The media keeps suggesting there may be hidden Trump voters... [View all]

[Tom Rinaldo]

Last edited Sat Oct 24, 2020, 02:09 PM - Edit history (1)

They are hidden all right: in fact they are so hard to see because they are being blocked out by millions of disgruntled former Trump supporters and newly engaged Democratic voters.

Of course there are some "hidden" or "secret" or "shy" Trump voters. With some 160 million or so voters out there, there are some of everything. You know what else there are? There are "hidden" or "secret" or "shy" Biden voters too. Those include voters too embarrassed to admit out loud that they could have been so wrong about Trump. Those include life long "Red Dog" Republicans who have a hard time admitting that, for the first time in their life, they will vote for a Democrat' and not just any Democrat, but Barack Obama's VP who has chosen a Black woman to be his own VP. Those voters also include some Republican women married to blow hard Trump supporters who just don't want to rock the boat at home.

But focusing on hidden voters misses the forest for the trees. The American electorate changed dramatically the day after Election Day of 2016, and all evidence supports a conclusion that nothing will change it back while Donald J. Trump remains in office. We have held annual elections since then in 2017, 2018, and 2019, along with numerous special elections throughout those years, and in almost every case Democrats have outperformed. Forget worrying about "hidden voters", and look at the masses assembling in plain sight eager to remove Trump from the presidency. Look at grassroots fundraising, look at early and mail voting, look at all the voices screaming at the top of their lungs that this is the most important election of our lives and everyone has to vote!

Democrats and others who lean to the left are not going to sit out this election. Complacency might have been an issue in prior election cycles prior, but not in this one. Our side is turning out, and we are being joined by increasing numbers of Republicans and right leaning Independents who still actually believe in decency, and the integrity of both our Republic and our international alliances.

There are just two real arguments given for why Biden supporters should not express confidence in his victory. Actually there is only one, the other argument is only relevant for pollsters and pundits. Those political pros are worried about damaging their credibility if they somehow get it wrong and openly suggest that Trump is going down hard but then get it wrong, after Trump already defied the odds once in 2016. Their reputation potentially getting besmirched might be something for them to lose some sleep over since their living depends on it, but worrying about bragging rights doesn't make the list of actual voter concerns: Our lives may well be riding on the outcome of this election.

The other reason given to reign in the specter of "over confidence" is that "over confidence" leads to slackening off, pf not following through, of failing to do all that we can and must do to defeat Donald Trump. May I suggest that there is a core difference between the concept of "confidence" and that of "over confidence?" No one, by literal definition, defends "over confidence" or says that it is a good thing. Over confidence does not exist on the Democratic side of the spectrum this year, because we are not even confident that we can reverse most of the damage to our country that Trump has already done even if Joe Biden is elected President. We are scared for the future of our Democracy. Just evicting Trump from the White House isn't enough. We need a resounding victory to roll back Trumpism with or without Trump in office. We need solid control of the U.S. Senate, we need control of State Legislatures. And we need margins of victory substantial enough that it becomes near impossible for Republicans to steal this election.

And to achieve that we need confidence that all of our efforts can be rewarded. Virtually any scenario conceivable for Trump to steal this election starts out with a premise that the polls must have all been wrong, that "hidden Trump voters" somehow propelled him into an upset victory. Fuck that. We are laying the groundwork for a contested election if we buy into the plausibility of that scenario. We are handing them their weapon of choice on a silver plate by conjuring up the menace of "hidden Trump voters" now. They are like left over ghosts from Halloween, you can't see them but they must be there. Meanwhile we have hoards of defecting Seniors and principled Republicans deserting Trump, and legions of women, highly energized African Americans, and passionately engaged youth coming out for Biden/Harris.

If Trump supporters become demoralized less of them will come out to vote. If they think that Trump still has a chance more of them will come out to vote. I say let's go all in with confidence of victory, and celebrate the likelihood of election results that will go down in history by making additional donations to Democrats, additional phone calls for Democrats, additional outreach to our friends and neighbors for Democrats. Let's pile on with enthusiasm. We have work to do, both before and after Election Day.