The dangerous erosion of Democratic Party foundations

As President Biden steers America toward possible global shooting wars with the Chinese and the Russians, tries to incite a second civil war here at home, and drives full steam into American economic collapse and energy shortages, he — with help from progressive Democrats and most mainstream media — is watching the broad-based center of the Democratic Party bleed away. 

Recent polls showing Biden’s significantly slipping approval by Hispanics, Blacks and women should set off alarm bells. The hint that Hillary Clinton could come after Biden in 2024 with a “centrist” campaign should send the White House and Democratic Party political teams to the bomb shelter. A political collapse of this magnitude in the first year of an administration is unprecedented and should be worrisome to all Americans. Only Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) seem to have principles and spunk — combined with the political savvy to have run the numbers as quickly as the Clintons.  

Polls among Black voters show sharp declines in support for Biden, from a high of 68 percent dropping to a recent low of 48 percent. Key issues are COVID-19, the economy, and jobs. Obviously, Biden is failing miserably on COVID (his advice: vax or else, use Google for help, and Blacks disproportionately resented the vaccine mandates); the economy, with inflation climbing 7 percent and destroying Black wage progress; and jobs, with Black unemployment dramatically higher than under Donald Trump’s growth policies. The reliable Black voter foundation of the Democratic Party finally may be eroding.

The Fully Federalized Voting Scam bill (sorry, my words; they actually call it the Freedom to Vote Act), passed by the House, is cleverly named and disguised to appear to help Black voters. But it actually may help to destroy Black voting power. Voter ID is a case in point. Nearly 90 percent of Black voters have IDs, while whites are a little higher at 95 percent, a small gap that could be made up with a modest effort at getting IDs for those who want to vote. But the Democrats want to get rid of ID requirements entirely. 

Who, exactly, are they planning to help? Not Blacks, who actually have or easily can get IDs. Not whites. Not Hispanic citizens. Obviously, large blocs of undocumented voters who do not have and cannot get legitimate IDs. Nothing could dilute and destroy the power of Black voters more than that. New York City makes that clear. It allows 800,000 undocumented residents to vote in local elections. That dilutes the voting power of the 2 million Black voters of New York City by nearly 50 percent. But the policy will keep in power city attorneys and mayors who seem intent to not prosecute street crime or increase neighborhood safety — both of which will fall the hardest on the Black communities with rapidly rising crime rates. The bottom line is that Biden and the Democrats seem serious about voter suppression. 

Another elephant in the room is the one that just waded across the Rio Grande. The millions of illegal immigrants not only dilute the Black vote, illegally, but also undercut the job market for poorer Blacks, Hispanic citizens and women. The Biden fully-open-border policies rapidly distribute undocumented immigrants throughout the country and, combined with Biden’s failed economic policies, have helped lead to the rising jobless numbers for Blacks.

Democrats take the Black vote for granted, but it will not take forever for traditionally Democratic Black voters to figure out that the party, and many Black Democratic politicians, are not really their friends at all, and that all of the divisive racist rhetoric from Biden is designed to hide a great deal of that deceit.

In the case of Hispanics, it appears that Biden and progressive Democrats vastly underestimated their conservative, family-oriented culture. As with Black Americans, Hispanics prefer a strong economy and real jobs, rather than the handouts, shortages and inflation offered by the Democrats. Polls show that Hispanic support for Democrats has plummeted over the first year of Biden’s presidency by 17 percent and is now evenly split between the parties.

Finally, Biden and the Democrats are working hard to alienate the key swing vote of white, suburban women. The astoundingly ham-fisted approach of teachers’ unions and school boards to political indoctrination of children and closing down classroom teaching, backed by threats from the Department of Justice and FBI to take action against parents, raises questions about potential political corruption in, and the weaponization of, the Justice and Education agencies. Progressives lecturing parents on the prominent role of the state in child-rearing did not end well in the swing state of Virginia last year and probably will be reprised throughout the country in November.

All of this suggests a disaster for the Democrats in November. But a real ruthlessness also has emerged in American politics over Biden’s first 12 months. Desperation in 2022 may bring it to a head. For some, if you have no chance of winning, you change the rules. With the voting rights bill failing, what’s next? Suspension of civil liberties? But that’s so 2021! Disqualification or imprisonment of political opponents? “Emergency” suspension of voting? More riots and looting? Brace for impact. Literally anything is possible.

Grady Means is a writer (GradyMeans.com) and former corporate strategy consultant. He served in the White House as a policy assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Follow him on Twitter @gradymeans1.