Garrett78
Garrett78's JournalSome formerly purple states are no longer battlegrounds.
We shouldn't give up on Florida, but some former battlegrounds seem to no longer be in play. I'm thinking of Missouri, Ohio and Iowa.
On the flip side, Virginia and Colorado seem to have shifted leftward. Some progress has been made in North Carolina. I keep hoping demographics will drive Texas, Georgia and Arizona to become blue.
What shifts do you foresee?
Trump, King, DeSantis, Kemp, Blackburn, etc., etc., etc.
Don't give me that "it's all about economics" bullshit. It's all about racism and sexism. Absent racism alone, there is no viable Republican Party.
Not to mention the millions of votes received by losing candidates such as Corey Stewart, Roy Moore, Kris Kobach, etc.
It's the racism, stupid.
The anti-Trump Republicans annoy the hell out of me.
While I appreciate that some anti-Trump Republicans are attacking Trump and advocating a vote for Democrats, every single one of them (at least on MSNBC) is in denial about what the Republican Party has represented for the last 50+ years. Every single one of them suggests that the pre-Trump Republican Party was basically just fine. The only significant difference between Republicans right now and the pre-Trump Republican Party is the former uses a bullhorn and the latter typically relied on a dog whistle. But right wing ideology has always been built upon a foundation of lies and hate.
And I suspect most of the anti-Trump Republicans will be back on board with Republicans as soon as Trump is gone.
Steve King quote ripe for Democratic campaign ads
King states that neo-Nazis in Austria would be Republicans in the US.I suggest the DNC run generic ads featuring that quote and Trump's violence-inciting rhetoric.
Don't Attack the Media
I see where people suggest others not attack the media, because the media is already under assault from Trump and Republicans.
This highlights a huge problem, and represents an ongoing victory for Republicans.
The GOP's modus operandi is to project, or to say the opposite of what's true. And that's precisely what they've done with regard to the mainstream media, which has turned into corporate infotainment (80+ companies ran the bulk of the media 35 years ago, and today just a handful of giant corporations own and operate the for-profit infotainment industry).
The GOP tactic has been highly effective. "Liberal media" is a household term. It's part of the public consciousness. This has, by design, put Democrats on the defensive for the last 4 decades. It's much better to be playing offense.
The fact of the matter is the mainstream media *is* worthy of criticism. A lot of criticism. The false equivalencies. The fluff. The stance that it's not their job to fact-check. Allowing the likes of Conway to Gish Gallop to her heart's content. Treating every statement as though it's an equally valid opinion, which denies the reality that many statements are false (if intentional, they should be labeled as 'lies'). And, again, the consolidation into just a few entities.
Democrats must find a way to change the narrative about the infotainment industry. It'll be an uphill battle. Flipping the public consciousness will be hard work and will take many years (the effort must begin immediately). It's not enough to say Republicans are wrong about the media--that's the defensive position. They are wrong of course, but Democrats have to explain in fairly simple terms why they are wrong and why the industry needs to be reformed. I don't necessarily know the best way to go about this, but that's why think tanks exist.
Gerrymandering and Senate/Presidential Elections
I frequently see it suggested that gerrymandering has no bearing on statewide or national elections. While that may seem logical, it isn't true.
Simply put, gerrymandering impacts who is in power, and those in power impact statewide and national elections.
Also, if gerrymandering leads to people feeling like their voice doesn't matter, that could impact turnout for all races.
New study on Obama voters who voted for Trump
I've previously posted this article, and the following article only confirms what most of us have known all along, which has been confirmed by study after study. But some still need the education, so here you go: "It has to do with race."
This isn’t just a matter of historical interest or ideological ax-grinding. Understanding the precise way in which racism affected the 2016 election should shape how we think about the electorate in the run-up to the 2018 midterms. More broadly, it helps us understand the subtleties of America’s primordial divide over race — and why racism will continue to fracture the country politically for the foreseeable future.
Much more at the link.
Regarding this notion that confirmation will do permanent damage to the Republican Party...
