Joe Biden is the Best President of My Lifetime
And Democrats, including Iowa's 3rd District Candidate Lanon Baccam, need to double down on it.
It’s a cult. House in Knoxville, Iowa. Click to enlarge.
The Des Moines Register had this column yesterday about the 3rd Congressional District race: Lanon Baccam, as he runs in toss-up Iowa district, scrubs Biden from his social media.
Baccam, a veteran and former USDA official is running against nonprofit leader and small business owner Melissa Vine for the Democratic nomination to face incumbent Republican Zach Nunn, who is serving his first term. The election is June 4.
According to the article:
On X, the platform formally known as Twitter, Baccam has in recent months posted about campaign stops, endorsements and fundraising goals. Scrubbed from the feed, however, are a series of posts supporting Biden's candidacy, Baccam's work on the campaign and criticism of former President Donald Trump.
A list of now-deleted posts, archived through the online Wayback Machine tool, were provided to the Des Moines Register by the National Republican Congressional Committee. They include photos of Baccam on the campaign trail with Biden/Harris signs, as well as praise for the president and criticism of his 2020 opponent.
The Register was notified of the “scrubbing” by Mike Marinella, Midwest Press Secretary of the National Republican Congressional Committee. According to Marinella:
"National Democrats had to shuffle through every conceivable Iowa Democrat before they landed with a hyper-partisan, paid political activist who has campaigned for every radical Democrat imaginable…Now Lanon Baccam is making a desperate attempt to run from his political past, hide his extreme stances and lie to the voters of Iowa. Unfortunately for Lanon Baccam, we have the receipts."
Hyperbole much?
“Shuffle through every conceivable Iowa Democrat…” It would take a lot of work to “shuffle through” all existing Iowa Democrats--and just think of the work of “shuffling through” “every conceivable” one. Whew…
“Hyper-partisan.” Sure. Baccam believes in American values and our Democracy over the MAGA Republican wet dream of a theocratic white “Christian” Nationalist authoritarian state.
“Paid political activist.” Does Marinella mean USDA official? Paid? Most of us need to be paid. I presume Marinella is being paid to be a political activist/troll (check his Twitter feed).
Baccam “has campaigned for every radical Democrat imaginable.” Again, not only “every radical Democrat” but every “imaginable” one. So much work! And to these MAGA types we are radical. We want to preserve our democracy and refuse to bow down to a MAGA dictator. If that’s radical, I’m all in. That’s because like Baccam; I’m a patriot who loves our country.
“Baccam is making a desperate attempt to run from his political past, hide his extreme stances, and lie to the voters of Iowa.” Baccam isn’t desperate and isn’t running from his political past. Scrubbing his Twitter account was likely his campaign accepting bad political advice from the Democratic National Committee or a consultant. But more about that below. Baccam’s stances are only extreme to someone wearing MAGA beer goggles hoping the Trump pee tape doesn’t exist (if it did, they would likely try to spin it into a contemporary “manly man” sexual activity.)
And lying? I would say a sin of omission by accepting bad advice. And how about the MAGA King Trump? His over 30,000 lies or misleading statements during his term in office? And it's not only Trump. Since Trump became their earthly “god” in 2016 MAGA Republicans have told rivers of lies and they don’t give a shit and are never held responsible.
And concerning “Unfortunately for Lanon Baccam, we have the receipts." No, they don’t. Not like the receipts Stormy Daniels has on Donald Trump.
Baccam’s mistake is the same mistake Democrats are making across the country, running away from the presidency of Joe Biden. I was honored to speak to nearly 200 Dallas County, Iowa Democrats last Thursday. At one point during my talk, I said “Joe Biden is the best president of my lifetime!” and the crowd cheered and some in the audience pumped their fists. I then suggested that Democrats need to be proud of and tell the world of the successes of the Biden/Harris administration. The crowd cheered and more of them pumped their fists. Below are some highlights of the Biden administration's accomplishments:
The recovery from the pandemic, the American Rescue Plan, record job growth, the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, investments in climate action and clean energy, the Inflation Reduction Act, Affordable Health Care Act enhancements, lowering prescription drug costs, the Respect for Marriage Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, investing in HBCUs, the forgiveness of student debt, support for Ukraine, and many more accomplishments.
Why would ANY Democrat run from these successes? Why not embrace and celebrate them? I suspect the Democratic National Committee or some highly paid consultant told them to back away from Biden. Democrats have been doing this for a long time. Here is an NBC story from September 1, 2011:
“Democrats distancing themselves from Obama: It’s been a tough summer for swing-district Democrats seeking reelection in 2012 with a president at the top of the ticket whose approval ratings are in the weeds.
I suspect, just like the consultants advised in 2011 (probably the same people), they are watching Biden’s approval ratings, just as they did Obama’s. As of yesterday, Biden’s average approval rating is 39.2%
“Run away! Run away!” urge the consultants and the DNC. They don’t understand. If Democratic candidates don’t celebrate the President's accomplishments, they are implicitly agreeing with Republicans who say Biden is a failure. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy; they are doing Trump’s bidding, and their silence is reflected in the polls.
The DNC/consultants are worse than Chicken Little crying “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!”
The sky isn’t falling. The Democratic National Committee and their consultants are pulling it down.
Just because Democrats and Independents don’t give Biden high approval ratings doesn’t mean they are going to vote for Trump. These are shitty polls. Let’s elevate Biden.
If Baccam follows the normal script most Democrats do, which is apologizing, it’s a mistake. Instead, he should double down on Biden. Say he’s proud of the Biden/Harris administration and his work for them. Hillary Clinton apologized for calling Trump supporters “deplorables.” Instead, she should have doubled down, saying “If you are a racist and a misogynist, you ARE deplorable.”
As a side note, the Register also had a column yesterday about Zach Nunn and his “bipartisan” record. According to the Register:
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who represents central Iowa, had the best rating out of the Iowa delegation. He scored a 1.9 placing as the 10th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House…any score above zero is consider "good" making them a "bipartisan legislator," according to the Lugar Center. Some bipartisan legislation introduced by Nunn in his first term includes bills to implement year-round E15 sales and a federal grant program to fund pre-kindergarten programs in low-income communities.
Fine. But it’s not 2015 anymore and as far as I can see Nunn is a quiet MAGA sycophant, keeping his head down, and is complicit in efforts to dismantle America and turn it into a theocratic white “Christian” Nationalist state. I’ve said it before about other Republicans, and I’m going to say it again. If Trump told Nunn to kiss his ass, Nunn would likely respond, “Which cheek?”
They are insurrectionists, one and all. They aren’t patriots, they don’t love our country, and as far as I can tell, their “Christianity” has nothing to do with what I learned in Sunday School. Vote Democratic to save our nation.
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Thank you, Bob. This is our truth and we need to face it head-on. Silence is the enemy now.
You are absolutely correct. President Biden has been one of the most effective of US Presidents. Historians will recognize his accomplishments. There would be nothing to gain in turning away from him. No MAGAts are reachable by anything rational. If a candidate tries to turn away from the President, what is there to run on? "I'm not as crazy as my Republican opponent," though almost always categorically true, is hardly much of a campaign.