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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
July 20, 2020
Trump’s “Bored” With Coronavirus, But Some Republicans May Finally Be Waking Up
It’s getting harder for the GOP to live in Trump’s state of denial as COVID-19 spikes across the Sun Belt.
By Eric Lutz
July 20, 2020
In the same week Donald Trump again minimized COVID-19 as mere “sniffles” for most that will “disappear” from America on its own, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was sounding a different note. “I think the straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is this,” he said in Kentucky last Wednesday. “This is not going away until we get a vaccine.” There is “no question” that expert guidelines must be followed in reopening schools, McConnell said, and Anthony Fauci, the victim of a White House smear campaign in recent days, continues to have his “total” confidence.” Masks, he said during his home state swing, should be worn by all, regardless of political party. “The coronavirus,” said McConnell, “is not involved in American politics.”
In total, the remarks constituted a striking departure from the president—whose response to the pandemic, to the extent he’s had one, has been almost entirely political—and underscored the extent to which even Trump’s typically loyal allies are breaking from him over coronavirus. For months, when New York and other left-leaning cities bore the brunt of the virus, they seemed content to live in Trump’s state of denial. But now, with the crisis centering hitting the Sun Belt the hardest and cases skyrocketing across the country, they seem increasingly tired of his negligence. “The president got bored with it,” David Carney, an adviser to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, told the New York Times on Sunday, noting that the hard-hit state is now channeling requests to Vice President Mike Pence instead of Trump.
Indeed, with Trump largely ignoring the virus—focusing instead on his regular golf outings with Lindsey Graham and defending the Confederacy—Republican leaders seeking help for their states have increasingly gone around the president, seeking out Pence and others in the administration they see as more attuned to the crisis. No longer able to easily dismiss the danger posed by the virus, state leaders like Abbott, Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Tate Reeves of Mississippi have reversed course to one degree or another on the mask requirements and public safety precautions they once opposed. And on Capitol Hill, several GOP lawmakers have lobbied the administration to take a more serious approach to the pandemic—particularly in an election year, in which Trump’s COVID response will likely weigh on voters’ minds as they cast ballots.
snip//
But the president’s dismissals—like much of his actions in recent months, including his authoritarian crackdown on racial justice protesters and his spirited support for all things Confederacy—don’t seem to hold much appeal outside of his most hardcore base. Polls have consistently shown him badly trailing Joe Biden, who is looking to capitalize on what seems to be a growing number of Republicans weary of the president’s act. (John Kasich, a former Republican Governor of Ohio, has reportedly been approached to speak at the Democratic National Convention). The polls may tighten as election day nears—and, of course, there’s reason to be concerned that Trump won’t leave the White House quietly even if he loses. But it’s clear that, even if he can’t bring himself to care about the good of the country, for the sake of his own political prospects it would make sense to take the pandemic seriously. That he still cannot and will not is an outrage that is becoming harder and harder for even Republicans to ignore—even as they continue to avoid rebuking their party leader directly. “The more they turn the briefings over to the professionals,” Republican Senator Roy Blunt told the Times, “the better.”
Trump's "Bored" With Coronavirus, But Some Republicans May Finally Be Waking Up
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/donald-trumps-bored-with-coronavirus-but-some-republicans-may-finally-be-waking-upTrump’s “Bored” With Coronavirus, But Some Republicans May Finally Be Waking Up
It’s getting harder for the GOP to live in Trump’s state of denial as COVID-19 spikes across the Sun Belt.
By Eric Lutz
July 20, 2020
In the same week Donald Trump again minimized COVID-19 as mere “sniffles” for most that will “disappear” from America on its own, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was sounding a different note. “I think the straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is this,” he said in Kentucky last Wednesday. “This is not going away until we get a vaccine.” There is “no question” that expert guidelines must be followed in reopening schools, McConnell said, and Anthony Fauci, the victim of a White House smear campaign in recent days, continues to have his “total” confidence.” Masks, he said during his home state swing, should be worn by all, regardless of political party. “The coronavirus,” said McConnell, “is not involved in American politics.”