Those who think confirming Kavanaugh will ruin the Republican Party are, in my estimation, being far too optimistic. Memories and attention spans are short. A massive number of American adults don't vote. A large number of those who do vote, for either Republicans or Democrats, don't pay very close attention to politics.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, I will be beside myself with anger. There will not be a silver lining. There will only be a grave injustice, and a horrific message sent to all survivors of sexual assault. That does not mean we give up. Perhaps criminal charges will be brought against Kavanaugh. Perhaps Democrats will manage to increase the number of SCOTUS justices, as some have suggested. But confirmation of Kavanaugh would be a tragedy of epic proportion.
But back to my main point...I will once again reference the following article: https://www.vox.com/2018/5/1/17258866/democratic-party-republicans-trump-election
...no policy platform is going to win three or four consecutive national elections for Democrats because we know policy isn’t what decides elections; that’s not how most voters make decisions.
So there are no policy changes that are going to reverse the overall trajectory that this society is on right now. We have to address some of the structural barriers to progressive power in this country, and we need to take those things as seriously as we do the policy fights within the party.
Sean Illing
I definitely want to get into some of these structural barriers, but let’s be clear about this point you’re making. A lot of people still think there’s some meaningful connection between policy outcomes and voter decisions, but there’s a good bit of political science research to suggest that’s just a fantasy.
David Faris
Right. People just don’t seem to make the connection between policies and the party in power.
So, for example, the Democrats passed Obamacare and gave millions of people heath care, and yet tons of people who benefited from it have no idea what it is or how they benefited. And it’s like that with a lot of policies — voters simply don’t connect the dots, and so they reward or punish the wrong party.
I think the idea that we’re going to deliver these benefits to people and they’re going to be like, “Thank you Jesus, thank you for everything that you’ve done, let me return you with a larger majority next time,” is just nonsense. It’s the wrong way to think about politics.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do things for people, but we’ve got to be serious about how elections are won. And they’re not being won on the basis of policy proposals or policy wins.
Sean Illing
In the book, you say that Democrats are engaged in “policy fights” and Republicans are waging a “procedural war.” What does that mean?
David Faris
The Constitution is a shockingly short document, and it turns out that it’s extremely vague on some key procedures that we rely on to help government function at a basic level. For the government to work, cooperation between parties is needed. But when that cooperation is withdrawn, it creates chaos.
Since the ’90s, when Newt Gingrich took over Congress, we’ve seen a one-sided escalation in which Republicans exploit the vagueness or lack of clarity in the Constitution in order to press their advantage in a variety of arenas — from voter ID laws to gerrymandering to behavioral norms in the Congress and Senate.
Sean Illing
What the Republicans did to Merrick Garland was one of the most egregious examples I’ve ever seen.
David Faris
Right. They essentially stole a seat on the Supreme Court — a swing seat, no less. But they correctly argued that they had no clear constitutional obligation to consider the president’s nominee for the seat. They didn’t violate the Constitution. They violated the spirit of the Constitution. They violated the norms that have allowed these institutions to function normally for years and years.
This is the sort of maneuvering and procedural warfare I’m talking about, and the Republicans have been escalating it for two decades. And they’ve managed to entrench their power through these dubious procedures.
The result is that the structural environment is biased against Democrats and the Republicans have engineered it that way.
Does a Kavanaugh confirmation hurt or help the Republicans in November's election?
Various Republican talking heads have suggested that failing to confirm Kavanaugh will make for an even tougher November for Republicans. Supposedly getting him confirmed would fire up the Republican base.
I'd like to think confirming Kavanaugh would hurt Republicans and help Democrats (i.e., it's our base that would be even more fired up), and that those talking heads are pushing for a quick vote simply because they know Kavanaugh on the court makes it easier to protect Trump. Then again, how much do they really care about Trump?
In the end, we just have to GOTV. But what do you all think about the notion that confirming Kavanaugh would actually help Republicans do better in November?
On days like this, it really hits home what a toll Trump has taken on my psyche.
It might seem counterintuitive, but I think it's because encouraging news allows me the opportunity to breathe. Life provides distractions, but there's always a simmering rage. It sometimes boils over.
I hate that I've allowed Trump and his klan to impact me so, but I have to admit that I'm in a constant state of disgust and anger.
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Member since: Wed Aug 19, 2015, 04:47 AMNumber of posts: 10,721
