Posted on 02/14/2024 11:27:24 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Imagine you're a muckety-muck editor at the once-vaunted New York Times, and the following results of a spanking-new Times focus group show up on your computer screen.
Independent voters from around the country had scathing remarks to describe President Biden in a focus group published Tuesday, with most admitting they are leaning toward former President Trump in 2024 despite their own derisive assessments of him.
What would you think? That I could put in writing, I mean.
After the initial horror gave way to semi-rational thinking, I suppose I, as a Times muckety-muck, would wonder "What the hell happened?" Like, how were the questions worded, or how the focus group voters were selected, because surely— surely these results can't be right.
So the Times spoke at length with 13 undecided, independent voters about the two leading candidates and the issues most important to them. The voters, ranging from 22-64 years old, were most concerned about the state of the economy, with the majority citing the rising costs of groceries and their other bills. Of the 13, 12 said they would base their vote on the issue, with 11 saying they were leaning toward Trump in November.
"Oh, the humanity!" must think muckety-mucks.
It gets even worse. For the muckety-mucks, that is.
When asked what they thought about Biden, the voters were blunt as hell in their assessments of the besieged president. Here are several of their responses:
"He’s a little bit senile, and I do think if you can’t do the job, it’s time to step down."
"I think he’s unfit for the presidency. A president should be the commander in chief. And he does not appear to be a capable commander in chief."
"[He's a] puppet. That’s because I feel like he really tap-dances. I don’t know what he’s done. It just seems like he’s just throwing things out there to please almost anyone."
"[He's] disingenuous. Nothing that is said really connects with me. I don’t feel like I’m being told the truth. I don’t feel like I’m being told anything upfront. I was just so disappointed — with the ounce of hope I had left — when we just started pouring money into the Israel conflict."
Tough stuff for Joe, which is only going to get tougher as the groundswell continues to grow around the "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with the poor memory."
Here are several responses from the voters when asked how they felt about Trump:
"Donald Trump did a better job. Joe Biden, I mean, I feel like I don’t have a president."
"Sure, [he] was divisive, and sure, it really wasn’t the most productive, but [he] really highlighted problems and the divisiveness that was already hidden inside of our country."
"To me, it doesn’t affect anything. His life, he puts it right out there. I’m sick of hearing it, but it’s him. So if I’m going to vote for him, that’s part of what I accept."
The last comment was key, which I'll hit in "The Bottom Line."
One voter expressed his opinion this way:
"Like no matter who gets voted into office, I think our options suck either way, and I don’t really see any progress."
When asked to describe their feelings about the upcoming election in one word, here were the responses:
"Lost"
"Disaster"
"Necessary"
"Stressed"
"Anxious"
"Are we allowed to curse, or no? Bullsh*t."
"Anxiety"
"Worried"
"Indifferent."
"Ugh"
"Abyss"
"Concerned"
"Disaster"
Pretty much sums it up, but here's the thing: In less than ten months, we must choose the 47th president of the United States — and it will be arguably the most important election choice in modern history, so let's not screw it up.
To be fair, several of the voters also had negative things to say about Trump that were largely centered on their perceptions of his personality, calling the former president "egotistical," a "narcissist" and "disastrous."
Then again, when I vote for president I'm not necessarily looking for a role model or even a man or woman with impeccable moral credentials. What I am looking for is the candidate that I believe will best deliver on the issues that are most important to me — from protecting the border and the security of this country to picking Supreme Court nominees who will adhere to the U.S. Constitution rather than try to legislate from the bench.
As the voter said, above:
"To me, it doesn’t affect anything. His life, he puts it right out there. I’m sick of hearing it, but it’s him. So if I’m going to vote for him, that’s part of what I accept."
Amen.
What interests me is — who are the 2 of the 13 groups that prefer Biden.
Maybe NY State is out of reach in November, but I wonder about NJ or CT? Certainly NH is in play, despite Sunununununu’s worst efforts.
“We didn’t include enough migrants in our samples.”
Only 11 out of 13?
See the contradiction here:
“The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of state officials removing Trump’s name from the ballot”
Even if that many people would not vote for Trump their certainly would not be that many who want him off the ballot. Not even close.
Don’t trust polls.
I officially offer the donation of 500 swords to fall on at the New York Times. It’s quicker and more honorable.
they are going to need a cargo ship for the biden ballots
Then why’d we get our butts kicked in NY 3rd?
We’re being led down the garden path.
Interesting article—strengthens the arguments of those who claim the Democrats are getting ready to panic.
My advice to the Trump campaign—keep pounding on the issue that money supporting foreign wars should be kept here at home.
That is a winning issue with Independents.
(Most Republicans are to busy getting paid off by defense contractors to go there. :-) )
The Republicans ran a “moderate” so Republican voters were not motivated to go out in a snow storm.
You have to motivate your base—Romney and McCain learned that lesson the hard way.
Their statements read as follows:
"I know that Biden will have already turned 82 years old by next Jan. 20, and that he'll be 86 on his last day of office. I know that Biden is already showing definite signs of physical infirmity, mental confusion, and general forgetfulness that even a layperson recognizes as indicative of advanced aging combined with some underlying neurological disorder, and I know that that can only get worse. I know that millions of illegals are pouring over our southern border, while Biden continues to insist that the 'border is secure.' I know all that. But Trump is mean!"
And:
"Me encantan todos los beneficios del gobierno que yo y todos los demás hombres en edad militar estamos recibiendo."
Regards,
“who are the 2 of the 13 groups that prefer Biden.”
They work at the NYT.
So The Times Staffers got busy Swatting the members of those 11 Focus Groups.
That'll teach 'em!
Always an excuse.
Has your sister has a cognitive test?
No, you don’t have to motivate your base.
The GOP is 27% of the electorate, the Dems are 27% and the Independents are the rest.
They don’t give a damn about taxing and spending or even guns or abortion. What they care about is Drain the Swamp and Build the Wall.
Envision an independent. It’s not a person who is so moderate that they cannot choose left or right. It is a person that now rejects that absurdity. They have watched the GOP cooperate in $34T in debt. They have watched Democrats cooperate in enormous DoD funding and war mongering.
They care about their own issues, which is rejection of the Swamp that spawns creatures that worship at the altar of elitism. They reject influx of people who will contribute nothing to the US for a minimum of decades and maybe not even then when they draw benefits that long.
They care about rejection of the norms.
And that is why they, THE OVERWHELMING BULK OF THE ELECTORATE, find resonance in Trump.
So, two were Zeepers, eh.
What I was thinking.
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