A “Choice” Election in Michigan’s Primary & Ronna McDaniel's Record - Top 3 Takeaways – February 27th, 2024
- A telling day. No, the outcomes in the presidential primary elections in Michigan aren’t in doubt. Yes, the margins in those elections are and that’s what will ultimately tell a story. It’s been said that “a week is a long time in politics”. Multiply that by three and that’s just how long it’s been since Democrats held a primary election. And as it pertains to President Biden specifically...what’s happened could almost be equated to a “lifetime” worth of bad news. Since the last Democrat primary election Special Prosecutor Robert Hur’s report has dropped delivering the most potentially politically damaging news a sitting president has faced since Richard Nixon was in office. News that the current President of the United States is alleged to have committed significant crimes involving the illegal use of classified documents over many years – including with top secret material...but that he’s not being pursued for those crimes because the prosecutor doesn’t think the president is mentally competent to stand trial. But that’s not all. Since the previous Democrat primary election, it’s been disclosed that a record 9.1 million illegal immigrants have entered the country during the first three years of the Biden administration – a total that’s only two million fewer than the entire preexisting estimated number of illegal immigrants within the country. A total that’s larger than the population of 38 states. Also, we learned that 7.3 million of those illegal immigrants were “authorized” by Biden’s open border policies under the administration's “catch and release” program whereby the illegals are transported at taxpayer expense to their desired location. Related, since the previous Democrat primary election we’ve had the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus at the hands of an illegal immigrant who entered the country under Biden’s open border policies and was “caught and released” into the interior at President Biden’s direction. On the economic side of things, since the previous Democrat primary election we’ve learned through the Consumer Price Index that inflation reaccelerated to start the year with the net cost of inflation under the first three years of President Biden rising to about 20% - with the average American approximately 3% worse off financially than the day that Joe Biden became president. And that’s actually not the extent of the bad news that’s happened during the three-week political window since Democrat voters last voted but you get the point. So, here’s the thing.
- There is a choice. No, Dean Phillips hasn’t been an impactful challenger, as few to challenge incumbent presidents ever are, yes as a sitting congressman, he is a potentially credible challenger. So, the point is this. Democrats do have a choice. Will most exercise it in Michigan? Almost certainly not. But will a large and meaningful number of voters cast a protest vote for Dean Phillips, or "non-committed", on the Michigan ballot? That’s what’s worth watching. President Biden’s won 84% of the vote in the contests thus far, and that includes a state – New Hampshire – where his name wasn’t even on the ballot. He’s pulled in over 96% of the vote in the states where he has been on the ballot. If Democrats truly want a choice other than Joe Biden, right now Dean Phillips is that choice. What happens in the Democrat primary today will be a telling day about what Democrats now have to say about potentially, likely, heading into Election Day with Joe Biden as their candidate. Meanwhile, Republicans in Michigan have a primary today worth 16 delegates and a caucus on Saturday worth 39 delegates. The number to watch there is 11%. That’s the closest any contest has been in the Republican process thus far. If Trump not only continues to win – which he will – but also by ever larger margins than before, a la 20-points in Nikki’s home state of South Carolina, the writing that’s already on the wall will effectively have been ingrained in stone for Nikki Haley’s campaign. In reality, the most interesting aspect of the election will likely be the reading of the tea leaves in another Haley speech. Specifically, tea leaves that could continue to open the door to a potential No Labels presidential bid.
- Good riddance Ronna McDaniel. It was widely known that Ronna McDaniel was soon set to step down as Republican National Committee Chair but the confirmation by her that it’ll happen following Super Tuesday’s elections next week is sweet nonetheless for those who’ve watched the Republican Party repeatedly fail since she took over. Ronna assumed the post January 19th, 2017 – one day before Donald Trump was sworn in as president and just after a Republican controlled congress had been sworn in – which means that the last time the Republican Party outperformed expectations was the last election prior to her becoming Chair. The party has done nothing but underperform expectations since she took over. And many are fast to blame Trump. But does that really make sense? If Trump was really a liability, how did he win in 2016? How was it that Republicans dramatically outperformed in those congressional elections as well? The most consistent factor in Republican politics since 2016 hasn’t been Donald Trump whose been out of office for over three years – it's be Ronna McDaniel who’s yet to preside over a successful election cycle.