Tag Archive: 2024 elections

Abortion measure could put Florida in play in 2024 elections

Written on April 5, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

Abortion rights protests becoming more popular

Florida voters will have the opportunity to vote for abortion rights in the 2024 elections, as the Florida Supreme Court on Monday approved placing  a proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution on the ballot this November that would restrict Florida’s ability to ban abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health.” The proposed ballot measure emerged after the 6-3 Republican majority U.S. Supreme Court, with three new Republican justices nominated by Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion, and turning the issue over to the states. That year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  had signed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Then, last year, just before announcing his ill-fated presidential campaign, DeSantis signed a new six-week abortion ban. The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday allowed even the more restrictive six-week ban to take effect, highlighting the urgency of the voter amendment.

Florida has voted more Republican in recent years since Barack Obama won the state in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. For example, Ron DeSantis was elected Governor in 2018 by the narrowest of margins, but won re-election in 2022 by quite a large number of votes. Likewise, both houses of Florida’s legislature have big Republican majorities. And of course, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Florida presidential election, and also beat Joe Biden in Florida in 2020.

The Florida abortion rights ballot measure, however, has the chance to turn Florida competitive for the Democrats once again in the 2024 elections, especially at the presidential level. Since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe, for example, abortion rights have been a major issue helping the Democrats in numerous elections around the country. Moreover, according to a poll released last month, 12 percent of voters say that abortion is the most important issue in the 2024 elections, and such voters overwhelmingly support President Joe Biden over Donald Trump. Likewise, a poll released last November indicated that 62 percent of Florida voters favored the proposed abortion rights amendment. The Florida Supreme Court’s abortion rulings (as well as its ruling approving the placement on the ballot in November of a proposed constitutional amendment allowing recreational marijuana use for adults) similarly could drive Democratic and Independent voter turnout to defeat the Republicans in certain Sunshine State elections this year.

At the same time that so many Democratic voters are galvanizing around abortion rights and women’s health, the Republicans’ success in their 49-year effort to overturn Roe v. Wade ironically could take this central issue off the table for them in the upcoming elections. Accordingly, Florida may well become the place this November where Republicans learn the adage, “be careful what you wish for.”

Photo by Fibonacci Blue, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/uxGiIf

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NBC News fails political test with Ronna Romney McDaniel

Written on March 28, 2024 by in Fox "News" Watch, Media Watch

NBC’s peacock, now with ruffled feathers

NBC News a/k/a NBCUniversal News Group (which includes NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC) suffered an embarrassing setback this week, as it was pressured into letting go former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel just days after hiring her at MSNBC. A swift outcry from the public and, incredibly, some of NBC News’ well-known anchors, made it clear that McDaniel’s position at the company was untenable. These events also provide some lessons into what a television or cable TV “news” network should and should not do when it comes to politics.

First, we can stipulate that it is not out of bounds or even unusual for a TV news network to hire political people. Unfortunately, TV and other news media now largely focus on politics, something for which we often criticize them. No sooner do we see coverage of some news event (for example, the recent Francis Scott Key Bridge accident in Baltimore) than the coverage turns political, with TV panel discussions (or politicians’ statements in print or social media) about how the role of government or the current administration is somehow involved, and with the political folks at these media outlets retreating to their predictable political camps and talking points. Accordingly, those who watch broadcast or cable TV news will see familiar political faces such as James Carville, George Stephanopoulos (both from Bill Clinton‘s 1992 presidential campaign), Nicolle Wallace (George W. Bush‘s White House Communications Director), Michael Steele (former RNC Chair), Jen Psaki (Barack Obama‘s White House Communications Director), etc. on a regular basis, in addition to a bevy of guests with political jobs.

The difference here with Ronna Romney McDaniel is that, as RNC Chair during Donald Trump‘s White House term, including before, during and after the 2020 presidential election, she actively participated in the Trump/Republican attempt to nullify, overturn and steal the election. That is what triggered the immediate backlash from the public and from very prominent NBC News and MSNBC hosts such as Chuck Todd (who is NBC News’ Chief Political Analyst), Joe Scarborough, his Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, and Rachel Maddow. As Brzezinski stated on-air last Monday:

To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier. And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision.

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Adding to Republican troubles, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calls it quits

Written on February 29, 2024 by in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Yesterday, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he is stepping down from his leadership post this November. McConnell said that he would remain as Senator from Kentucky until his term expires in January 2027. That may be an ambitious goal, however, as McConnell is 82 years old and in frail health, having suffered at least two public episodes in the past year where he froze and was unable to speak or communicate.

McConnell is the longest-serving U.S. Senate leader in history, having been either Majority or Minority Leader since 2007. However, his legacy may well focus on a short period of time, during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and involving two particular areas. The first is these presidents’ judicial nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. In particular, McConnell made the controversial (and arguably unconstitutional) move of denying a confirmation hearing for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, after the death of Republican Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. At the time, McConnell gave the flimsy excuse that no Supreme Court justice should be confirmed in an election year.

But just a short time later, not only did McConnell help confirm three Trump nominees to the Supreme Court, one of those nominees, Amy Coney Barrett, was confirmed just eight days before the 2020 elections. These nominees went on to help form the Republican majority that overturned the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, ruling that there is no federal right to abortion. This ruling, in Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), is one of the most consequential events in U.S. political history and, ironically, has driven Democratic voter enthusiasm and turnout to the point where Democrats have flipped a couple of U.S. House seats from red to blue in special elections, and are in a much stronger position for the 2024 elections.

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Nikki Haley is losing to Trump but helping Democrats

Written on February 23, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Nimrata “Nikki” Haley, taking on Trump

Nimrata “Nikki” Haley lags far behind Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican Party presidential nomination. In terms of state primaries and caucuses, while it’s still very early, Trump has won both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, the first time that a Republican candidate has swept both contests since these states began leading the election calendar in 1976. In Nevada, things got weird with both a primary (pursuant to state law) and a caucus, because state Republicans wanted one just for Trump. There, Haley ran only in the primary and lost to “None of these Candidates.” Trump ran only in the caucus and won all the Nevada delegates, bringing his total thus far to 63 delegates compared to Haley’s 17.

As for the polls, Haley now trails Trump by as much as 60 points in the aggregate. Even in Haley’s home state of South Carolina, where the primary is being held tomorrow (February 24), she is approximately 30 points behind Trump in the polls. It seems that today’s Republican Party is indeed a Trump cult.

It appears, therefore, that Haley has only one slim chance to defeat Trump: he would have to withdraw either for legal or medical reasons. However, Haley says that, even after a likely defeat in South Carolina tomorrow, she has no plans to quit the presidential race, and wants to fight on at least through Super Tuesday, March 5, when some 15 states (plus American Samoa) hold their Republican presidential nomination contests. For that, Democrats should be very grateful, because Haley has been hammering Trump on the campaign trail. Check out some of Haley’s attacks on Trump after the page jump:

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President Biden scores decisive New Hampshire Democratic primary write-in victory

Written on January 25, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

President Joe Biden, on a primary roll

With some votes still left to be counted, President Joe Biden won the New Hampshire 2024 Democratic presidential primary this past Tuesday without even having his name on the ballot. Biden captured 64 percent of the vote, with a margin of victory of approximately 45 percent over the second-place finisher. What is really remarkable is that all of President Biden’s votes were write-ins. That’s because, as we indicated a few weeks ago, at the urging of President Biden and his campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to request New Hampshire and Iowa to move their primary and caucus, respectively, to a later date, after that of South Carolina (which holds its Democratic primary on February 3), in order to “increase diversity” early in the process. However, while Iowa agreed to move its Democratic caucus to March 5, New Hampshire refused to do so. As a result, President Biden did not place his name on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary, thus only write-in votes would count for Biden.

Normally, there would have been approximately 33 Democratic delegates at stake in New Hampshire. However, due to the dispute with the DNC, no Democratic delegates will be allocated to any candidate in this year’s Granite State primary. As for the remaining states, it will take roughly 1,965-1,970 delegates (different sources give slightly different numbers) to win the Democratic presidential nomination this year.

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Two ways to spin Trump’s Iowa caucus win

Written on January 17, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

The media’s dream for the Republican primaries

Last Monday night, as expected Donald Trump won the 2024 Iowa Republican presidential caucus. Trump’s win, with 51 percent of the vote, ahead of Ron DeSantis (21.2 percent) and Nimarata Nikki Haley (19.1 percent), was the largest margin of victory in Iowa Republican presidential caucus history. Indeed, the Associated Press called the contest for Trump just 30 minutes after the polls had closed, and other news outlets quickly followed suit.

At the same time, however, some Democrats, such as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, said that the Iowa results showed “the weakness of Donald Trump.” According to Pritzker, “Almost half of the base of the Republican Party showing up for this caucus tonight voted against Donald Trump.” Pritzker added that the Iowa results were therefore a good sign for President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election.

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The 2024 presidential primaries are coming up fast, with controversy

Written on January 4, 2024 by in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Vermin Supreme, 2024 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary candidate

It’s hard to believe, but the first 2024 presidential primary contest is just 11 days away. Specifically, on January 15, Iowa will hold its Republican presidential caucus. In advance of the Iowa GOP caucus, CNN is holding another Republican presidential debate just five days beforehand, on January 10. However, only three candidates qualified for the CNN debate: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Nimarata Nikki Haley. Since Trump previously announced that he was skipping these debates, it will be just DeSantis and Haley, who are dead even in the Republican polls (though both are way behind Trump), flinging mud at each other. Both DeSantis and Haley are spending millions of dollars (either directly or via supportive PACs) to attack the other.

