Politics & Government
Blumenthal gives Biden ‘very high marks’
U.S. senator says 'overhang of inflation' has caused 'pessimism' for some voters
By Scott Benjamin
BROOKFIELD – The poll numbers for Democratic President Joe Biden are in the same ballpark as the Oakland Athletics' 50-victory season.
Karl Rove, the former W. Bush political director, wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Biden’s overall approval rating is an anemic 40.6% in the RealClearPolitics average. His approval numbers on handling the economy, crime, foreign policy, immigration and inflation are even worse (at or below 38.4%).
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If he trails Republican former President Donald Trump and the other prime contenders for the GOP nomination, shouldn’t the Democrats be panicked?
Democrat Richard Blumenthal worked in the Nixon White House, was a U.S. Attorney during the Carter Administration and now in his third term in the U.S. Senate has served under presidents Obama, Trump and Biden.
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“Polls this far ahead of an election have very limited use as an indication of what will happen in the election,” he said after swearing in Brookfield Selectman Bob Belden at the recent inauguration at the Candlewood Lake Elementary School.
“I think the fundamentals are there for President Biden’s re-election,” he added. “A stronger economy, a foreign policy that keeps the peace and maintains our security. A reduction in inflation. Prices are coming down. The price of gas is about what it was in 2021. People will have a better sense of the positive direction of the economy in the next six months to a year.”
“The overhang of inflation is a cause of pessimism on the part of some people,” commented Blumenthal, who lives in Greenwich.
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens recently stated, “Easy to see is the average price of a dozen eggs: up 38 percent between January 2022 and May of this year. And white bread: up 25 percent. And a whole chicken: up 18 percent.”
However, is there a disconnection between performance and poll numbers?
“Overall, I give the Biden Administration very high marks for investing in roads and bridges and other infrastructure and bringing back manufacturing jobs in this country.” Blumenthal remarked. “In investing in a strong national defense with the production of submarines and helicopters right here in Connecticut. In getting us through the pandemic.”
Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini, a native of Greenwich, wrote in his recent book, “Party Of The People,” that Democrats are appealing to the college-educated voters and the Republicans are taking a greater share of the working class. As George Will recently wrote in The Washington Post, about one-third of the voters nationally have a college degree and two-thirds do not.
The Democratic candidate for president has prevailed in Connecticut in each of the last eight national elections. If the Republicans are taking more of the larger working-class vote, doesn’t that bode poorly for the Democrats?
Remarked Blumenthal, “Democrats are attracting more voters who have a college education, but at the same time we’re working on programs on infrastructure and tax cuts that are appealing to non-college educated voters. We put more money for apprenticeships and education in our Defense authorization bill because we need more electricians and pipe-fitters. I see that in our own production of defense equipment in Connecticut, we’re running short on those skills.”
Resources:
Interview with Richard Blumenthal, Patch.com, Sunday, December 3, 2023.
Patrick Ruffini, “Party Of The People,” Simon & Schuster, 2023.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/01/nikki-haley-donald-trump-challenge/
