Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

JANUARY 12,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

CNN CONTINUES TO SINK – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   CNN’s ratings took a nosedive by a massive 90 percent both overall and in the all-important demographic coveted by advertisers in the first week of the new year.  The Jeff Zucker-led cable news network averaged just 548,000 viewers during the week of Jan. 3 — a major drop from the nearly 2.7 million viewers for the same week in 2021, according to Nielsen ratings.  The year-ago ratings were jolted by the left-leaning network’s coverage of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, which resulted in CNN having its most-watched day since Ted Turner launched the news outlet in 1980.  But on the one-year anniversary of the attacks, viewers flipped over to CNN’s right-wing rival, Fox News, which topped the ratings for coverage of the event.  CNN has been plagued by a cascade of high-profile scandals, most notably the firing of its primetime star Chris Cuomo after the anchor was found to be secretly aiding the defense of his embattled older brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations that resulted in his resignation.  CNN’s ratings took a nosedive in the first week of the new year.  CNN ousted primetime anchor Chris Cuomo in December after the anchor had secretly helped defend his scandal-ridden brother Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last year as New York governor.  CNN does not provide its viewers with any compelling reason to watch.  It is really not a news network that strives to present a complete news report.  It's a cross between an editorial page and the funnies.   I don't feel I need it.  Many others apparently feel the same way.

January 12, 2022       Permalink

THE SINKING SHIP – OVERNIGHT:  I've seen presidents "slip" in the polls, but I've never seen one go down so fast, and in his first year.  Biden is in trouble, and he's bringing down his party by appealing only to its most extreme elements.  From Hot Air: 

There’s a new Quinnipiac poll out today and the news is not good for Joe Biden.

Americans give President Joe Biden a negative 33 – 53 percent job approval rating, while 13 percent did not offer an opinion. In November 2021, Americans gave Biden a negative 36 – 53 percent job approval rating with 10 percent not offering an opinion.

Among Democrats in today’s poll, 75 percent approve, 14 percent disapprove and 11 percent did not offer an opinion.

In a November poll, 87% of Democrats approved and just 7 percent disapproved. Clearly, Joe Biden is not the comeback kid. Over at National Review, Charles Cooke says the poll looks like an outlier but one that seems to have not a bit of good news for Biden...

...But this isn’t just bad news for the president. As Stuart Rothenberg argues today at Roll Call, having Biden’s approval rating in the dumpster means there’s a real possibility of a red wave in the Senate in 2024.

While some Democrats worry that carving out an exception to the filibuster might set a bad precedent, the imbalance in the three Senate classes, which I wrote about in May, may give Republicans a chance at a filibuster-proof majority during the 2024 elections, when the Senate map strongly favors the GOP.

Of course, when I noted that, President Joe Biden’s job approval was sitting in the low-to-mid 50s, while his disapproval was about 10 points lower.

Now, those numbers have reversed…

So, circumstances look dramatically more challenging for the Democrats now than they did last spring.

Democrats seem to be stuck in a rather unenviable loop at this point. There is objectively bad news on a number of fronts and that bad news drives Biden’s approval ratings underwater. Lower approval ratings puts additional pressure on elected members of Congress to hold onto their seats. That additional pressure leaves Democrats feeling increasingly desperate about their chances of retaining power.

But Democrats mustn’t forget the iron law of dating, which also applies to winning over voters: Desperation is not attractive. The more flop-sweat you produce trying to win over voters by shouting about the end of democracy, the less appealing voters are likely to find you. This is how an objectively bad situation becomes an even worse one as the spiral of desperation continues. And if Democrats lose control of the House this November, as seems likely, they’ll be even more desperate as we head into the 2024 election.

All of this could change of course. Democrats are probably due for some kind of favorable break eventually and maybe that will make them a little more confident and a little less desperate, but right now it’s not looking good. How low can Biden’s approval rating go? We may find out.

