What if Joe Biden is "sinisterly smart"?
It was Wednesday, January 19, 2021, President Joe Biden has gotten at that point one of his worst approval ratings from both FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, and you would think Biden could be doomed, especially the Democratic Party as they look into November and MSNBC's Chuck Todd said Democrats could be facing a "2010 shellacking" which may not be possible because that would mean the most Democratic districts in the country would have to flip too for that to happen, but Democrats could lose Congress, just not by a shellacking where Democrats lost 63 seats in the house. An unpopular Democratic administration would be bad news for Democrats, right?
It is! Unless Biden is "sinisterly smart", right? Sinisterly smart meaning what if Biden can still use his unpopularity to his advantage? A popular President is always a good advantage for the president's party, but so could an unpopular President? Is that possible?
Here is how this could work, Biden ran on his 2020 campaign reaching across party lenses to get business done for the American people in Congress, and it earned him so well amongst independents and moderate voters who thought President Donald Trump was just too much for them to handle for his positions, his character, and the way he ran things. Biden can still hold true to that pledge in a way that kinda helps the Democratic Party if he's "sinisterly smart".
In swing districts and states, Biden may have to endorse Republican candidates to make the GOP's 2022 campaign environment just a little awkward, making it difficult for Republicans to attack Biden efficiently despite running Biden-backed GOP candidates who may portray themselves as moderates willing to put aside their partisan stripes to do business for the American people, and Biden's endorsements provide a golden opportunity to prove that to be true, assuming that they don't screw it right? Politicians wouldn't duck away from their own word, right?
If Biden backs "moderate" Republican candidates in districts Democrats really need to win to hold the House and states where Democrats really need to win to keep unilateral control of Congress, then it may create an awkward election campaign for Republicans, a party who is attacking Biden but they're running "Biden-backed Republican candidates", how ironic would that be? And what kind of environment would that create for those Biden-backed Republicans, who were maybe going to exploit Biden's unpopularity, only to be endorsed publicly by that same toxically unpopular President and now you're the one who's fighting an every man for himself fight to survive against a zombie virus spreading President while your Democratic candidate is enjoying the luxury of "not being Biden". That maybe a perfect strategy for Democrats.
But wait! Could that be a bad idea? It could be, if Democrats blindly vote for Biden's GOP candidates, the problem is that's highly unlikely to happen, more bad news for Republicans. Would Democrats truly vote against their own party? Around 10% would, but where are those Democrats and can you really rely on a very small number of Democrats who said they would if they're just scattered all over the country where colonies of them in swing areas could make up just below 3% of the potential GOP vote? Those are questions Republicans in this scenario would have to ask.
But what about Independent voters? What would "a Biden-backed Republican" would look like to them? Republicans are hoping to use Biden's unpopularity as a weapon against Democrats, but a Biden-backed Republican candidate could interfere with that effort, and if Independents are hoping to vote against Biden by blindly assuming any Democrat is a Biden clone, then a Biden-backed Republican could become a sacrificial lamb for the Independents to slaughter in a ritual called "voting". Don't forget folks, one of Biden's cornerstone pieces of his 2020 platform is reaching out to Republicans, and Independents shouldn't be too confused about that, they voted for Biden in 2020 likely because of that promise.
If Biden, the man who promised to reach out to Republicans if elected President, endorses Republicans in critical states and districts and he is right now an unpopular President, then it could make it hard for Republicans to attack Biden without looking like hypocrites who are actually running Biden-backed candidates and Democratic candidates in those same swing areas could turn this situation into a political talking point instead of taking it personally. A Biden endorsement of a Republican is an endorsement for a Democratic candidate in disguise, and it's strategic and not out of hard feelings for that Democratic candidate, but not many voters would know that in a time period when research is overrated that people just assume things solely based upon what they see and hear and that's ironic given that Republicans are always the one good at exploiting this kind of ignorance in people. You must beat your advisory at his own game if it advantages your enemy.
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