A Master Class In Politics Of The Day. Steve Williamson welcomes Dan Singal back to the show. Singal is a professor of history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges who has, in the past, offered our listeners great insights into national political races. More often than not, his prognostications have turned out to be accurate.
Today, he offers an optimistic view of the upcoming 2024 presidential election. But he also offers some warning signs.
Regarding the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a possible government shutdown, he says, “First of all, I completely agree with you that this is worrisome for Democrats because voters who don’t pay very much attention, they see the chaos and blame that on Biden as much as on the Republicans. So that does, exactly as you say, worry me. The other thing I would point out: everyone is saying here that the blame lies with a small group of extremists. But the fact is, the Republican Party has gone so far to the right it has itself become an extremist political organization driven by all the crazies in its base.
As for the prospects of a second term for President Biden, Singal explains, “I have a feeling that as we get closer to the actual time – November 2024 – we’re going to see increasing seriousness in voters really starting to pay attention and what they’ll see when they look at the economy and Joe Biden, I think they’re going to like more and more.”
“I think Biden has done so well in getting his campaign off the ground early and organizing it the way he has. He’s done a terrific job. He’s a fabulous campaign manager and he’s running his campaign through the Democratic Party. And the whole point is that they’re going to work on the down ballot races as much as the presidential.