In total, the remarks constituted a striking departure from the president—whose response to the pandemic, to the extent he’s had one, has been almost entirely political—and underscored the extent to which even Trump’s typically loyal allies are breaking from him over coronavirus. For months, when New York and other left-leaning cities bore the brunt of the virus, they seemed content to live in Trump’s state of denial. But now, with the crisis centering hitting the Sun Belt the hardest and cases skyrocketing across the country, they seem increasingly tired of his negligence. “The president got bored with it,” David Carney, an adviser to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, told the New York Times on Sunday, noting that the hard-hit state is now channeling requests to Vice President Mike Pence instead of Trump.
Indeed, with Trump largely ignoring the virus—focusing instead on his regular golf outings with Lindsey Graham and defending the Confederacy—Republican leaders seeking help for their states have increasingly gone around the president, seeking out Pence and others in the administration they see as more attuned to the crisis. No longer able to easily dismiss the danger posed by the virus, state leaders like Abbott, Doug Ducey of Arizona, and Tate Reeves of Mississippi have reversed course to one degree or another on the mask requirements and public safety precautions they once opposed. And on Capitol Hill, several GOP lawmakers have lobbied the administration to take a more serious approach to the pandemic—particularly in an election year, in which Trump’s COVID response will likely weigh on voters’ minds as they cast ballots.
snip//
But the president’s dismissals—like much of his actions in recent months, including his authoritarian crackdown on racial justice protesters and his spirited support for all things Confederacy—don’t seem to hold much appeal outside of his most hardcore base. Polls have consistently shown him badly trailing Joe Biden, who is looking to capitalize on what seems to be a growing number of Republicans weary of the president’s act. (John Kasich, a former Republican Governor of Ohio, has reportedly been approached to speak at the Democratic National Convention). The polls may tighten as election day nears—and, of course, there’s reason to be concerned that Trump won’t leave the White House quietly even if he loses. But it’s clear that, even if he can’t bring himself to care about the good of the country, for the sake of his own political prospects it would make sense to take the pandemic seriously. That he still cannot and will not is an outrage that is becoming harder and harder for even Republicans to ignore—even as they continue to avoid rebuking their party leader directly. “The more they turn the briefings over to the professionals,” Republican Senator Roy Blunt told the Times, “the better.”
July 20, 2020
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/20/bonus-quote-day-311/
Bonus Quote of the Day
July 20, 2020 at 9:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
"The fact is, whether he knows it yet or not, he will be leaving."
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/20/bonus-quote-day-311/
Bonus Quote of the Day
July 20, 2020 at 9:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
“The fact is, whether he knows it yet or not, he will be leaving.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on MSNBC, regarding President Trump’s suggestion he might not accept the results of the election if he loses.
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on MSNBC, regarding President Trump’s suggestion he might not accept the results of the election if he loses.
July 19, 2020
Florida Rep. Donna Shalala: "I'm terrified for the first time in my career"
Fadel Allassan
Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that she has asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to issue another stay-at-home order and that she's "terrified" for the first time in her career because of the lack of leadership during the coronavirus crisis.
Why it matters: Florida is the new global epicenter of the pandemic, reporting a record number of daily new infections for any state and twice breaking its own record for daily deaths all in the last week.
What she's saying: "We have community spread, which means the virus is out of control," said Shalala, a former Health and Human Services secretary under President Clinton.
Florida Rep. Donna Shalala: "I'm terrified for the first time in my career"
https://www.axios.com/florida-donna-shalala-coronavirus-e2b1c2c3-ea2e-4217-94f9-196ab4f45631.htmlFlorida Rep. Donna Shalala: "I'm terrified for the first time in my career"
Fadel Allassan
Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that she has asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to issue another stay-at-home order and that she's "terrified" for the first time in her career because of the lack of leadership during the coronavirus crisis.
Why it matters: Florida is the new global epicenter of the pandemic, reporting a record number of daily new infections for any state and twice breaking its own record for daily deaths all in the last week.
Florida reported more than 10,000 new cases for the fifth day in a row on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to over 350,000.
Hospitals across the state have reached or are close to reaching their ICU capacity, and some have said they are in "desperate need" of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat patients.
Hospitals across the state have reached or are close to reaching their ICU capacity, and some have said they are in "desperate need" of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat patients.
What she's saying: "We have community spread, which means the virus is out of control," said Shalala, a former Health and Human Services secretary under President Clinton.
"The lack of leadership in the White House and in our governor's office — they simply have not hit this with a hammer, which is what we needed to do and starve the virus. They opened too soon and they misunderstand what you need to do, or they understand it and they're not willing to do it," she continued.
