Democrats are fooling ourselves into the false belief that Biden’s approval ratings are mostly tied to his age. That is lazy and fails to see that the MAGA Republican machine works on 16 cylinders.
The ’46/46% Biden/Trump tie’ has a reason we neglect.
The polls indicate a tie between Biden and Trump at 46%. Many Democrats attribute Biden’s perceived performance issues to his age. However, that is a misguided perspective. Biden’s age is not the primary concern.
Democratic advisors and consultants are disconnected from grassroots realities. They often stay in their “ivory towers” and fail to engage with various communities, particularly Republican strongholds, thereby missing out on understanding the true concerns and narratives being spread on the ground.
The “MAGA base” of the Republican party is highly active in engaging with people via the internet, alternative media, churches, and other institutions. They effectively communicate their narratives, even if not always truthful, thus successfully reaching out and influencing perceptions.
Even with control over the House, Senate, and The Presidency, Democrats are viewed as having failed to leverage their position effectively. They are perceived as not having made significant changes to institutions like the Supreme Court, not pushing through vital legislation like the Voter Rights Act, and generally appearing weak and indecisive. One must posit this as a significant reason for the tied poll results rather than Biden’s age.
Democrats must engage more with the public, understand their concerns, and provide a truthful counter-narrative to the messages propagated by the Republicans. This engagement should not be limited to mainstream media but should also extend to independent media and social platforms.
Republicans invest in their independent media resources, emails, social media, and many other sources ad nauseam. They leave no stone unturned. Ivory Tower Democratic consultants, disregard investment directly in the communities with local organizers or with friendly and independent media. So, as the Republican narrative (lies) saturate the airwaves, local and national media, including bloggers, vloggers, and hosts, Democratic consultants fail to engage where it matters. It currently is malpractice. There is still time to invest, but Democrats should rid themselves of their current consultants as, given what Americans say they want, they are severely underperforming.
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