2016:
There’s déjà vu in these results: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found herself in largely the same position four years ago. She, too, had a slim lead among Democrats for the nomination and ran essentially evenly with Trump among registered voters. And she lagged in enthusiasm, with a low of 32% very enthusiastic in September 2016. Biden is 8 points under that mark now.
Furthermore — and also confirming earlier polls —
Eighty-three percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning seniors prefer Biden over Sanders, up 63 points from February; two-thirds of blacks say the same, a 34-point increase.
Eighty percent of Sanders backers say they’ll vote for Biden against Trump; as noted, 15% say they’d back Trump. (This is familiar: Twenty percent of Sanders supporters said they’d vote for Trump in spring 2016.)
How bad was it in 2016? It definitely accounted for Hillary’s losing to Trump in the three crucial states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Although the early estimate that “Nearly Half of Sanders Supporters Won’t Support Clinton” turned out to have been an over-estimate, the final real figures still were quite substantial, and far more than accounted for Hillary’s losses in each one of those three crucial states. So: they’re doing it again. And maybe they’ll blame Russia, and blame Sanders, for it, like Hillary did in 2016. A con-job requires not just a deceiver but a believer. But to be conned repeatedly — that is plain stupid.
(The lying New York Times headlined misleadingly on 28 March 2017, “A 2016 Review: Turnout Wasn’t the Driver of Clinton’s Defeat”, and reported that, “it’s clear that large numbers of white, working-class voters shifted from the Democrats to Mr. Trump,” and hid the fact that, as McClatchy newspapers headlined on 1 May 2017, “Democrats say they now know exactly why Clinton lost” and that this reason was that “Obama-Trump voters, in fact, effectively accounted for more than two-thirds of the reason Clinton lost.” Those voters did “turn out,” but for Trump instead of for her — and, yet, the Times said it wasn’t a “Turnout” problem. Of course, they simply lied. This is how billionaire-controlled media deceive enough of the stupid in order to sway ‘elections’: they do it by misreporting the reality.)
The stupid never learn from prior experience, but only repeat prior experience. There is a difference between learning and repeating. Repeating can be done merely by memorizing, but learning requires real intelligence.
Those suckers chose the candidate they had been spoon-fed to misbelieve would have the higher likelihood of beating Trump — the propagandized lie (and it was a lie) being that Hillary (and now Biden) would be more electable than Sanders. This stupidity is the reason why Americans in the coming November 3rd election will be choosing between two candidates both of whom are — themselves — stupid, incompetent, and disastrous for everyone except perhaps their own billionaire sponsors, who had financed their campaigns.
The idiots want America to be run like a business, but the problem is that it already is. And to the stockholders in it (mainly the billionaires), their own benefits are vastly more important than the benefits to the public — the billionaires’ corporations’ employees and consumers — the taxpayers (other than themselves — if they even pay taxes, or at least taxes that are higher than the subsidies they receive from the government). Collectively, the billionaires get the government that they have bought, and everybody else gets the scraps that are left over. And this is how it happens.
What could turn things around for Biden? Over 100,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths could, even if Biden would have handled the crisis just as atrociously as Trump did. (Of course, Sanders wouldn’t have, but apparently he’s gone from the contest now.)
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
Biden is not likely to turn things around, regardless of how many the virus may kill. Trump correctly pointed out that Biden can’t even string a sentence together. That won’t look good at the first debate, even though the sitting president rarely performs well then.
The Democrats have many of the same donors as the Republicans, and would likely prefer that Trump be re-elected to the election of Sanders.
I am going to play “Devil’s advocate ” here. Can anyone tell me the worst thing Trump has done? All I hear is “Orange man bad”, and nothing further.
How about invading Iraq to assassinate the top anti-ISIS general on January 3rd? How about the war-crime of aggressive invasion on 14 April 2018, against Syria? How about attempting a coup against Venezuela? Then too, he’s a bigot, and a nepotist, and corrupt. What more could you ask for — and those are only starters? In total, he’s competing with Obama and G.W. Bush and G.H.W. Bush for “America’s worst President ever.” Anyone would need to be deaf, dumb, and blind, not to recognize it.
I think he was asking about “crimes” recognized as such by the US.Those foreign policy matters,while I too consider them crimes.Are no different from the actions of any US President.Who ,btw would be praised for them by the US media ,if his name wasn’t Trump.The others you mention,bigot,nepotist,aren’t crimes as far as I’ve heard.If so,half of Washington could be indicted.And as far ,corrupt.That’s easy to say,but hard to prove.If not ,after almost 4 years of trying his enemies still can’t seem to come up with good enough evidence to charge him.
Every time I hear Trump and see his interaction with other world leaders, I think of what Kissinger said “To be an enemy of America is destructive,but to be its friend is fatal’ and we keep electing and re-electing the same type over and over and wonder why nothing ever changes.!!!
It cant, b/c its the system that is hopelessly corrupt.
Trump’s certainly done better than what Hillary would have been – place would be a madhouse and in fact elements of the govt & industry would have moved to remove her – aka JFK. She would have lasted about 6 months.