"The residents here are terrified. And I'm terrified for the first time in my career, because there's a lack of leadership and we simply have not gotten our arms around this."
"The residents here are terrified. And I'm terrified for the first time in my career, because there's a lack of leadership and we simply have not gotten our arms around this."
July 18, 2020
TheHill.com
Congressional Black Caucus chair encourages Trump to stay silent on Lewis's death: 'Please let us mourn in peace'
By Tal Axelrod - 07/18/20 12:49 PM EDT
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, urged President Trump to remain silent on Rep. John Lewis’s (D-Ga.) recent death, suggesting his remarks would serve as an unwanted distraction.
Lewis, who represented an Atlanta-area district for 17 terms, was a titan in the civil rights movement and had garnered respect from both Democrats and Republicans. He died Friday night at the age of 80.
Bipartisan lawmakers expressed their condolences Saturday, though Trump has been conspicuously silent. White House Press Secretary released a statement mourning Lewis’s death and the White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, though the president – who's at his private golf course in Sterling, Va. – has yet to make any remarks.
Trump and Lewis had a contentious relationship while the president was in office. Lewis accused Trump of not being a “legitimate president,” leading Trump to fire back that the Democrat should worry about his own "horrible" district instead.
“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Lewis also drew Trump’s ire when he declined to attend his inauguration.
CBC chair encourages Trump to stay silent on Lewis's death: 'Please let us mourn in peace'
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/507955-congressional-black-caucus-chair-encourages-trump-to-stay-silent-on-lewissTheHill.com
Congressional Black Caucus chair encourages Trump to stay silent on Lewis's death: 'Please let us mourn in peace'
By Tal Axelrod - 07/18/20 12:49 PM EDT
Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, urged President Trump to remain silent on Rep. John Lewis’s (D-Ga.) recent death, suggesting his remarks would serve as an unwanted distraction.
“.@realDonaldTrump while the nation mourns the passing of a national hero, please say nothing. Please don’t comment on the life of Congressman Lewis. Your press secretary released a statement, leave it at that,” she tweeted. “Please let us mourn in peace.”
Lewis, who represented an Atlanta-area district for 17 terms, was a titan in the civil rights movement and had garnered respect from both Democrats and Republicans. He died Friday night at the age of 80.
Bipartisan lawmakers expressed their condolences Saturday, though Trump has been conspicuously silent. White House Press Secretary released a statement mourning Lewis’s death and the White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, though the president – who's at his private golf course in Sterling, Va. – has yet to make any remarks.
Trump and Lewis had a contentious relationship while the president was in office. Lewis accused Trump of not being a “legitimate president,” leading Trump to fire back that the Democrat should worry about his own "horrible" district instead.
“Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Lewis also drew Trump’s ire when he declined to attend his inauguration.
July 18, 2020
Democrats Already Mulling Filibuster Rule Change
July 18, 2020 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Democrats Already Mulling Filibuster Rule Change
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/18/democrats-already-mulling-filibuster-rule-change/Democrats Already Mulling Filibuster Rule Change
July 18, 2020 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
“Democrats, increasingly hopeful they can retake the White House and Senate in November, are discussing changing Senate rules to pass legislation with a simple majority of votes,” ABC News reports.
“Known as the ‘nuclear option,’ the move to eliminate the 60-vote threshold currently needed to end debate in a full Senate would allow a Joe Biden administration – and a Democrat-led Congress – to act swiftly on key party priorities, including climate change, voting rights and gun control, with just 51 votes.”
“It’s a possibility that the former vice president, who spent 36 years in the Senate, recently signaled more interest in considering – and one that could have significant implications for governing.”
“Known as the ‘nuclear option,’ the move to eliminate the 60-vote threshold currently needed to end debate in a full Senate would allow a Joe Biden administration – and a Democrat-led Congress – to act swiftly on key party priorities, including climate change, voting rights and gun control, with just 51 votes.”
“It’s a possibility that the former vice president, who spent 36 years in the Senate, recently signaled more interest in considering – and one that could have significant implications for governing.”
July 18, 2020
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — who, like McConnell, is up for reelection — characterized the public health fallout from Memorial Day as a “disaster,” pointing to an increase in cases coupled with a decrease in hospital space and available protective equipment.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/507924-gop-senators-sound-alarm-as-coronavirus-surges-in-home-states
GOP senators sound alarm as coronavirus surges in home states
Infuriating. NOW they're worried? 
GOP senators sound alarm as coronavirus surges in home states
By Jordain Carney - 07/18/20 06:00 AM EDT
Senate Republicans are raising the alarm over the country's rapidly growing number of coronavirus cases.
The warnings come as President Trump has repeatedly linked the recent spike to an increase in testing, while also overselling his administration’s response and appearing optimistic about the odds of a quick vaccine or the disappearance of the virus altogether.
But GOP senators — back in their home states, many of which are seeing increased case counts — are painting a more sobering picture with their on-the-ground view.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has crisscrossed Kentucky during the recess, telling constituents that the coronavirus will not “magically disappear” and stressing that wearing a mask should not be a political issue.
“Regretfully, this is not over. There were some that hoped this would go away sooner than it has. And I think the straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is this is not going away,” McConnell said during one of the stops.
“This is going to be with us for a while,” he added. “The coronavirus is not involved in American politics. It has its own way forward, and we need to act responsibly.”
“This is going to be with us for a while,” he added. “The coronavirus is not involved in American politics. It has its own way forward, and we need to act responsibly.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — who, like McConnell, is up for reelection — characterized the public health fallout from Memorial Day as a “disaster,” pointing to an increase in cases coupled with a decrease in hospital space and available protective equipment.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/507924-gop-senators-sound-alarm-as-coronavirus-surges-in-home-states
July 18, 2020
Both men are my heroes.
As Obama left his swearing in, Lewis approached him with a sheet of paper and asked the new President, the first black President, to sign it. And he did. He wrote, “Because of you, John. Barack Obama.”
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-ongoing-struggle-of-john-lewis
The Ongoing Struggle of John Lewis
By David Remnick
"Because of you, John."
Both men are my heroes.
As Obama left his swearing in, Lewis approached him with a sheet of paper and asked the new President, the first black President, to sign it. And he did. He wrote, “Because of you, John. Barack Obama.”
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-ongoing-struggle-of-john-lewis
The Ongoing Struggle of John Lewis
By David Remnick
July 17, 2020
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
7/17/2020
Portland Becomes the Testing Ground for the Next Level of Trump Fuckery
Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, who has the douche name and the douchier face stubble of the asshole Wall Streeter who gets punched in the dick by, say, Michael J. Fox in a late 1980s comedy, issued a statement on "the Rampant, Long-Lasting Violence in Portland." The Portland is the one in Oregon, and it's been the site of ongoing protests in the wake of the police execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. In the last couple of nights, they've escalated into confrontations with police and other authorities (get to that in a sec), confrontations that have been provoked by the police and other authorities. For Wolf and DHS and the Trump White House, "Each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property."
What follows is a list of actions by day, and, gotta tell you, it's just fuckin' embarrassing and overwrought, like trying to hype D-Grade meat as a quality Trump steak. This is really from the DHS doc:
For three days, apparently anarchists violently spray-painted graffiti. I'm not really sure how you do that. Maybe you scream, "Fuck Trump" as you write that. Maybe you punch the wall. What I'm saying here is that you kind of water down your accusations of violence if you include wanton tagging in the category. Basically, you look like a pussy or a drama queen, which is really the two modes that Trump and his lackeys operate in.
And even when Secretary Wolf's weak-ass list of alleged crimes gets to more serious stuff, any credibility has been destroyed by the image of the federal government shitting itself before the terrorism of the graffiti artists. Oh, and it's destroyed by the fact that most of it is complete hyperbole.
snip//
This is scary shit right here. I don't want to be like Chad "Punched Dick" Wolf and blow this up (I've avoided using the term "Gestapo," yet if the overcoat fits...), but when your government feels like it can just snatch you off the street without even the pretext of some kind of official reason, we're into new levels of necessary paranoia.
And while we're a few steps from needing to find decent-sized attics to hide out in, we're damn far down the list of "they came for," getting preciously close to "me."
