I hate to say it, but there are indications that President Joe Biden and his comrades in the activist may have accomplished their objectives when they went on a full-on campaign to persuade the nation that Trump supporters are semi-fascist “extremists.” The effort started before the president’s speech a few weeks ago but culminated in Biden addressing the nation to warn them about the supposed dangers of “MAGA Republicans” who like authoritarianism, rioting, and kicking puppies.
Robert Cahaly from the Trafalgar Group polling firm spoke with the Washington Times and indicated that assessing the political landscape is becoming more difficult. He believes “President Biden’s campaign rhetoric characterizing Republicans as a threat to democracy in thrall to ‘semi-fascism’ is driving even moderate members of the party into the shadows unwilling to broadcast their views in public and in private,” according to the report.
But it is not only Democrats’ over-the-top rhetoric that has Republican voters concerned. Cahaly also brought perceptions regarding how far this administration might be willing to go to silence opposing views, especially after the Justice Department became a weapon of the White House.
“If you think, for example, being called a deplorable and being worried about being canceled make you less likely to tell people what side you’re on, imagine what suggesting that because you have a Republican sticker on your car or a sign in your yard that now you’re a threat to national security,” Cahaly said.
“People don’t want to self-select for the next FBI raid,” he added.
The pollster noted that this new paradigm is making it harder to analyze people’s intentions when it comes to voting. From the Washington Times:
Among other things, Mr. Cahaly and other political analysts warn, this rhetoric distorts polls in favor of Democrats, as Republicans and Republican-leaning voters refuse to participate or be candid.
The president later tried to walk back some of the language he used to demonize half the country. But it didn’t work. Everyone with an IQ higher than room temperature knew what he meant despite the activist media’s attempt to spin it.
It appears most Americans also saw right through the deception. A Trafalgar Group and Convention of States Action survey revealed that 56.8% of respondents believed the speech was a “dangerous escalation in rhetoric designed to incite conflict among Americans.”
As stated previously, the FBI and Justice Department also play a significant role in this affair. From The Times:
Mr. Cahaly said that coupled with the ramped political rhetoric, Republican voters’ fears are being stoked by what is being perceived as a weaponization of federal law enforcement against conservatives as the FBI cracks down on efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“I’ve actually heard some fear,” he said of conversations he has had with Republican voters during polling calls.
“People have watched some stuff on cable that has made them very uncomfortable about people being shaken down and the FBI coming to people’s houses,” he said.
Cahaly was likely referring to Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s Monday broadcast in which he interviewed Lisa Gallagher, a New Jersey woman who prominently displayed a pro-Trump sign on her front lawn. She recounted how FBI agents showed up at her home after allegedly receiving an anonymous tip claiming she was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
“I was terrified,” she said. “I called my husband, I was crying, my knees were shaking. And even though I knew I had done nothing wrong, after seeing Joe Biden’s speech the night before, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is political.’”
Gallagher explained that after she let the agents look at her phone and calendar to prove she was not at the Capitol building, they left.
“What this does is drives up the number of people who are either shy about who they’re supporting when they talk to a pollster or the number who refuse to even take a poll,” Cahaly remarked.
This appears to be at least part of what Biden and Democrats wanted. Stories like this, along with the search of former President Donald Trump’s home would rightly raise concerns among those the president labeled as “extremists.” The fact that the Justice Department issued subpoenas to or raided 40 Trump allies requesting communications regarding the 2020 presidential election doesn’t help either.
While nobody wants to see the federal government used to silence people, it does not mean it will alter people’s behavior when they go to the polls. They might not be willing to be as public with their support of Trump or the conservative movement, but it is doubtful that Biden and company will be able to scare people into voting Democrat.
