Civic pollution. Boyd Matheson, Opinion Editor of the Deseret News, just interviewed pollster Scott Rasmussen on his Inside Sources podcast. Rasmussen is still in the field, currently polling in Georgia and has some strong words for “political elites” who are ignoring what voters are actually saying.
Rasmussen recently penned an article in the DNews addressing this issue. He says:
From my perspective, election polling is the least important and least interesting part of our work. The more important task is lifting up the voice of the voiceless so they can be heard in the halls of power. Unfortunately, Election 2020 showed once again that the political elites have no idea how large segments of the American public view the world.
Rasmussen also spoke of the more-than-$300 million-dollars already spent on ads in the Georgia Senate run-off, calling them “civic pollution.” In this holiday season, if Georgia voters don’t pay for ad-free content, then they will spend the next month sucking in that civic pollution. No wonder voters are fed up.
Could it be the rise of congressional centrists? Multiple news outlets are reporting that leaders in both the U.S. House and Senate may be willing to use a $908 billion proposal put forward by Senate centrist Republicans and Democrats, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, as a starting point for a coronavirus stimulus bill. If Pres.-elect Biden attempts to govern as a centrist, a centrist uprising in the House and Senate could be significant.
Good Read. Politico reports on a possible 2024 comeback bid by Trump. He has firm control of the activist base of the Republican Party. Thus, members of Congress and potential 2024 candidates have no choice but to cheer him on. Republicans are in a difficult spot. They can’t win without Trump energizing the base. But they can’t win if he’s the candidate — unless he changes his tone and extreme rhetoric. The best GOP scenario is for Trump to stand aside, but strongly endorse the eventual GOP nominee.
Parting shot. There seems to be a pretty strong consensus that the country needs more stimulus to rev up the economy. There are detractors, however. Writing in The Hill, conservative economist Stephen Moore argues that the economy is already strongly recovering and borrowing more money to hand out doesn’t make sense. I think a reasonable stimulus will be helpful, but I agree with Moore that the money shouldn’t be used to prop up state and local governments that have been spending irresponsibly for years. Any stimulus money for state and local levels must be equitably distributed so financially healthy states, like Utah, aren’t disadvantaged.
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