Why Brandon means Joe Biden.

"Republicans pushed Democrats out of the Virginia governorship and came up just short of an upset in heavily Democratic New Jersey on Wednesday, signaling trouble for President Joe Biden's party heading into next year's congressional elections," Reuters. "If Republicans gain control of both, or even one, chamber of the Congress, the party would win the ability to block Biden's legislative agenda in the final two years of his term." In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy is ahead with 50.8% of votes cast, against Republican Jack Ciattarelli on 48.3%, NBC. The lead for Murphy is just over 62,000 votes with 280,303 still to be counted. Murphy got 73% of early 'by mail' votes to just 26% for Ciatarelli, 53% of early in person votes to 47% of Ciattarelli but only 37% of in person votes on election day to a whopping 62% for Ciattarelli, NBC. Thus Murphy won 45% of total in person votes while Cattarelli got 54.5%, but Murphy squeezed through because of his overwhelming majority in votes by mail. A similar plot played out in Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump last November. 41% of votes that Biden got were in person and 58% were by mail, while 67% of Trump's votes were in person and just 32% were by mail, Pew Research Center. How they verify the identity of those voting by mail is a mystery. The scope for fraud must be immense. "When presidents have bad approval ratings, their party tends to do poorly in downballot races," Vox. "In Five-ThirtyEight's average of polls, Biden's approval is down to 42.9 percent, with his disapproval rating up to 50.7 percent." "White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden's approval ratings are so low because people are 'tired of fighting' the coronvirus pandemic, which Biden promised to 'shut down' during the pandemic," Fox News. "Public opinion surveys show Americans -- frustrated by the protracted COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices, not to mention the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan -- are increasingly unhappy with his leadership," Los Angeles Times. Republicans apparently whipped up public anger over Critical Race Theory. "Even though it's not taught in public schools, far-right provocateurs have sought to rebrand it as a form of racism pushed on white children by the far left, and at school board meetings in Virginia and around the country, parents have forcefully protested lessons about American racial history." "Critical race theory, or CRT, proposes that any analysis of American society must take into account its history of racism and the role race has played in shaping attitudes and institutions," Bloomberg. Meanwhile, "China is telling families to stock up on food and other daily essentials as bad weather, energy shortages and Covid-19 restrictions threaten to disrupt supplies," CNN. Democratic governments normally urge citizens not to stockpile essential goods because that exacerbates shortages and results in higher prices, but such warnings are apparently normal in China. However, this time "the state owned news magazine China News Weekly shows long lines of shoppers at grocery stores in Changzhou, a city in Jiangsu province", CNN. The Chinese are worried that Beijing may try to occupy Taiwan by force, precipitating a war with the US and its allies. Nobody knows what the Chinese leaders are planning but they maybe encouraged by Republicans using the phrase 'Let's go Brandon' as a "conservative code for something far more vulgar: 'F--- Joe Biden'," AP. "But the chant's popularity has infuriated the left, resulting in an onslaught of angry tweets, columns and hot takes from liberals pundits," said Fox News gleefully. As long as there is such wide discrepancy between votes in person and by mail there will always be suspicion about election results and the US will be polarised. If 67% of 912 million eligible voters in India can vote in person, why can't the US organise better elections with vastly superior infrastructure and wealth? Till it can, Brandon will be asked to go.