COMMENT:  President Reagan faced some pretty daunting challenges in his first time, including some bad polling results.  But Reagan was popular.  Biden is not.  Reagan had discipline in his speeches.  Biden does not. Comparing the opposition to slaveholders isn't particularly presidential.  Reagan had an optimistic personality.  Biden does not.  And Reagan did not have a vice president dragging him down.  Biden does. 

January 12,  2022     Permalink

JANUARY 11,  2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

DID INTERNATIONAL POLITICS DEFEAT SCIENCE? – FROM THE TELEGRAPH:   Leading British and US scientists thought it was likely that Covid accidentally leaked from a laboratory but were concerned that further debate would harm science in China, emails show.  An email from Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, on February 2 2020 said that “a likely explanation” was that Covid had rapidly evolved from a Sars-like virus inside human tissue in a low-security lab.  The email, to Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Francis Collins of the US National Institutes of Health, went on to say that such evolution may have “accidentally created a virus primed for rapid transmission between humans”.  But a leading scientist told Sir Jeremy that “further debate would do unnecessary harm to science in general and science in China in particular”. Dr Collins, the former director of the US National Institutes of Health, warned it could damage “international harmony”.  Viscount Ridley, co-author of Viral: the search for the origin of Covid, said: “These emails show a lamentable lack of openness and transparency among Western scientists who appear to have been more interested in shutting down a hypothesis they thought was very plausible, for political reasons.”  This requires a major congressional investigation, something we won't get with the Democrats in control.  If this year's midterms work out the way we hope they will, maybe then we can start to learn the truth.  Scientists should stay out of politics, and be protected from politics.  President Eisenhower, in his farewell address to the nation – the famous "industrial-military complex" speech – warned of the impact of federal grants on scientific results.  He was talking about the interaction of science with government and politics.  His words were ignored. 

January 11, 2022       Permalink

WE'RE MORE LIBERAL...BUT REPUBLICANS ARE ALSO WINNING MORE – OVERNIGHT:  A well-thought-out survey gives us an unusual view of the American electorate.  Nothing simplistic here.  From studyfinds: 

NEW YORK — Americans are generally much more liberal than they were 50 years ago, with public views taking a decidedly liberal slant in the 1990s, a new study finds. Despite that shift, researchers from New York University note these changes in public sentiment aren’t translating into today’s politics.

Why? While the average American may be more liberal today when it comes to topics such as gender, sexuality, race, and personal liberty than in the 1970s, views on polarizing issues like gun control, taxes, and abortion have largely remained the same. Study authors state these polarizing issues still sway voting decisions in a major way.

“America is a more liberal country now than it was 50 years ago,” says study author and NYU sociologist Michael Hout in a university release. “But its politics do not reflect this because polarizing attitudes and behaviors changed less than either values or lifestyles.”

Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS), researchers assessed nearly 300 distinct variables (attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors) among respondents. Study authors collected this data between 1972 and 2018, placing respondents into 32 different groups depending on their age. The groups spaced Americans out by age, representing a gap of two to three years for each group. This included Americans born as early as 1882, as well as people born as late as 2000.

According to the analysis, each generation is just a little more liberal than their predecessors. More specifically, researchers deemed about 62 percent of the variables to slant more liberal among modern day Americans in comparison to older age groups. Conversely, only five percent of the variables shifted to a more conservative stance over time.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  Fundamentally, what the study author is saying makes sense.  On individual issues, people might become more liberal.  But on an overall view of life, they maintain traditional, moderate values.  Also, the definition of "liberal" can vary considerably.  Before the Vietnam era, a liberal was usually in favor of social programs at home, but was fiercely anti-Communist and pro-defense abroad.  Today, the label "liberal" is often misassigned to lightweight Marxists who know they'll get further if they simply call themselves liberal, rather than socialist. 

Given the views of the majority today, I'd imagine we'll see many voters in November who support some historically liberal programs, but who'll pull the Republican lever because they're outraged at what "liberalism" has become within the Democratic Party.  In addition, Republicans are getting far better at communicating with longtime liberal groups, like American Hispanics, and it's showing in much of the polling. 

January 11,  2022     Permalink