On March 17, the E-R headlined its Putin reelection story, “Putin extends rule in preordained Russian election … ”
Preordained? In February 2024 Putin had an 86 percent approval rating in Russia, as determined by the well-respected Lavada Center, a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling organization. He needed no shenanigans to win against the Communist Party candidate and two others. During his presidency that began in 2020, Putin lowered the poverty rate in Russia from about 28 percent in 1999 to 9.3 percent in 2023. Life for ordinary Russians has greatly improved during Putin’s tenure.
The March 2024 favorability ratings for US presidential candidates are Trump, favorable 50%, unfavorable 45%; Biden, favorable 43%, unfavorable 51%; RFK Jr, favorable 49%, unfavorable 32%. Polling by Harvard University Center for American Political Studies.
US elections are big business, and an embarrassing, gigantic circus.
What do Chico Democrats think about the Democratic National Committee and allied groups spending millions to block third-party candidates from the 2024 ballot trying to “save democracy” by limiting democratic choice?
Local Democrats call Trump a fascist, a threat to democracy … silly, obedient hysteria. From the Washington Post, January 20, 2017, before Trump’s inauguration, “The effort to impeach President Donald John Trump is already underway.” The Democrats have long been actively undermining democracy.
RFK Jr.’s choice of Nicole Shanahan, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist, will make this election wild. She is smart, strong and inspiring. Listen to her VP acceptance speech. Democrats may cringe as she describes why she left the Democratic Party.
— Lucy Cooke, Butte Valley
