Summertime blues the who3/24/2023 ![]() Second, this summer a decent-size cohort of establishment Republicans have come out fighting to reclaim their party from Trump, and reinstate a sense of national purpose. ![]() Reflecting on the difference between the summer of 2020 and the spring of 1968, when the assassination of Martin Luther King sparked riots in more than 100 American cities, the writer and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates explained, “In 1968, we were alone in our black ghettos… This is the first time that I think a lot of us have felt that the battle is legitimately joined.” The shift in attitudes has been powerful enough to make black Americans more optimistic about the future. There have been BLM protests in all 50 states, including in small towns with very few people of colour.Ī decent-size cohort of establishment Republicans have come out fighting to reclaim their party from Trump, and reinstate a sense of national purpose. This capacity is evident in the dramatic shift in public opinion related to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and in the multiracial and multigenerational nature of the current protests. Three key developments bode well for American democracy.įirst, on racial justice issues, Americans are not simply rejecting Trump but are also demonstrating a capacity to learn and grow on fundamental issues. Democratic operatives are urging the Biden campaign to adopt a bolder strategy, and invest in states that generally go Republican – Texas, Georgia and Florida.īut the promise of this summer extends beyond Democratic electoral gains. The size of Biden’s current lead suggests the potential for Democrats to expand their majority in the House, win back the Senate and pick up other wins in state and local races (if the Democrats do not win the Senate, it will be difficult for a Biden administration to move any legislation forward). US President Donald Trump at a Fourth of July celebration at Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota, 3 July 2020 (White House/Flickr) He describes the racial justice protesters as “ angry leftist mobs” seeking to rewrite American history, and casts himself as the protector of white America’s values and culture. In campaign appearances, Trump either downplays the toll of the pandemic or boasts about his administration’s response. By large margins, Americans believe the federal government should prioritise containing the virus over guarding the economy, and that the president should focus on addressing the causes of the protests. This is now the Covid-19–George Floyd election, and Trump is fundamentally disconnected from most Americans’ priorities. Biden is leading Trump by 14% nationally, and carries an average lead of 9% across the battleground states that typically decide the election. The Delaware beaches are not far from Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, where the former Vice President has managed to build a commanding lead in opinion polls while rarely leaving his basement.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |