Pollster Frank Luntz: Trump may cost GOP the House in 2022

[applegrove]

Pollster Frank Luntz: Trump may cost GOP the House in 2022

Axios

https://www.axios.com/frank-luntz-trump-house-republicans-bb68cff4-182f-44e9-ac5b-0608b63e7d11.html

"SNIP....

Former Republican pollster Frank Luntz tells Kara Swisher on her New York Times podcast "Sway" that Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election "could cost the Republicans the majority in the House in 2022."

Why it matters: The former president is still the most popular figure in the Republican Party, but his baseless claims about the election have alienated moderates and key GOP leaders — including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

Key exchange:

Luntz: "More than two-thirds of Republicans believe that the election was stolen."

Swisher: "So it's working. This 'Big Lie' thing is working."

Luntz: "It is working. ... What Donald Trump is saying is actually telling people it's not worth it to vote. Donald Trump single-handedly may cause people not to vote. And he may be the greatest tool in the Democrats' arsenal to keep control of the House and Senate in 2022."

.....SNIP"

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Hope he's right! n/t

[SunSeeker]

2. Good. Fuck those treasonous racist Republicans.

They belong on the ash heap of history.

[RockRaven]

3. Don't tease me.

[msongs]

4. calling it the big lie is poor framing. one should always identify the lie and refute it nt

[Pepsidog]

12. Great point. We Dems suck at messaging and bragging. We allow the Rams define us.

[Murphyb849]

5. One can only hope

From his mouth to God's ears

[gopiscrap]

31. welcome to DU

[Blue Owl]

6. FACT: T***p is very costly for everyone else but himself

[Bev54]

7. I would be very careful putting too much weight in what Luntz says

His roomie for the past few months has been Kevin McCarthy.

[Indykatie]

8. I There's Some Truth in What Luntz is Saying

It's not just that Trump is pushing the big lie but that main stream Republican politicians are going along with the lie. The Republicans that fled the party and/or voted for Biden will not come back in 2022 as long as the GOP keeps pushing the Big Lie. It's shows them all to be batshit crazy.

[roamer65]

9. I hope they vote Liz Cheney out of her job.

I want to see what kind of wrath Darth Cheney bring to the table.

[calimary]

10. You fucking helped BUILD THIS, Luntz!

[OnDoutside]

21. I've heard him on numerous podcasts lately admit that very fact.

[calimary]

27. He's just of the few.

For the most part, as I’ve observed, NOBODY wants to admit they were wrong. And we see that play out in politics all the damn time!

[Jon King]

11. I don't agree at all, the new laws empower them and Repug voters want the House.

Even though they keep saying the election was rigged, they are rabid to vote. My hunch is most know the game, say it was rigged as the excuse to pass restrictive laws.

I do not believe for a second that they won't vote in 2022. They feel with the new laws they can take Congress and return Trump/Desantis to power in 2024.

[moose65]

17. Maybe not all of them, though

The die-hard Republicans will come to vote no matter what, but there aren't enough of them. The anarchist, blow-it-all-up voters who had never voted before and came out to support Trump, may not. They just don't care enough when Trump isn't on the ballot.

Democrats, however, seem more motivated to protect this country than ever before. I am wary of making any prediction this far in advance, but as of now the winds seem to be with us. May it continue!

[machoneman]

19. Die-hard R's will vote down ballot but will skip the top line: they won't vote for Trump again.

[moose65]

26. This is about 2022

Trump won’t be running for anything in 2022.

[uponit7771]

32. +1, the anti voter laws help GQP big time

[SergeStorms]

13. Luntz is correct about one thing.

Trump is definitely, "the greatest tool".

Apart from that, I'm not sure we can rely on anything he says as being true.

[rainy]

14. Can we do something about ES&S voting machines?

They have been stealing elections from us for over a decade and nothing ever gets done about it!!!

[Champp]

15. "I will go down with this ship." - QOP True Beeleevers

[Bondor]

16. And if he does not...

If the Repugs control congress at the next presidential election, I am pretty sure Democracy falls altogether, as they will nullify any result other than Republican victory.

[Azathoth]

18. They will vote. In droves.

As with most other right-wing trolling campaigns, they simultaneously believe what they're saying and also know they're full of shit.

[wryter2000]

20. I hope he's right

It seems to me Trump is going to turn off everyone except his lunatic base. Yes, he's hugely popular with Republicans, but their numbers are shrinking. If he has 80% of 25% of the population, he has 20% of the population. If he has 90% of 33% of the population he has 29.7%.

Now, I made those figures up, but I don't think they're that far off from reality. If he truly has something like 20% or 30% of the population, even voter suppression can't win elections.

And it's especially true when he's not running, as in 2022. They won't come out to vote for him. They may be less enthusiastic to vote for the Trumpanzee candidates.

I truly think he could demolish the Republican party, as Lindsey Graham predicted before he drank the Kool-Aid. Yes, there will always be a Matt Gaetz and Gym Jordan, but there will be fewer of them, and their power will be limited.

[NoNameGranny]

22. Pollster Frank Luntz: Trump may cost GOP the House in 2022

Exactly!

[flibbitygiblets]

29. Welcome to DU!

I have to ask...why no name?

[llmart]

23. We need to make sure Democrats are even more energized for 2022.

Presidential race years always see more voters than mid-terms. We need to keep getting more registered Dem voters and keep them energized for the mid-terms, especially the young people.

This is ALWAYS the key to us winning elections!

[Mr. Ected]

24. A classic case of misdirection

Whatever he's peddling, the opposite must be true. Or they've begun to launch a plan that circumvents the actual election like 2020 on steroids. These are not Republicans. They are terrorist politicians. If you give one ounce of credence that Luntz believes this is true and is concerned about it, you're wrong.

By the way, by any rational consideration, what he said IS true.

[ZonkerHarris]

25. Can't believe it. Prepare for our side to get out one of the greatest midterm GOTV movements ever

We will need it

[Generic Brad]

28. Kevin McCarthy should listen to his roommate, eh?

But he will not because Kevin McCarthy demonstrates daily that he is craven, incompetent, and exceptionally stupid.

[Tommy Carcetti]

30. Is this why there is so much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst Twitter Trumpists about Luntz?

I honestly haven't followed him that closely but I've noticed there's considerable anger and angst that's been sent his way over the past week.

[Progressive Jones]

33. Those loyal Twitter Trumpists are the right wing radicals trying to steal Congress. Very bad people.

To them, a guy like Luntz is too old school, and probably a RINO.

He's not speaking the Q-faction/ batshit crazy party line.

[peggysue2]

34. Luntz's statements are all well and good but . . .

Democrats cannot rely on this single point to save 2022. We need to keep hammering on the GOP's anti-democratic turn, the January 6th insurrection, the deliberate voting suppression laws, the obstructionism in Congress and the continuing Big Lie promoted by Trump and his enablers.

Trump's spew cost the Republicans the senate seats in Georgia. By a skinny margin. And, of course, Stacey Abrams' remarkable work in the state. But we all know, the GOP is erecting every hurdle imaginable to prevent a repeat in 2022.

This is going to be a fight to the death. Which is terrifying because we're talking about the death of the country. We're only one election away from losing everything.

Btw, PBS is running a repeat of its program on the rise of the Nazis. The details are both horrifying and familiar in the way a right-wing populist movement poisoned an entire population through lies, propaganda and escalating violence. There were moments in which Hitler and his henchmen could have been stopped. But those moments were missed, and we know how the story ends.

Chilling.