Internal Memo Shows Biden, CDC Following Poll Numbers, Not Science
By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Biden parrotted COVID talking points circulated in a memo by the firm that conducted polling for his 2020 presidential campaign. The Feb. 24 memo came out days before Biden’s address and just one day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased masking restrictions.
An internal memo from a firm that conducted polling for President Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign advises the Democratic Party on how it can present itself as having “defeated” COVID-19.
The content of the Feb. 24 memo, “Taking the Win over COVID-19,” closely matches statements Biden made Tuesday during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
The two-page memo was distributed to “interested parties” by Impact Research, a public opinion research firm that provides “strategic thoughts for Democrats positioning themselves on COVID-19 after nearly two years of the pandemic.”
The “strategic thoughts” proffered by Impact Research include:
Declare the crisis phase of COVID over and push for feeling and acting more normal.Recognize that people are “worn out” and feeling real harm from the years-long restrictions and take their side.Acknowledge COVID still exists and likely will for a long time.Don’t set “COVID zero” as the victory condition.Stop talking about restrictions and the unknown future ahead.The authors of the memo, Molly Murphy and Bryan Stryker, provided an explanation of the thought process underlying these strategic thoughts while describing efforts against COVID as a “war” – one that is now moving into a new phase:
“After two years that necessitated lockdowns, travel bans, school closures, mask mandates, and nearly a million deaths, nearly every American finally has the tools to protect themselves from this virus. It’s time for Democrats to take credit for ending the COVID crisis phase of the COVID war, point to important victories like vaccine distribution and providing economic stability to Americans, and fully enter the rebuilding phase that comes after any war.”
Acknowledging that shifting public opinion has a tangible political and policy impact, the memo also references the increasing fatigue with and unpopularity of COVID-related mandates among the general public:
“Twice as many voters are now more concerned about COVID’s effect on the economy (49%) than about someone in their family or someone they know becoming infected with the coronavirus (24%).
“Two-thirds of parents and 80% of teachers say the pandemic caused learning loss, and voters are overwhelmingly more worried about learning loss than kids getting COVID. Six in ten Americans describe themselves as “worn out” by the pandemic.
“The more we talk about the threat of COVID and onerously restrict people’s lives because of it, the more we turn them against us and show them we’re out of touch with their daily realities.”
Translated, this could be interpreted to mean that harsh COVID mandates — described in the memo as “onerous” — are costing votes for the politicians enforcing them.
As reported Feb. 25 by the political blog Punchbowl News, the memo “has been making the rounds among House and Senate Democratic campaigns and consultants.”
According to Punchbowl News, the pollsters at Impact Research, “certainly have tapped into the mood of Democratic campaign pros, who see disaster in November unless the party figures out a better message on Covid,” adding that “Biden administration sources have told us they plan to talk about turning a corner on Covid during the State of the Union [address], so clearly they share some of these thoughts.”
Biden follows the script
Indeed, Biden’s message Tuesday night closely paralleled the talking points of the Impact Research memo:
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When compared with the “strategic thoughts” put forth by Impact Research, it is clear Biden declared the crisis phase of COVID over, recognized people are “worn out,” acknowledged and “COVID still exists and likely will for a long time.”
Biden — whose approval rate has dropped to as low as 38% according to recent polls — also did not, as the memo advised, set “COVID zero” as “the victory condition.”
The Impact Research memo was circulated one day before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Feb. 25 eased their mask guidance, and a series of Democratic governors and mayors announced the end of mask and vaccine mandates.
The U.S. Capitol lifted its own mask mandate just two days prior to the State of the Union address.
Mass media outlets, which for the most part until now vehemently supported such countermeasures, also visibly shifted their position in recent days.
For instance, a CNN medical analyst who had previously compared unvaccinated people to drunk drivers and who strongly favored strict COVID mandates, recently said “the science has changed” and that it is now appropriate to end mask mandates.
Moreover, on the same week, the Impact Research memo circulated, Saturday Night Live, which for the past two years also toed the pro-mandate orthodoxy, openly mocked vaccine and mask mandates and questioned whether they were ever necessary, with such lines as “Do I have to dump my oldest friend just cause he didn’t get … a booster?”
Political commentator Clay Travis, in a tweet, remarked: “[a]mazing how quickly the pivot has happened.
Here’s SNL’s dinner party skit as left wingers discuss whether masks and vaccines were actually necessary. Amazing how quickly the pivot has happened. pic.twitter.com/gwgWSceYsY
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 28, 2022
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