Eight days after the Iowa caucus, on January 23, comes the New Hampshire primaries, both on the Democratic and Republican side. Here’s where the controversy begins, and it’s with the Democrats. At the urging of President Joe Biden and his campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted in favor of asking New Hampshire and Iowa to move their primary and caucus, respectively, to a later date, after that of South Carolina (which holds its 2024 Democratic primary on February 3), in order to “increase diversity” at the front end of the primary process. However, while Iowa agreed to move its Democratic caucus back to March 5, New Hampshire closely holds onto its first-in-the-nation primary status, which is written into state law, and both New Hampshire Democrats and Republicans (including Republican Governor Chris Sununu and Republican Secretary of State David Scanlan) opposed any such change.

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Nikki Haley’s Civil War views demonstrate what is at stake in the 2024 elections

Written on December 29, 2023 by in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Nimarata Nikki Haley

This past Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Nimarata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa) caused a political firestorm at a New Hampshire town hall event when she gave a shockingly evasive answer to a question about the U.S. Civil War. Specifically, a voter in the audience asked Haley, “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” The following exchange then occurred:

Haley: Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything. I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run. The freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?
Q: I’m not running for president. I wanted to hear your view on the cause of the Civil War.
Haley: I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government. We need to have capitalism, we need to have economic freedom, we need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties, so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want without government getting in the way.
Q: Thank you. In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you’d answer that question without mentioning the word “slavery.”
Haley: What do you want me to say about slavery?
Q: You’ve answered my question. Thank you.
Haley: Next question.

Approximately 12 hours later, after sharp criticism from many quarters, including from President Joe Biden, Haley’s campaign tried to correct her blunder, releasing a Thursday morning radio interview in which Haley said, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery,” further calling the war “a stain on America.” Haley went on to reiterate that “freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people.” However, the damage was done. Now Haley either looks like a racist, or just another mealy-mouthed politician saying different things depending on the audience and their reaction, rather than based on her own principles. In deciding which is the true Haley, the following quote from poet Maya Angelou comes to mind:

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

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The Biden economy keeps getting stronger

Written on December 15, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging

Plenty of this floating around in the economy

With less than 11 months until the 2024 elections, the U.S. economy under the stewardship of President Joe Biden is looking quite strong. Here are some of the latest numbers demonstrating that so-called “Bidenomics” is working:

—Economic growth last quarter, as represented by the change in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was a stunning 5.2 percent.

—Inflation continues to tick down, and is now at 3.1 percent. The Federal Reserve says it expects that number to continue to drop to the mid-2 percent range next year, and even lower in 2025, towards the Fed’s dream 2 percent target. The scenario we’re experiencing is the rare “soft landing” that avoids a recession. Moreover, President Biden deserves credit, for example, for getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed through a sharply divided Congress.

–As a result, the Fed this week decided against another interest rate increase, instead stating that it plans three rate cuts in 2024. That is welcome news for any business or individual desiring to borrow money, whether for a home mortgage, a new car, new factory equipment, etc.

–November retail sales figures just came in yesterday, and showed a surprising .3% growth versus an expected .1% decline. Apparently, U.S. consumers felt confident enough about their economic prospects to spend well on Black Friday and into this holiday season.

Who has recognized these strong economic numbers? Certainly, Wall Street, as well as institutional and individual investors, have done so. The U.S. stock market set new record highs this week on the good news and Fed actions.

So what should we do in the face of such good economic news under President Biden? Given that the name of this site is Messaging Matters, you know the answer: spread the word. It’s time to talk up the U.S. economy on your social media, at holiday dinners, in conversations with friends and colleagues, and wherever else you can do so.

Photo by Pictures of Money, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/yz2Jbn

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Republicans still playing defense by shoring up MAGA base

Written on December 6, 2023 by in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Republicans’ greatest fear

While the mainstream media once again are trying to influence the 2024 elections by inflating false concerns over President Joe Biden and the Democrats, a telltale sign is coming from the Republicans that they are worried about their own chances next year. This Republican concern has appeared in recent attempts to shore up the Republican MAGA base, rather than expand the GOP’s appeal well beyond their narrow base in order to win the presidency and other big elections in 2024. Most notably over the past week:

–New Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson caved to the MAGAs and reversed course by backing an evidence-free impeachment inquiry by House Republicans against President Biden. Just a few weeks ago, Johnson said there was “insufficient evidence” to proceed with this charade, and no such evidence has come to light since then. However, Johnson angered extremist Republicans recently when he worked with House Democrats to avoid a federal government shutdown. Supporting the phony impeachment inquiry now is a way to throw red meat at these right wingers. Likewise, in a TV appearance, disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that House Republicans who do not support Biden’s impeachment will face primary challenges in their own party, again meaning that Republicans should be deathly afraid of their irrational MAGA base.

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