By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 26, 2022 | Call it government, call it politics, we know the incumbent has some power.
Recently we noted the power of a sitting governor when in an election campaign. With Gov. Brian Kemp being challenged by Stacey Abrams, the governor is pulling out all the stops. He is sending many low-income Georgia taxpayers another check from the state surplus. And to make sure recipients get the idea of who is making this possible, the governor’s name will be on the check.
Political move? Of course it is. Republicans defend it, saying the state ought to send back money to people when it has built up a surplus. Democrats counter with the argument that the state should save its surplus, and that it is just pure politics.
Yes, the governor is playing Minor League Politics, and can only benefit, perhaps no more than half of the 10.7 million Georgians.
And guess who is playing Big League Politics? Fella by the name of Joe Biden, who is wiping out part of their student debt for lots of Americans, something like 43 million people. Who knows? Perhaps our president recognized what was happening in Minor League Politics in Georgia, and decided he too, could possibly “Buy votes” at a much higher level, from many, many more million people.
Will it work? Figure in this tightly divided country that if half the 43 million were Democrats, Biden would have gotten their vote anyway. But how about the remaining 21.5 million people, who would be Republicans? (For sake of argument, leave out the undecided or independents.) Perhaps only one million of the Republicans might switch their allegiance because of the student loan wipe-out. That may not sound like many.
But with President Biden winning the last popular vote by seven million people, and if the electorate voted for him in the same manner as 2020, he would have an eight million majority now.
And that is only taking in the student loan changes.
While many have considered that Joe Biden is a “weak” president, our country has seen a lot of activity going his way recently. One Congressional bill after another has had a 51-50 Democrat stamp to move lots of important legislation to new heights. Remember the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the drop in the record $1.7 trillion deficit reduction, etc. And that even includes major movement on a formerly stuck-in-the-mud topic called climate change!
Who knows? Could the recent Washington successes of the Democrats move another million votes Mr. Biden’s way come 2024, to a nine million majority?
Then there is the major elephant in the room: the people who supported Donald Trump in the past. With more and more stories floating from the Trump camp, including his high-handed approach to top secret documents, plus his lingering court cases, the January 6 hearings, and his constant lawyering up on any topic, Mr. Trump seems weaker.
We suspect many traditional Republicans are hoping that their party can come to reason, and become a viable party again without the excesses that President Trump has brought to the table. How many simply have said “Enough” with the Trump team? They might not actually vote for the Democrat, but simply stay away from the polls in 2024? Could that account for another million people?
The millions are adding up. Could the split become a bigger margin this time?
Yet look at Joe Biden. He’s using the power of incumbency, just as we have seen Brian Kemp do it, but at a much higher level, to 43 million student loan holders.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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