His main failing is giving too many tax breaks to the rich.
The Dems havent picked a winner since LBJ. Carter was hopeless but the most honest since Truman.
Mondale would have been ok if he had run in 88.
Worst president ever, until the next one that is.
The last reliable POTUS probably was Andrew Jackson.
Massive corruption since the industrial age began in 1850.
How about continuing sanctions on Iran and Venezuela when both of those countries are also dealing with Covid-19. How about a little trade war against China, that is threatening the whole world. What about sanctions on Russia. What about continuing support of the Ukraine war on the Donbas Republics. What about Jerusalem? Is Jerusalem his city to give away? What about support for the Israelis while they are killing Arabs in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. What about promising to remove soldiers from Syria and then stealing their oil. How about staying in Iraq while Iraq wants the US out – the US is not a liberator but an invader. What about the current bounty on the head of the Venezuelan president. What about shooting missiles into Syria on a pretext that is now fully proved illegitimate and based on OPCW lies. What about nattering that he likes Wikileaks during his campaign and now, not doing anything and holding on to the US attempts to extradite Assange.
How about appointing Pompeo as his right hand man. That shows a lot right there.
Right, that was off the top of my head. Eric mentioned a few more.
Most of those are military issues, no president was going to be able to affect those decisions.
So, his massive tax-cuts for the super-rich and cutbacks for the poor don’t count?
I’ll admit that repatriation thing was one of the last tools to bring money home from abroad, but its being dwarfed by this latest monetary inflationary event, its what today’s gvts do, solve their problems by dropping helicopter money.
And we have for a long time been paying to have retards reproduce retards so some of those cut backs are warrented to slow the decay, the human race has been going downhill for quite some time, this is a short period of free fall, we’ll hit the ground, bounce around, and continue sliding down the slippery slope of devolution.
Thomas
How long do you have?
Entire thesis rests on *false* assumption that Sanders would defeat Trump in the GE.
Sanders v. Trump would be an absolute landslide for Trump. Polls that claim S>T are absolute horseshit – pure propaganda.
The Left/DNC need to re-evaluate *everything* & develop better leadership/strategy/tactics. The GOP must do the same. Trump is not a republican – he ambushed the GOP only a few months before ambushing the DNC/country.
Trump was & remains a protest candidate. The expiration date on the two-party (one swamp) tradition passed several decades ago… the voters smell it – they want nothing more than to clean the fridge and re-organize for the 21st century… but the political establishment (craven elites) are actually fueled by the stench of their own rot – they’ll never voluntarily retire, much less reform… they are pathological – precisely the aim of the system that produces them.
Here’s thought:
Forget about Trump vs. Biden or Republican vs. Democrat.
What if the US elections are cancelled, martial law is declared, and the American military takes over because of the pandemic and the socio-political upheaval that it has caused?
In fact, contingency plans have been prepared for just such a scenario:
The first Newsweek report, published March 18, notes that “Above-Top Secret contingency plans already exist for what the military is supposed to do if all the Constitutional successors are incapacitated” by the virus, that is, if Trump and all those in the presidential line of succession become ill or are quarantined. “Standby orders were issued more than three weeks ago to ready these plans, not just to protect Washington but also to prepare for the possibility of some form of martial law,” the report continues.
It adds: “According to new documents and military experts, the various plans—codenamed Octagon, Freejack and Zodiac—are underground laws to ensure government continuity. They are so secret that under these extraordinary plans, ‘devolution’ could circumvent the normal Constitutional provisions for government succession, and military commanders could be placed in control around America.”
Newsweek also reports that should the military step in to subvert the Constitution, the commander of the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, “would in theory be in charge if Washington were eviscerated” by the virus.
The second Newsweek report, published March 20, states that the US military “is preparing forces to assume a larger role in the coronavirus response, including the controversial mission of quelling ‘civil disturbances.’”
The plans center on federalizing the state national guards, effectively nullifying the principle of posse comitatus, which bars the military from conducting domestic law enforcement operations.
Newsweek cites “a senior military planner working on coronavirus but not authorized to speak on sensitive planning matters,” who “says that deployment of federal troops in support roles is being prepared,” including to conduct traffic stops, home searches and seizures and arrests.
The report continues: “Once military forces are dispersed off bases in America, the senior planner says, they will have to contend with ‘force protection’ and will be thrust into difficult general law enforcement roles, particularly as shelter-in-place and other quarantine situations escalate.”
As necessary as quarantines and other protective measures are from a public health standpoint, the focus of the military’s response is to prepare to suppress democratic rights and put down social opposition.
Newsweek references an internal military plan for “Civil Disturbance Operations” called CONPLAN 3502. The plan relates to domestic military deployments in response to “riots, acts of violence, insurrections, unlawful obstructions or assemblages, group acts of violence, and disorders prejudicial to public law and order,” according to a military study, which cites as historical precedent the use of the military to crush strikes and labor protests.
According to a 2006 Homeland Security Department document not cited in the Newsweek report, titled “National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza,” the government has made specific preparations for the possibility of protests during a pandemic.