The Rude Pundit: Portland Becomes the Testing Ground for the Next Level of Trump Fuckery
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/07/portland-becomes-testing-ground-for.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
7/17/2020
Portland Becomes the Testing Ground for the Next Level of Trump Fuckery
Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, who has the douche name and the douchier face stubble of the asshole Wall Streeter who gets punched in the dick by, say, Michael J. Fox in a late 1980s comedy, issued a statement on "the Rampant, Long-Lasting Violence in Portland." The Portland is the one in Oregon, and it's been the site of ongoing protests in the wake of the police execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. In the last couple of nights, they've escalated into confrontations with police and other authorities (get to that in a sec), confrontations that have been provoked by the police and other authorities. For Wolf and DHS and the Trump White House, "Each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property."
What follows is a list of actions by day, and, gotta tell you, it's just fuckin' embarrassing and overwrought, like trying to hype D-Grade meat as a quality Trump steak. This is really from the DHS doc:
For three days, apparently anarchists violently spray-painted graffiti. I'm not really sure how you do that. Maybe you scream, "Fuck Trump" as you write that. Maybe you punch the wall. What I'm saying here is that you kind of water down your accusations of violence if you include wanton tagging in the category. Basically, you look like a pussy or a drama queen, which is really the two modes that Trump and his lackeys operate in.
And even when Secretary Wolf's weak-ass list of alleged crimes gets to more serious stuff, any credibility has been destroyed by the image of the federal government shitting itself before the terrorism of the graffiti artists. Oh, and it's destroyed by the fact that most of it is complete hyperbole.
snip//
This is scary shit right here. I don't want to be like Chad "Punched Dick" Wolf and blow this up (I've avoided using the term "Gestapo," yet if the overcoat fits...), but when your government feels like it can just snatch you off the street without even the pretext of some kind of official reason, we're into new levels of necessary paranoia.
And while we're a few steps from needing to find decent-sized attics to hide out in, we're damn far down the list of "they came for," getting preciously close to "me."
July 17, 2020
Opinion
I'm Not a Liberal. But I Choose Reality Over President Trump | Opinion
Jennifer Shulkin
On 7/17/20 at 9:41 AM EDT
President Donald Trump gained notoriety through reality TV. Yet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, his actions and statements have become increasingly divorced from reality. Now about 140,000 Americans are dead, and new cases hit a record 75,600 nationwide on Thursday. Even Republican leaders in states like Texas and West Virginia are being forced to accept certain basic facts about the virus—issuing mask-wearing mandates and closing bars.
Yet it is clear there remain two parallel universes within our country: Trump's America, which feeds on misinformation about not only the pandemic but also Black Lives Matter, and the rest of the country grounded in reality and just trying to survive this period of crisis.
As a recent graduate of a liberal law school and resident of a major East Coast city, my social circle and environment is increasingly and unapologetically diverse. It is also increasingly and unapologetically masked. But when I see videos and images of Trump's rallies, showing crowds containing few masks and even fewer faces of color, the truth is obvious: This president and his campaign of misinformation are a danger to the health and well-being of our nation.
I am not a liberal. I have always considered myself a moderate—identifying with conservatives on some issues and liberals on others. While I empathized with the feeling of mourning at Harvard Law School following the 2016 election, I still thought the Trump administration had the potential to do good, especially if talented, patriotic individuals agreed to serve within it and temper the president's impulses. Chief among those individuals in which I placed my hope was my father: an Obama holdover and Trump's first VA secretary.
Yet over the past several months, I have come to believe that supporting Trump because you "like his economic policies," or frankly for any other reason, is no longer justifiable. If you still support Trump in July 2020, you are complicit in his encouragement of reckless behavior in the face of a global pandemic, denial of institutional racism, and deliberate efforts to drive our country away from science, facts and, yes, reality.
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/im-not-liberal-i-choose-reality-over-president-trump-opinion-1518633
I'm Not a Liberal. But I Choose Reality Over President Trump
Opinion
I'm Not a Liberal. But I Choose Reality Over President Trump | Opinion
Jennifer Shulkin
On 7/17/20 at 9:41 AM EDT
President Donald Trump gained notoriety through reality TV. Yet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, his actions and statements have become increasingly divorced from reality. Now about 140,000 Americans are dead, and new cases hit a record 75,600 nationwide on Thursday. Even Republican leaders in states like Texas and West Virginia are being forced to accept certain basic facts about the virus—issuing mask-wearing mandates and closing bars.
