Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Whether it's Biden or his policies, nothing the GOP tries seems to stick

US President Joe Biden holds a press conference after the US-Russia summit in Geneva on June 16, 2021. (Photo by PETER KLAUNZER / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PETER KLAUNZER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Here's a surprise: Republicans are already dedicating millions in digital advertising to attacking President Joe Biden on everything under the sun.

The GOP list of complaints is long; however, it’s not particularly pithy according to Politico. Biden wants to spend too much on infrastructure, he wants to raise taxes, he's the puppet of dark money forces, something about how he's responsible for rising crime and gun violence even though it's Republicans who are blocking gun reform. Here are a few others from predictable detractors:

  • Ted Cruz claimed Biden was trying to pack the Supreme Court with "radical leftist justices" after Biden ordered a commission to study the courts.
  • The National Republican Congressional Committee bemoaned Biden halting construction of the border wall.
  • The Trump fundraising committee has been calling Biden a “washed-up, career politician who has no clue what he is doing.”

The everything-and-the-kitchen-sink barrage suggests one of two things: Republicans are still desperately searching for the magic spell that will affix imaginary horns to Biden in the minds of all their voters; or it means that while no one particular Biden smear has stuck, they have found microtargeted attacks that speak to certain voters.

Democrats think it's the former, calling it a "spray and pray" approach to lowering Biden's 50-plus approval rating before the midterms. And frankly, most strategists say there's nothing ideal about not finding a single line of attack to hammer away at. The bottom line is, attaching Biden's name to something simply doesn't mar it.

“If you wanna stop legislation, you do not call it the ‘Biden Voting Rights Bill’ because for the broader electorate he’s ... Joe Biden,” said GOP digital strategist Eric Wilson.

One place Biden's name has anecdotally produced, reports Politico, is in the arena of fundraising off the right. But other than that, the GOP’s criticism is unusually diffuse.

In many ways, Republicans’ scattershot approach has freed up the White House to simply continue playing offense rather than returning fire on a multitude of issues that don't appear to be getting traction.

“We are laser focused on putting an end to the virus, on improving the lives of Americans, and on getting our economy back up and running,” Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher said.


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