Is there a Reagan on the horizon? Many of us hope that is DeSantis, but the polls at least temporarily look pretty bad for him. Much of that is the rally-around-the-flag effect given Trump’s indictment, but not all of it. I think the rest has to do with the relentless beating he has been taking from Trump and his merry band of paid shills, but again not all of it.

Reagan, though, had a tough fight to get the nomination.

Let’s stipulate that a candidate who can spark a renewal is possible. Love him or hate him, it’s clear Trump isn’t that guy. I don’t assert that because I am not thrilled with him; I say it based upon the fact that the experiment was run and look at where we are. It’s as if Reagan got a first term and was replaced by Maxine Waters. The decline has accelerated post-Trump. Ipso facto Trump was not our Reagan.

The signs of decline are everywhere, but are they an illusion or perhaps temporary? The ascendance of the alphabet people could be temporary. Dylan Mulvaney will fade. A clear victory in Ukraine and a collapse of Putin might happen and not lead to chaos. Xi’s efforts to destroy the US dollar might not work. People might finally revolt over energy and food prices, gender ideology, the decline of schools, and even the relentless expansion of the administrative state.

Pendulums swing, after all. And despite the bizarre election outcomes, Americans are very dissatisfied. Even Democrats are unhappy.

As you can see from this “Right Track/Wrong Track” poll from Morning Consult, the election of Joe Biden led to a spike of optimism among Democrats and a mild bump among Independents, but by July of 2021, things have moved relentlessly downward. Civiqs shows similar numbers. 

The Morning Consult polling data shows that Gen Z is happiest about the state of affairs, but not by much. Everybody knows that something is horribly wrong and likely to get worse.

Doesn’t that suggest that people are getting ready for a change, at least if that change isn’t Donald Trump? Rightly or wrongly, a majority seem to absolutely abhor him and won’t change their mind. 60% want him in jail for a yet unspecified crime. Just lock him away.

Perhaps, but we all have to admit that the evidence for voters changing paths is thin on the ground, if hardly non-existent. Voters in Wisconsin sent a mixed message and voters in Chicago and Los Angeles chose decline.

Red states seem to be getting redder, but purple and Blue states are getting bluer, at least for now.

The key difference between today and the late 70s is the fundamental shift in how corporate America, the education system, and the MSM have become Left-wing political actors. This simply wasn’t true in the 70s, although academia was already moving Left fast, yet their social power was much weaker.

Corporate America and public schools are now firmly against American values and there appear to be no signs that will change. The MSM is gone, although so is their credibility. Yet they still control the flow of information.

Hence my funk. There are glimmers of hope in a pervasive gloom. That may be the sun peeking over the horizon, or it might be the headlight of a train rushing at us.

I don’t know which.