Some Issues Your Leaders Can't Figure Out, So You'll Have To.

Years ago, back when Richard J. Daley ran Chicago, there was an old joke in Illinois that the only difference between a Chicago Democrat and a downstate Republican was 155 miles of Interstate 57. Everybody woofed and howled for the benefit of the voters and eventually they met in the backroom of some saloon. In that smoke filled room, over Cuban cigars and Bushmills Irish whiskey, they hammered out the state budget. They didn’t have laptops or iPhones; they had a Bic Rolling Writer and a couple of bar napkins and nobody got everything, but everybody got something. The modern political landscape has no place for “horse trading”, bi-partisan compromise, or civilized discussion, they’re all about as dead as Doo-Wop and Malt shops. In 2024, we’re a nation of pissed off people trying to vote on a series of tricky issues.

1. The Economy- When somebody asked James Carville, what was the most important issue? he replied, “…it’s the economy, stupid”.  As usual, when talking about money, the edge goes to the Republicans, but this time around there’s a wrinkle and it is student loan forgiveness. Think about this a little differently from conventional wisdom- you’re a recent college graduate, you have over $60,000 in debt and the clock is ticking on the principal and interest. You just got a job, but you don’t yet have a stock portfolio, a big bonus, equity in a retirement plan, or cash on hand. What helps you most is having Uncle Sam pay off that loan. So, the edge on the economy still goes to the Republicans, but it’s slightly less with young people voting Democrat on loan forgiveness.

2. Abortion—This is “the third rail” in this election and it could very well put a Democrat back in the White House and cost the Republicans the House and Senate--they still don’t understand the monster they’ve unleashed with the abortion issue--it will send women, young voters and that big group in the center to the polls in record numbers. This issue kills the Republicans and gives Democrats a huge edge.

3. Climate- along with abortion, this is a driving issue with young voters and a huge edge for the Democrats.

4. The Southern border—It is mind boggling how Biden and liberal Democrats could fuck this situation up so badly. It’s too late for them to fine tune their approach, just put it in the Republican column, it’s their strongest point.

5. Crime—the trickiest issue, because there’s no easy answer for any presidential candidate, congressman or senator. Excluding the “Spree Killings”, street crime is mostly a local issue-crimes that are a violation of state and/or local statutes that are investigated, prosecuted and sentenced locally. The Feds can supply assistance and federal grants, but the bulk of the responsibility remains with the locals. The large cities and counties who suffer from high incidents of violent crime have liberal governors, mayors, district attorneys and judges, all elected by a large majority. A lot of people who don’t live there, have taken an attitude of “if they don’t care, why should I?” The edge still goes to the Republicans, but not as much as you might think….

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the candidates.