Mediaboss Marketing

This is an opinion column.

In 2020, Donald Trump was the only issue on the ballot. Voters didnt turn out in record numbers because of their favored policies or enthusiasm over the Democratic ticket. In fact, it didnt really matter who was on the other side of the ballot from Trump. Now, its becoming uncomfortably clear that Democrats didnt send their best people.

President Joe Bidens approval rating has been under water since September of 2021. The manner in which hes failed has been truly spectacular.

Read more Cameron Smith columns:

His exit from Afghanistan was abysmal. His management of the COVID-19 pandemic has been rudderless. Biden has overseen a complete immigration mess at Americas southern border. His rhetoric in support of Ukraine has been admirable, but Biden clearly doesnt have an end-game. His energy policies have exacerbated American pain at the fuel pump. Biden even took three months to engage infant formula shortages across the country.

Worse still, the inflation he claimed to be transitory has moved from an esoteric economic concept into a painful reality hammering every family budget in America.

The president who told us that his election marked a time to heal has now decided to attack ultra-MAGA Republicans as dangerous extremists. Shockingly, six months of research by the Center for American Progress Action Fund determined that Democrats should use Trumps old campaign slogan as their anti-slogan.

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed that ultra-MAGA is Bidens brainchild. He apparently added ultra to give it a little extra pop.

Wow. If that doesnt inspire confidence in Bidens leadership, Im not sure what will.

Clearly, the Democratic consultant class never learned from Hillary Clintons basket of deplorables fumble. Democrats heading into the 2022 midterms aspire to remind voters of 2020. Apparently Democrats: Still not Republicans was too on the nose.

We live in an era where many of us simply vote for our respective political teams regardless of performance. Our party is the righteous one, and the other is either materially misguided or downright evil. That said, most of us arent oblivious to reality.

The 2020 political narrative that Biden would be a moderate bridge to Harriss progressive future has been overtaken by a great number of events. The situational pressure has exposed both the president and vice president as deficient at governing.

Democrats have left themselves in a horrible political bind. They cant let Biden ride off into the sunset at the end of his first term without giving Harris a shot. In a bit of irony, Harris is even less popular than Biden.

Progressive Democrats had hoped that giving Harris a policy initiative to handle might bolster her credentials to be commander-in-chief. Sadly, her task was addressing the crisis at the southern border. Bidens epic failure on immigration is largely because he asked Harris to lead. To make matters worse, Harris rivals Biden as a word salad generator, a gift to any opponent with a decent media team.

Democrats should be thanking Trump and his acolytes because he continues to keep the national conversation focused on the 2020 election and the attack on the U.S. Capitol. That is precisely the distraction Democrats need to keep voters from evaluating their track record over the last few years. Ive never had a problem criticizing Trump for such unforced errors and leadership failures. Where are the Democrats being honest about Biden and Harris?

At what point are Democrats who so freely criticized Trump for a lack of competency and clarity going to admit the Biden administration is failing in ways that harm America regardless of our partisan perspectives. Im not asking any Democrat to support Trump or enthusiastically get behind a Republican, but, to borrow from Biden, Come on, man!

I understand if folks like Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Gov. Ron DeSantis, or Sen. Rick Scott give Democrats hives. Democrats werent going to vote for them anyway. Democrats do need to drag the Biden administration out of the ditch or find someone else quickly. Both parties need to move forward from 2020, address 2022 with sobriety, and put up candidates in 2024 who wont continue to fail our nation.

Smith is a recovering political attorney with three boys, two dogs, and an extremely patient wife. He engages media, business, and policy through the Triptych Foundation and Triptych Media. Please direct outrage or agreement to csmith@al.com or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.

Go here to read the rest:
Cameron Smith: Biden and Harris prove Democrats didnt send their best people in 2020 - AL.com