Yet it is clear there remain two parallel universes within our country: Trump's America, which feeds on misinformation about not only the pandemic but also Black Lives Matter, and the rest of the country grounded in reality and just trying to survive this period of crisis.
As a recent graduate of a liberal law school and resident of a major East Coast city, my social circle and environment is increasingly and unapologetically diverse. It is also increasingly and unapologetically masked. But when I see videos and images of Trump's rallies, showing crowds containing few masks and even fewer faces of color, the truth is obvious: This president and his campaign of misinformation are a danger to the health and well-being of our nation.
I am not a liberal. I have always considered myself a moderate—identifying with conservatives on some issues and liberals on others. While I empathized with the feeling of mourning at Harvard Law School following the 2016 election, I still thought the Trump administration had the potential to do good, especially if talented, patriotic individuals agreed to serve within it and temper the president's impulses. Chief among those individuals in which I placed my hope was my father: an Obama holdover and Trump's first VA secretary.
Yet over the past several months, I have come to believe that supporting Trump because you "like his economic policies," or frankly for any other reason, is no longer justifiable. If you still support Trump in July 2020, you are complicit in his encouragement of reckless behavior in the face of a global pandemic, denial of institutional racism, and deliberate efforts to drive our country away from science, facts and, yes, reality.
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/im-not-liberal-i-choose-reality-over-president-trump-opinion-1518633
July 17, 2020
Letter from Trump’s Washington
Trump’s Losing, So When Are Republican Candidates Going to Abandon Him?
Spoiler alert: they aren’t.
By Susan B. Glasser
July 16, 2020
snip//
The best, or at least most vivid, explanation for this phenomenon that I’ve seen is a recent piece in Rolling Stone by the Republican strategist Tim Miller, an adviser to Jeb Bush’s doomed 2016 Presidential campaign who became a fervent Never Trumper. Miller asked nine G.O.P.-consultant friends who are still welcome in the Party why the “dumpster fire” that is the Trump 2020 campaign has not caused their Republican candidates to abandon the President. “There are two options, you can be on this hell ship, or you can be in the water drowning,” one told Miller. Miller’s report from the U.S.S. Hellship suggests that the trapped sailors are well aware of how badly Trump is faring but are unable to bail out—especially in competitive elections, where the Party can ill afford to lose any Republican votes. In rural Texas, one of Miller’s informants pointed out, “Trump gets like Saddam Hussein level numbers here.” Cornyn desperately needs those Trump superfans in order to win statewide. Loyalty to Trump among such voters now outweighs any policy position, which means that catering to them requires Cornyn to strike a hard pro-Trump line, even if it further alienates the suburban moderates now wavering on the President. “No dissent is tolerated,” a consultant in another state told Miller. And, besides, another strategist told him, the election is all about Trump—there’s no use pretending otherwise. Their observations are strikingly similar to a conversation that I had last month with a veteran Republican pollster, whose clients are running in competitive states. I asked him whether, given the bad and worsening poll numbers, we might soon see his candidates running away from the President. “I don’t think so,” he said, citing the Trump Twitter curse. “He stirs up his base all the time, so you can’t take a position to reach out to the independents who have trouble with his persona, because the Republican Trump base will turn on you in a second.” And so the Hellship sails on.
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There are many other factors, of course, ranging from the fight that has already begun for control over the post-Trump Republican Party to the default partisanship that makes Republicans believe that sticking with Trump, no matter how disastrous his decisions may be or how distasteful they find his fulminations, is better than the Democratic alternative.
Another factor to consider is the spectre of 2016. There are many politicians who remain convinced that, with Trump having pulled off a historic upset once before, he can somehow make the improbable happen again, polls be damned. The President is clearly in this camp, but so are a number of Democrats scarred by the false confidence of four years ago. “I don’t believe these numbers,” Debbie Dingell, a representative from the swing state of Michigan, told an online Democratic event recently, after yet another set of polls came out showing Biden well ahead in her must-win state. Dingell, who has taken to calling herself Debbie Downer, comes by her skepticism legitimately, having warned the Hillary Clinton campaign, unsuccessfully, that it was in trouble in Michigan in 2016, despite polls that showed Clinton comfortably ahead. A new Monmouth University survey suggests that, in Pennsylvania, there are many people who agree with Dingell. Although the poll showed Biden leading Trump by thirteen points in the state—which, like Michigan, is another Democratic electoral must-win—fifty-seven per cent of voters said that they believed there was a hidden pro-Trump vote that was not turning up in the surveys. “The specter of a secret Trump vote looms large in 2020,” the survey’s director, Patrick Murray, concluded.
