Why the Stormy Daniels interview should scare Republicans

[DonViejo]

By Julian Zelizer, CNN Political Analyst

Updated 10:03 AM ET, Sun March 25, 2018

Julian Zelizer is a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and the editor of "The Presidency of Barack Obama: A First Historical Assessment." He's also the co-host of the "Politics & Polls" podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @julianzelizer. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN)Republicans should be worried about Anderson Cooper's "60 Minutes" interview with the porn actress Stephanie Clifford, who performs as Stormy Daniels, coming days after the CNN anchor interviewed former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

As they listen to the women recount stories of relationships they say they had with the married Donald Trump (affairs which he denies), they may not be able to avoid thinking about what it will mean at the ballot box in November.

In special elections, Republicans have been struggling to retain vacant seats even in solidly red districts, as the Trump effect starts to take a toll. And the potential for women's votes to determine the outcome of the midterms is immense.

There are many parts of the Daniels story that probably won't add up to anything more than salacious and disturbing tales from Trump's private life. The details of his alleged infidelity to Melania and his sexual peccadilloes, as well as the images that might be on the mystery CD or DVD tweeted about by attorney Michael Avenatti, are not likely to move the political needle given that most of the public already has a pretty good sense of who the President is as a person.

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/25/opinions/stormy-daniels-interview-trouble-for-gop-zelizer/index.html

[Hoyt]

1. November 2016, voters knew trump was a cad. They were fine with it.

[Stallion]

2. Yeah I've Got My Expectations for this Firmly in Check

....I really want Trump to go down because he's a crook, a liar and committed crimes not because he's a disgusting human being. In fact, I couldn't vote for impeachment simply because he cheated on his wife years ago. It would be horrible precedent for another impeachment for a sexual indiscretion

[Hortensis]

5. Same here. But also, this Trump stuff is so repulsive.

Suppose it's worth the public sewage tour if it finally breaks through to some right wingers in ways massive financial crimes and possible treason don't, but...yuck! I only saw a couple outtakes of that brunette and ended up too disgusted with her to ever want to see more. Learning she's a trumpster was just the cap on everything.

Stormy's certainly no hypocrite, seemingly, probably about twice as intelligent as the other one. She even briefly considered running for the U.S. senate from Louisiana in 2009 on basically an anti-hypocrisy theme. Wonder if she's a libertarian...?

WaPo: Her platform promoted sexual health education, opposition to the Obama administration’s stimulus package, abolishing the federal income tax, and an end to the Iraq War. Vitter was also a major topic.

“I’m not one to judge someone’s sexual activity, but what annoys me is that he’s so hardcore ‘family values,’ and he puts his wife and kids out there, saying he’s a Christian family man. Then he’s caught up in a prostitution scandal. He’s a hypocrite,” Daniels told Marie Claire. “I have nothing to hide. A sex tape of me isn’t going to pop up and shame me. There are 150 of them at the video store.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/18/porn-star-stormy-danielss-brief-political-career-as-a-u-s-senate-contender/?utm_term=.b6b816369cb5

[Mr. Ected]

3. When your moral compass allows you to determine your own magnetic north

No moral turpitude will ever spell trouble for you.

That's why it's always okay if you're a Republican.

[FakeNoose]

4. When it comes to the evangelicals, they're mostly hypocrites

and racists

[Wellstone ruled]

6. Facts don't lie!

[smirkymonkey]

7. +1000