“Republicans have the advantage with voters in 2022 elections, poll finds.”

So read the headline in an April 29 story on the NPR website. According to the story:

• “All signs are pointing to a difficult midterm election for President Biden and Democrats, and a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll has fresh evidence of that.”
• “Of the 1,162 registered voters surveyed, 47% said they are more likely to vote for the Republican in their district, as opposed to 44% who said Democrats.”
• Voters favor Republicans on the issues of inflation, crime and national security. Inflation is Americans’ No. 1 concern.
• On immigration, the country is split.

Political pundits are openly predicting that this will hand Republicans the House, if not the Senate as well.

Yet there are steps that Democrats—particularly President Joseph Biden—can take to try to reverse this outcome.

WEAPON #1:  REASSURE VOTERS THAT HE IS ATTACKING INFLATION IN A WAY THEY CAN UNDERSTAND 

When people are frightened and angry, they look for simple answers and solutions—and scapegoats. That is how Republicans deal with crises.

Republicans learned long ago that most voters aren’t moved by appeals to their rationality. Instead, what counts with them is emotions. 

And Republicans have become experts at appealing to these—especially the baser ones. For Republicans, the Big Three are: Hatred, Greed, Fear.

Voters want to buy groceries at an affordable price—and to walk streets and enter stores without wearing a mask. And they want concrete reasons to believe that these can become reality.

President Biden should do the same in combating rising gas and food prices, which are frightening and angering millions.

Instead of accepting the conventional explanation of “supply chain difficulties,” he should blame rising prices on the entrenched greed of corporations. In many cases, it is no doubt true.

More importantly, Biden should propose a bill to make price gouging a national crime, punishable by a lengthy prison term. It can be modeled on the anti-extortion provisions in the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

No matter what happens on the bill, the President faces a win/win situation.

If it passes, he can rightly take credit for it and reap the popularity certain to result. And if Republicans block its passage, he can rightly blame them, thus ensuring that he and Democrats are seen as “the people’s champions.” 

President Joe Biden

WEAPON #2: STOP THINKING OF  REPUBLICANS AS “OUR FRIENDS”

The President should stop referring to “our Republican friends.” He has no friends among men and women dedicated to overthrowing Constitutional government and imposing a lifelong criminal and tyrant in his place.

Republicans have enthusiastically embraced Donald Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him—despite overwhelming evidence that it wasn’t.

Legislators in Republican-controlled states are now working furiously to corrupt election machinery at state and local levels so they can nullify the votes of millions of Democrats in the 2022 and 2024 elections.

Their ultimate goal: Restore a lifelong criminal and Russia-appeasing traitor to absolute power as “President-for-Life.” 

And more than a year after that treasonous attempted coup, many Republicans still refuse to accept the legitimacy of Biden’s win.

Would Franklin D. Roosevelt have referred to his Right-wing enemies as “our Nazi friends”?

January 6, 2021 attempted coup

WEAPON #3: BLAME DONALD TRUMP AND HIS STORMTRUMPERS FOR COVID-19 DEATHS

Trump learned how deadly the virus was in January, 2020. But he

• Publicly denied this and attacked mask-wearing and social distancing;
• Attacked governors who issued stay-at-home orders to contain the virus;
• Incited his followers to defy those orders; and
• Secretly got vaccinated before leaving office and has only reluctantly acknowledged the importance of vaccinations.

His legacy of defying science continues to live on in his millions of Stormtrumper followers—who refuse to mask up, social distance and, most importantly, get vaccinated. The vast majority of those now flooding hospital ICU rooms—and morgues—are unvaccinated.

As a result, countless victims of crime, accidents, heart attacks, strokes and other debilitating conditions find their surgeries/treatments canceled or indefinitely postponed. And doctors and nurses treating these patients are nearing the breaking point of exhaustion.

President Biden and the health officials of his administration should blame the unvaccinated for their egotistical selfishness in causing this crisis. This will put Republicans on the defensive and divert attacks on the President.

He should also propose a national law allowing hospitals to stop admitting unvaccinated anti-vaxxers. These people need to face the consequences of their own irresponsible behavior. Only then will hospitals be free to care for those who deserve medical treatment.

WEAPON #4: BLAME TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS FOR THE CURRENT CRISIS IN UKRAINE

In July, 2019, Trump tried to extort a “favor” from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: Investigate on presumed 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Joseph Biden and his son, Hunter, who had had business dealings in Ukraine.

Clearly implied in the call: Produce “dirt” on Biden—or you won’t get the Congressionally authorized $400 million in military aid.

Biden should blame Trump for having encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine. Example: Siding with Putin against the FBI and CIA when they agreed that Russia had interfered in the 2016 Presidential election. The words “traitor” and “treason” should be routinely used when he discusses these incidents.