Perhaps it is fitting that the fate of President Trump, a Presidential liar for the ages, should come down to the question of whether large numbers of Americans are lying to pollsters about their support for him. Either way, there is a lesson here. Imagine if Republicans lose this fall because they would not, or could not, believe that their fellow-citizens might actually be telling the truth?
Trump's Losing, So When Are Republican Candidates Going to Abandon Him?
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trumps-losing-so-when-are-republican-candidates-going-to-abandon-himLetter from Trump’s Washington
Trump’s Losing, So When Are Republican Candidates Going to Abandon Him?
Spoiler alert: they aren’t.
By Susan B. Glasser
July 16, 2020
snip//
The best, or at least most vivid, explanation for this phenomenon that I’ve seen is a recent piece in Rolling Stone by the Republican strategist Tim Miller, an adviser to Jeb Bush’s doomed 2016 Presidential campaign who became a fervent Never Trumper. Miller asked nine G.O.P.-consultant friends who are still welcome in the Party why the “dumpster fire” that is the Trump 2020 campaign has not caused their Republican candidates to abandon the President. “There are two options, you can be on this hell ship, or you can be in the water drowning,” one told Miller. Miller’s report from the U.S.S. Hellship suggests that the trapped sailors are well aware of how badly Trump is faring but are unable to bail out—especially in competitive elections, where the Party can ill afford to lose any Republican votes. In rural Texas, one of Miller’s informants pointed out, “Trump gets like Saddam Hussein level numbers here.” Cornyn desperately needs those Trump superfans in order to win statewide. Loyalty to Trump among such voters now outweighs any policy position, which means that catering to them requires Cornyn to strike a hard pro-Trump line, even if it further alienates the suburban moderates now wavering on the President. “No dissent is tolerated,” a consultant in another state told Miller. And, besides, another strategist told him, the election is all about Trump—there’s no use pretending otherwise. Their observations are strikingly similar to a conversation that I had last month with a veteran Republican pollster, whose clients are running in competitive states. I asked him whether, given the bad and worsening poll numbers, we might soon see his candidates running away from the President. “I don’t think so,” he said, citing the Trump Twitter curse. “He stirs up his base all the time, so you can’t take a position to reach out to the independents who have trouble with his persona, because the Republican Trump base will turn on you in a second.” And so the Hellship sails on.
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There are many other factors, of course, ranging from the fight that has already begun for control over the post-Trump Republican Party to the default partisanship that makes Republicans believe that sticking with Trump, no matter how disastrous his decisions may be or how distasteful they find his fulminations, is better than the Democratic alternative.
Another factor to consider is the spectre of 2016. There are many politicians who remain convinced that, with Trump having pulled off a historic upset once before, he can somehow make the improbable happen again, polls be damned. The President is clearly in this camp, but so are a number of Democrats scarred by the false confidence of four years ago. “I don’t believe these numbers,” Debbie Dingell, a representative from the swing state of Michigan, told an online Democratic event recently, after yet another set of polls came out showing Biden well ahead in her must-win state. Dingell, who has taken to calling herself Debbie Downer, comes by her skepticism legitimately, having warned the Hillary Clinton campaign, unsuccessfully, that it was in trouble in Michigan in 2016, despite polls that showed Clinton comfortably ahead. A new Monmouth University survey suggests that, in Pennsylvania, there are many people who agree with Dingell. Although the poll showed Biden leading Trump by thirteen points in the state—which, like Michigan, is another Democratic electoral must-win—fifty-seven per cent of voters said that they believed there was a hidden pro-Trump vote that was not turning up in the surveys. “The specter of a secret Trump vote looms large in 2020,” the survey’s director, Patrick Murray, concluded.
Perhaps it is fitting that the fate of President Trump, a Presidential liar for the ages, should come down to the question of whether large numbers of Americans are lying to pollsters about their support for him. Either way, there is a lesson here. Imagine if Republicans lose this fall because they would not, or could not, believe that their fellow-citizens might actually be telling the truth?
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