THE SHOW NOTES: Democrats Fret Biden's Bizarre Speech
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Clip of the day:
Biden Speech
President Biden’s closing argument to voters at Union Station last night was “In our bones, we know democracy is at risk.” The meandering 20-minute speech blamed a crumbling democracy on “ultra-MAGA Republicans” and cited the recent attack on Paul Pelosi as proof. Biden stressed the importance of stopping Trump candidates at all costs and claimed Republican activists may try to undermine the vote on Tuesday. What?
Behind the scene: Politico reports that White House aids claim Biden has grown increasingly dismayed over Trump-aligned Republicans continuing to surge in the polls in recent weeks. Biden gave a very similar speech on September 1st at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall but wanted “another crack at it.”
The bigger picture: Partisanship aside, the speech was an odd move with less than a week to go before election day. Every single poll shows voters’ top two concerns are 1) inflation and 2) crime. The speech addressed neither.
Peter Bake at the New York Times said it best: “While Democrats largely agree with the argument in Mr. Biden’s speech, not every Democrat thought it was helpful to make the address when candidates are trying to distance themselves from Mr. Biden, whose approval ratings are in the mid-40s, and voters in polls are focused on [other] issues.”
Raising Rates
The Fed raised rates for the sixth time this year by an expected 75 basis points yesterday afternoon at 2 PM. Markets interpreted the news as the Federal Reserve nearing the point of beginning to slow future rate hikes and were mildly up… until Powell’s press conference at 2:30.
"It's very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes… We have a ways to go… Rates have to go higher and stay higher for longer." said Powell.
Markets plummeted and are down again today.
Pennsylvania: Fetterman vs Oz
A new poll released by Emerson College in Pennsylvania has Dr. Oz up by two points and gaining momentum among undecided voters just five days before election day.
Big takeaway: Half of the voters surveyed said Fetterman’s debate performance worsened their impression of him. Fox News came to a similar conclusion in their polling released yesterday.
Musk vs AOC
One of Elon Musk’s first moves after acquiring Twitter was to propose charging users $8 per month to keep their blue verified checkmark. AOC called the plan an attack on free speech:
Musk responded:
Bad To Worse
How bad are things for Democrats? Just look at these headlines:
The Atlantic: Why Democrats are losing Hispanic voters (paywall)
Axios: Anxious Americans disillusioned by economy ahead of midterms
CNN: Why Republicans are gaining with less than a week to go
Washington Examiner: Democrats Flailing as Crime Devastates Communities
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Joe Biden’s nostalgia for the Jimmy Carter years
Dailycaller: GOP Now Leads With Hispanics On The Generic Ballot
The Hill: GOP gains in deep-blue New York’s governor race rattle Democrats
NPR: Florida GOP takes lead in early voting in traditionally blue Miami-Dade
Americans For Prosperity
My friends at Americans for Prosperity hate dysfunctional government almost as much as I do. Unlike think tanks that produce esoteric term papers, Americans for Prosperity is focused on policy solutions that will directly improve people’s lives. They have the largest network of community activists in the country and need your help. Learn more at AmericansForProsperity.org/Erick
The rest of the news:
A huge tunnel has opened below Niagara Falls - CNN
Don Lemon’s 'CNN This Morning' debuts to dismal ratings, trails long-struggling 'New Day' - Fox News
'BagGate' cheating scandal rocks professional cornhole world - Fox News
Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan injured in shooting at rally - Axios
Capitol Police: No one monitoring camera feed of Pelosi home during attack - Axios
An estimated $1.5 billion is in play after Wednesday’s Powerball drawing brings no winning tickets - CNN
North Korea keeps up its missile barrage with launch of ICBM - AP
Republican Opposition to Helping Ukraine Grows, WSJ Poll Finds - WSJ (paywall)
Cruz calls out Trump for not spending on Senate candidates - The Hill
Three tweets that caught my eye: