First, "There's A Lot Of Crime In America, Primarily In Hellish Red States Of Course," stating in opening:
Earlier today we took a brief look at reporting on a pair of focus groups meant to gage why core Democratic voting blocs are unhappy with Biden and congressional Democrats. Front and center was "a preoccupation with inflation and crime." In yesterday's post, we referenced Bernie's Budget Committee hearing and its response to spiraling costs: "Across every major industry, prices continue to rise-- this includes a 38% increase in the price of gasoline, a 44% increase in the price of heating oil, a 41% increase in the price of a used car, a 24% in the price of rental cars, and a 17% increase in the price of furniture. Further, Tyson Foods recently increased beef prices by 32%, the price of chicken by 20% and the price of pork by 13%. As prices increase, corporate profits hit a record high of nearly $3 trillion in 2021, up 25% in a single year. This level of corporate greed has only widened the gap between the top one percent and the working class. In 2020, CEOs of the top firms in the U.S., on average, made nearly 350 times more than the median worker. As corporations increase costs for working families, many are rewarding their shareholders with stock buybacks and their CEOs with massive compensation packages."
Today, let's look at the other component of that top worry: crime. A new study from a conservative Democratic group shows that despite a concerted Republican effort-- largely successful-- to blame rising crime stats on Democrats, crime is rising in Republican areas much more rapidly than in Democratic areas. Generally speaking, states that supported Trump had the highest murder rates in the country. The half dozen states with the highest per capita murder rates are all VERY red. Each one voted for Trump by an abnormally large margin. These are the 6 states you're most likely to be murdered in-- if you don't die of COVID first:
The survey shows that the average murder rate is 40% higher in Trump-voting states and that from 2019 to 2020 murder rates increased faster in Trump states than in states where normal people live. The biggest [percentage] increase in the murder rate came in the most Trump-oriented state in America, Wyoming, where they're all killing each other, albeit not quite fast enough, The increase in the murder rate was 91.7% in Wyoming-- a state that gave Trump 69.9% of it's vote, obviously a pathologically sick place where most people need intense psychiatric care. Take Crook County, which wasn't named for Trump-- 88.6% of the voters went for Trump. I spent almost have an hour trying to find the average IQ in Crook County but I couldn't . Educational attainment is extremely low and only 11.9% of the residents have college degrees. Just 51% of Wyoming residents are fully vaccinated one of the lowest in the country, and in Crook County that vaccination rated drops precipitously to 31%, the lowest in the state.
Mississippi (20.50 per capital murder rate), 57.6% Trump
Louisiana (15.79 per capital murder rate), 58.5% Trump
Kentucky (14.32 per capital murder rate), 62.1% Trump
Alabama (14.20 per capital murder rate), 62.0% Trump
Missouri (14.00 per capital murder rate), 56.8% Trump
South Carolina (10.72 per capital murder rate), 55.1% Trump
Also, "Midnight Meme Of The Day! Remember When Bush Gazed Into Putin's Soul?" That item begins:
by Noah
"What are you wearing tomorrow?" "Gee, Vlady, I don't know. What are you wearing? I wanna wear what you wear!"
Let us never forget that, before Traitor Don was shining Putin's shoes with his tongue, there was a previous assclown in the White House who was all too willing to give Vladimir Putin a very public character reference. Here's George Dubya Bush on the GOP idol after their first date back in 2001:
I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.Jeez, Dubya! Trustworthy? Putin has a soul? WTF were you smoking? Were you friends with the Pillow Guy back then?
One more intro, then readers are urged to see the current site's status.
Bernie: "We Have An Oligarchy In This Country And We Might Want to Be Focusing On That As Well"
Because establishment Democrats made the conscious decision to move the Democratic Party away from the wildly popular and successful FDR path and in a more conservative, corporate-friendly direction, Biden-- since the early 1970s very much part of that establishment consensus-- was dealt a shitty hand as president. Chuck Schumer's top contribution to the Senate, Kyrsten Sinema (pictured above, laughing at Biden's modestly progressive agenda), plus Joe Manchin, have blocked every single initiative that would have made Biden a successful president instead of an abject failure. At this point, it looked as though he will be judged by history as a placeholder who was "not as bad as Trump."
This morning, writing for Politico, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels, noted that Democrats are desperately trying to understand what's roiling the electorate heading into a brutal midterm environment. Every progressive Democrat I speak with knows exactly what's roiling the electorate: a lack of accomplishment. Focus groups show voters experiencing:
A preoccupation with inflation and crime.
Exhaustion with pandemic restrictions.
Cynicism about politics.
Deep frustration that President Joe Biden and Democrats have failed to deliver on their early promises.
Sympathy for Ukraine mixed with a lack of enthusiasm for Biden spending too much time and money on the issue.
Ambiguity about how important Jan. 6 should be for Democrats in the midterms.
After the Build Back Better bill collapsed, Biden and many Democrats began talking about last year’s two big wins: the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law. But these two panels of base Democratic voters kept returning to what still needs to be done.
And, again, go to the site to see more interesting content.