Republicans gripped by dread as multiple crises swirl

[ffr]

The presidency, control of the Senate and even a quick confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett are all in doubt less than a month from the election.

First, there was the president. His real condition was as much of a mystery to Graham as to everyone else. Graham said he hadn’t talked to Trump since Friday after the president’s positive Covid-19 test came back — “he was in good spirits” — but that he had just checked in with Jared Kushner earlier in the day to get an update.

Then there was the Supreme Court. The virus has forced six Republican senators — three of whom have tested positive for Covid — into quarantine for at least two weeks. Two of them, Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Graham chairs. His plans to push through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett were now uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said over the weekend that “our biggest enemy” in confirming Barrett before the election, and cementing a conservative 6-3 high court majority, is “the coronavirus, keeping everybody healthy and well and in place to do our job.”
-snip-

That an actual virus has now infected Trump, his wife, his campaign manager, the head of the Republican National Committee, several advisers, and three senators — many of them at a celebration of Barrett’s nomination — thus throwing all three of the GOP’s 2020 goals into chaos, is a plot twist that would be rejected by any writer as just a little too on the nose.

“Trump has done more to derail the Barrett nomination than any Democrat,” said one dejected former senior White House official. “They are screwing themselves, that’s for sure.” - Politicohttps://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/republicans-dread-coronavirus-infections-426351

The official added one caveat, a scenario that he believed would crush the GOP on Nov. 3.

“If the White House lied about the timeline and he went to events and was around people knowing he was Covid-positive,” he said. “I think that is the single biggest thing that would resonate with regular people in terms of how irresponsible he was — if he put other people in danger.”

He added, “That could turn this into a death spiral.”
Cry me a river, you water carrying anti-American bigot!

[Skittles]

1. I want Trump and the Greed Over People party STAMPED OUT along with that damn virus

FUCK THEM ALL!

[Blue Owl]

2. It's like a swirling toilet bowl, flushing the GOP away forever

Damn it feels good...

[gratuitous]

3. This must have just come out of left field!

Normally Donald Trump is a considerate guy who always puts others before himself. Just baffling that he'd put others in danger like that. Wow.

[elleng]

4. I DO like that image,

'Republicans gripped by dread'

[Hassler]

5. What are the odds that Thomas, Stripsearch Sam and Beer Kavanaugh

Were at Phony Barrett's reveal party? Clarence Thomas is another unhealthy candidate for Covid-19.

[democrank]

6. It's what happens when someone lobs a few hand grenades into a cesspool.

SSS.......Sound, splat, stench.

[BootinUp]

7. More Senators are likely to come down with it

at least by my estimation

[Captain Zero]

9. and their staffs, who do a lot of the REAL work.

nt

[NBachers]

8. I'll endorse any thread that puts "republicans" and "death spiral" together.

[DSandra]

10. My violin couldn't get any tinier...

[DFW]

11. All good to hear, as well as the RNC being officially low on cash

But the Republicans are still swimming in undeclared dark money, and still control governorships and state legislatures willing to implement any scheme, legal or otherwise, to prevent Democratic votes from being cast or counted.

2016 was not a fluke, but rather a natural continuation of something that started in 1968, refined in 1980, and intensified in 2000, 2004, 2010, 2014, and perfected in 2016. Only a massive wave of “we’ve had enough of this!” as in 1976, 1992, and 2008, can resist the onslaught. As you can see, memories are short, and seem to lead them to victories more frequent than our once every 16 years. We must make sure that their stepping over the line (again) is stopped sooner this time. The last changeover from a Republican to a Democrat in the White House is only 12 years ago, but the 16 year gap is just a statistic, not a law. The change MUST come sooner this time, or we may not get another chance.

[BigmanPigman]

15. Well said!!!

[Duppers]

19. I 2nd BigmanPigman's post.

[NJCher]

21. All that you say is true

The one variable, however, is death. We have not seen the Grim Reaper in electoral politics, nor have we seen it cut a swath through the voting public.

[DFW]

22. No, but that is something we can't count on until/unless it happens

Trump will obviously order everything up to and including voodoo in order to stay alive until the election, and I say the more, the merrier. He will look and sound like death warmed over if his illness progresses and he doesn't isolate himself. If he holds a rally and looks like he is a refugee from a wax museum and sounds like a character from a horror film, it won't do him any good.

When asked his opinion, Biden will wisely say he didn't see the video, and really has more important things to do. That will deprive the Republicans of footage they would otherwise show on Fox to show how heartless Biden is, and they already have an uphill battle if they want to portray Biden as heartless, since a greater "mensch" has seldom run for President.

When Spiro Agnew got called on his offense while still in office, Nixon, probably against his own instincts, chose the well-liked and respected Gerry Ford to replace him. That made it easy for the Republicans to accept when he resigned, because a Republican replaced him that didn't turn the country against their party in general. Richard Milhous WHO? Never heard of him. If Ford hadn't pardoned Nixon before he was even indicted for anything, Jimmy Carter would have just been a footnote to history, and Ford wouldn't have had the dubious honor of being the only president never to have been declared the winner of a presidential election. Frankly, I'd prefer that Pence not get that honor, either, or if so, as a caretaker lame duck who serves out the last few months after the election. I do not want to see a bunch of frivolous Republican lawsuits get traction, and postpone the election.

Not only should the election go as scheduled, even if Trump is comatose by the time it happens, but I want to see a Democratic Congress enact laws that make it a serious felony to deny citizens the right to vote, or to enforce unconstitutional regulations that restrict that right. Armed goons at polling places that try to intimidate voters need be carted off by more heavily armed Feds, and then go away for a mandatory ten years at hard labor. So do those who throw away voter registrations, set up robocalls with false voting information, or tamper with or misprogram voting machines, and ALL voting machines need to be forensically tested after giving their tallies. Notice that everyone even accused of these crimes is ALWAYS helping Republicans. No more incidences like that one machine in Ohio in 2004 that gave Bush 3000 votes in a precinct with 600 registered voters.

[Cha]

12. Brewing in their own Cauldron

[struggle4progress]

13. Who sups with the devil should bring a long spoon

[ZZenith]

14. Here's what that "death spiral" is going to look like

for any of you GOP members following along at home.

Enjoy...

[DallasNE]

16. I Think There Is A 100% Chance The Whitehouse Lied About The Timeline

That is the only plausible reason for them refusing to release the timeline. The other thing is that Trump may not have been getting daily tests because he hated the swab being stuck up his nose so rather than daily tests he was doing the quickie test that was less intrusive and less accurate so they may have waited until two positive quickie tests before doing the swab, for instance. There is some kind of major problem with the testing or the timeline. We just need someone to leak it.

[Thekaspervote]

20. Yes they did lie. It was given away accidentally in one of the so called updates by the drs

They said he had received some drugs 72 hours ago, not 36 hrs as we were led to believe.

[Brother Mythos]

18. It couldn't happen to a more deserving group of feudalist wannabes.