“Due to stresses placed upon the health care system and other critical functions, civil disturbances and breakdowns in public order may occur,” the Bush-era document reads. The pandemic security document also references CONPLAN 3502 and states: “Tasks performed by military forces may include joint patrolling with law enforcement officers; securing key buildings, memorials, intersections and bridges; and acting as a quick reaction force.”
On February 1, Defense Secretary Mark Esper signed a secret set of Warning Orders (WARNORD) putting NORTHCOM and units deployed to the eastern seaboard on alert that they should “prepare to deploy,” including to the “National Capital Region.”
Military, Trump administration ready plans for domestic crackdown as virus spreads across US
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/24/just-m24.html?view=print
Lets hope that crackdown focuses on the Democrats and their big funders.
Excellent article Eric…
Also on the same subject…
Below is a link to a fascinating debate on RT with Peter Lavell and three very eclectic guests including the hilarious Trump supporter Lionel. The interview is well worth the watch for comedy and entertainment alone.
It is, however, a very revealing incite as to how far removed the primaries are from the democratic process. Indeed it appears at times that they amount to little more than poorly acted Kabuki theatre.
In spite of the hugely differing backgrounds, it seemed a very clear consensus was reached on the following points…
#1The Democratic party is basically a dead duck and is not making a serious attempt to put forward a viable candidate. They would rather be in opposition because the GOP adopts almost all the policies that they would but allows them the luxury of keeping their snouts permanently in the trough without taking blame or doing any real graft.
#2 The Dems have completely abandoned their working-class base
#3 Bernie is being unceremoniously thrown under the bus yet again and if he is not aware of this yet he is an extremely slow learner. He cannot be allowed to become POTUS under any circumstances simply because of the oink factor
#4 Sleepy Joe will not make it either because he has difficulty stringing two sentences together and on a bad day is not entirely sure if a certain woman is his wife or his sister. Furthermore, if he got to a one on one debate with Trump he would be mincemeat in the first minute.
And the wild card…well, of course, CV-19…watch this space.
Trump and his goon squad are making such a complete hash of it that the repercussions are hard to imagine.
Just my 2 cents worth from the south seas
Col
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN9RcROvKxY&fbclid=IwAR0wCtNMWsgd1xoM14cZ9v5Fzwd1socfoSlrZCPm_Yp_WFl2tFShcm0MzFs
By the way, note how extremely quiet the Wicked Witch is these days.
…so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop
…or an email being deleted!
LOL
Col
PS Surely to god they won’t wheel her out…which only really leaves…gasp…Michele Obomber!
The Dems like Pelosi etc have turned the Congress and most State Govts like CA NY into a madhouse.
Will Dem voters want them running things ?
As for Hillary – she had her chance and Obama & other wont allow a second time loser especially as Bernie’s lot would react badly to it a 2nd time.
If Trump and the Reps are smart the current crisis can be used to arrest the lot of them.
The above article assumes that Biden will be the nominee: Fat chance that that will happen, as Biden by all appearances seems to be nothing but wildcard, a mere placeholder.
Chances are there will be a brokered Democratic Convention, with the final candidate being the proverbial rabbit-pulled-from-a-hat: Someone like Michelle Obama, or God forbid, the angel of darkness herself, Hillary Clinton. Mark my words…
Trump vs Biden. We will see this: (From Trumps side) Pictures (or videos) of Biden harassing small girls. Biden sleeeping at conferences. Biden getting angry towards journalists or voters due to “difficult” questions. From Bidens side: Trumps alleged ties to Putin/Russia. Trump as Russian agent, Trump passivity for not engaging in open wars with Iran, Venezuela, whatever. Still to early how Trump will be criticized for his role in this pandemy.
May the “best” win.
Trump, in my humble opinion of an outsider not entitled to vote, will win easily because the Democrats have proven conclusively to one and all that, not only have they not learned the lessons of 2016, but they have proven utterly corrupt in trying to impeach Trump on inconsequential grounds; in having a son of a Presidential candidate obviously having received dirty money from Burisma Holdings courtesy of an Obama-administration-funded coup d’état in Ukraine; in repeatedly showing that they are an utterly bought organisation (being bought by those who represent the exact opposite that footsoldiers of the Democrat voting base would admire); and, quite frankly, simply not being up to the basic job of governing responsibly, humanely and free from the influence of the malignant Deep State.
Whoever sits in the White House from next year, which ever party, that president will have to heed the warnings of history, that pattern that keeps bringing us cyclically back to catastrophic global war.
https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
Lets face it, the DEM leaders are bunch of aged clowns pushing radical agendas.
Many moderate older Dem voters wont support them – theyll either obstain or vote for someone else.
Trump on the other hand talks sensible and wants to fix things.
He looks like a President.
Young people also would be more likely to vote for a younger person rather than some geriatric over the age of 75.
What would be interesting is if a Independent entered the race who was genuinely middle of the road.
Without all of Sanders people on side, no DEM can win. And whoever is chosen wont get them.
Bidens dementia problems and his son’s dealings, like Hillary’s server, will cost him credibility.
No it will be the GOP candidate who wins.