President Trump's greatest electoral asset, aside from the thriving US economy, is the Democrats' intense leftward lurch. As the opposition party embraces broadly unpopular policies on an array of issues in an effort to appeal to its base, the incumbent is strengthened. Democrats' race to the hard left may be politically necessary to achieving the immediate task of winning a primary, but major pitfalls lie ahead. Two new polls underscore that reality. This one is at the national level:
By a 15-point margin, primary voters favor providing health insurance coverage to undocumented immigrants. Voters overall oppose that by a 28-point margin.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) July 25, 2019
Decriminalizing entering the U.S. is +10 w Dem primary voters -23 w general electorate https://t.co/Lnzo8lhYRW
As we mentioned earlier in the week, even Democratic governors and liberal think tanks are begging the party to pump the brakes on the immigration extremism. But as you can see, by double-digit margins, core Democratic voters support the policies that are rejected by landslide margins by voters overall. Therein lies the dilemma. Meanwhile, here's a survey from the swing state of Michigan, which President Trump very narrowly won in 2016:
A majority of Michigan voters oppose a strict Medicare for All proposal that would eliminate private health insurance, according to a new statewide poll released Thursday ahead of next week's Democratic presidential debates in Detroit. But the survey of 600 likely Michigan voters shows the government-run single-payer health care proposal is popular among "strong" Democrats and supported by a plurality of voters who "lean" Democratic, pointing to a challenge for presidential candidates attempting to win the primary without hurting their chances in a general election...Michigan general election voters oppose the elimination of private health insurance in favor of a Medicare for All program 52%-37%, according to the poll. Democrats are generally supportive, however, with strong Democrats backing the concept 58%-27% and lean Democrats backing it 48%-37%. Republicans are widely opposed, including 77% of voters who lean GOP and 83% who consider themselves strong Republicans. Self-described independents, who could play a crucial role in a close general election, oppose the concept 53%-35%
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The Biden campaign is running ads against implementing a single-payer system, playing up the reality of millions losing their plans under the disruptive and unaffordable scheme:
Biden cutting ads against Medicare for All, this one featuring a retired union worker. “I like what I have and it means a lot”
— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) July 26, 2019
pic.twitter.com/vkk2Xc975B
This is a smart political move, but Biden has a policy problem. For reasons I've explained in depth -- and that have been admitted by "public option" supporters on numerous occasions -- Biden's more "moderate" alternative is specifically geared at putting private insurance out of business, and forcing the country into a single-payer era. I'll leave you with President Trump raging at the latest Fox News poll, which furnished the immigration-related numbers above:
....the fact that I have gone through a three year vicious Witch Hunt, perpetrated by the Lamestream Media in Collusion with Crooked and the Democrat Party, there can be NO WAY, with the greatest Economy in U.S. history, that I can be losing to the Sleepy One. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2019
He doesn't seem to understand (a) that Fox's pollster is nonpartisan and well-respected, and (b) that a new network's job is not to be "warriors" for him. Many of the opinion hosts at the network (where I work) are still strong boosters of the president, but he wants nothing but glowing coverage, lashing out when he doesn't get it. It's a bad look.
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