Three pieces of political news you need to see to give you some hope before the weekend
Good Friday morning, my friends!
I wanted to share three pieces of news that lifted my spirits this week. I hope they lift yours, as well.
First, in case you missed it, the latest fundraising numbers were reported, and President Biden, the Democratic National Committee, and their joint fundraising committees reported pretty strong numbers. Not Obama-level numbers, but still pretty strong.
Biden, the Democratic National Committee, and their joint fundraising committees raised $72 million from April to the end of June. They have $77 million cash on hand.
For Republican candidates in this cycle, there is a competitive primary, so Republican National Committee fundraising totals don't help them yet.
But individually, the Trump campaign and his affiliated political action committee raised more than $35 million in the second quarter, while DeSantis brought in $20 million and his super PAC raised $130 million. (While super PACs work in support of the candidate, they can't coordinate with them.)
I guess you could argue one should worry about the DeSantis super PAC money, but he’s literally one of the worst candidates that I’ve ever seen. He’s stiff, unlikeable, and not even nice. He also doesn’t like people, so that never plays well long term.
The second positive bit of news was this shocking story I read regarding the changes in voting demographics.
It’s easy to envision the 2024 presidential election becoming the third straight contest in which a veteran Democrat goes up against Donald Trump. Once again, the Democrat wins the popular vote but swing states are tighter. Could go either way — and has, right?
But things are very different this time, and here’s why: The candidates might not be changing — but the electorate has.
Every year, about 4 million Americans turn 18 and gain the right to vote. In the eight years between the 2016 and 2024 elections, that’s 32 million new eligible voters.
Also every year, 2½ million older Americans die. So in the same eight years, that’s as many as 20 million fewer older voters.
Which means that between Trump’s election in 2016 and the 2024 election, the number of Gen Z (born in the late 1990s and early 2010s) voters will have advanced by a net 52 million against older people. That’s about 20 percent of the total 2020 eligible electorate of 258 million Americans.
And these younger people vote! At far higher percentages than in the past, which is what young people do when old people try to control their rights. lol
In last August’s Kansas abortion referendum, for example, women under 30 turned out at a rate of 41 percent and helped win the contest. A similar Michigan abortion referendum brought youth midterm turnout to 49 percent — and 69 percent of voters younger than 30 voted to put abortion rights protections in the state constitution compared with just 52 percent of voters 30 and older.
Finally, I’ve got to say that Don Jr. hasn’t been right about many things, but in the video below, you can hear him whining about how the Republican primary contest is sapping Trump’s money. And that Biden is growing stronger, while Trump is wasting energy fending off challengers.
He’s most certainly not wrong about that. Trump will likely limp into the Presidential general election.
What things have you seen the past week or two that give you hope in regards to our nasty state of politics?
And will the latest Trump indictment for January 6 drop today or Monday?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Love and peace,
Stan R. Mitchell
Don’t forget: You can comment anytime, and I’ll answer quickly! You can also reach out privately at: authorstanrmitchell@yahoo.com. (You can say “hi,” vent, or send news tips! I love all three of those things!)
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written 11 of them: a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational self-help book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan. You can find all of these books on Amazon.