Trump's successes are symptoms of the GOP's failure to address the problems and dissatisfactions of a large group of Americans. Trump will eventually fade away but his supporters will find another person who can represent their rage and goals.
This sort of populism is going to be around for a while. It survives and thrives on FUD and anger towards apparently privileged and undeserving minorities. It doesn't need policy success to keep its supporters engaged.
Agreed.
Trump was definitely a factor in the mid-term. But it is so hard to say how that balanced out. He might have convinced just as many to vote Republican as he alienated from the Republican Party.
I also doubt Trump will destroy the GOP. He is nevertheless a long-term threat to the party. Many other Republicans can easily carry on Trump's legacy of divisive politics without him having to be active. The Republican Party is about to discover what happens when you lie with snakes. (with apologies to innocent, well-behaved snakes everywhere....)
So this DeSantis character? Will he dial back some of the rhetoric if he makes a formal run for president?
So what do the results say given the GOP narrative was inflation, crime, immigration, oilâ¦the democrats abortion and personal rights, trump/election deniers?
Perhaps more voters than we thought understand the full story of inflation, that most democrats dont literally believe in defunding the police, and that personal rights matter.
Good post. The two main parties might as well have been talking past each other.
I recall wondering if Americans are much more like Canadians than I had previously thought. I knew who I would vote against but had no idea who I would vote for.
The US Federal Reserve did not do the Democrats any favours with their incredibly timid response to recovery from the pandemic and high inflation rates. The Biden White House did not do the party any favours with the "Inflation Reduction (sic) Act" and a continuation of deficit-financed expenditures and transfers well after economic recovery had started. It gave the impression that the Democrats could be just as fiscally irresponsible as the Republicans (recall President Trump's Marxist-Keynesian fiscal policy) and were essentially all about helping "their constituencies", e.g., student loan forgiveness.
Given how fractured the Republican Party currently is, I am somewhat surprised they have performed as well as they have.
Otherwise, once again, the USA has a lame duck President running the country. Too bad. More policy inertia to come.
Do you actually believe that being a declared candidate is going to slow down or stop any pending or potential litigation regarding Trump ?
That only works for democrats.
There really is a double standard when it comes down to who gets away with what that is based on which political party one is in.
Which Democrat do you believe evaded prosecution by declaring a candidacy?
Trump will run because he wants the power and glory of being President. He might believe that as President, he can avoid indictments stemming from current investigations. If he does think that, it would be logical to force the delay of pending indictments until the '24 campaign season. I doubt that tactic would work against the current DOJ, given the advanced state of those probes.
Being President again would help him and his family win more business deals. It would also vindicate his fantasy that the '20 election was stolen from him.
I don't see Trump intentionally or unintentionally destroying the GOP. He may damage or topple its conventional leaders like Mitch McConnell, but his influence is waning and he doesn't have the energy, will or alliances to build a new conservative party.
And if he didn't inadvertently kill the GOP with his actions between the 2020 election and January 6, he's not going inadvertently do it now.
Trump's successes are symptoms of the GOP's failure to address the problems and dissatisfactions of a large group of Americans. Trump will eventually fade away but his supporters will find another person who can represent their rage and goals.
This sort of populism is going to be around for a while. It survives and thrives on FUD and anger towards apparently privileged and undeserving minorities. It doesn't need policy success to keep its supporters engaged.
Seven former or current senators who called for Franken's resignation in 2017 told Mayer they regretted doing so. Patrick Leahy said calling for Franken's resignation without having all the facts was "one of the biggest mistakes I've made" as a senator. New Mexico senator Tom Udall said, "I made a mistake. I started having second thoughts shortly after he stepped down. He had the right to be heard by an independent investigative body. I've heard from people around my state, and around the country, saying that they think he got railroaded. It doesn't seem fair. I'm a lawyer. I really believe in due process." Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "It's terrible what happened to him. It was unfair. It took the legs out from under him. He was a very fine senator."[149]
Accusations that the forced resignation was unfair were described as a liability to Gillibrand's presidential campaign in mid-2019.[150] In a 2018 Politico article, Franken supporters accused Gillibrand of doing damage that Republicans could not have done, given Franken's effectiveness in the Senate. Prominent Democratic fundraiser Susie Tompkins Buell said that the episode "stained [Gillibrand's] reputation as a fair player. I do hear people refer to Kirsten Gillibrand as 'opportunistic' and shrewd at the expense of others to advance herself, and it seems to have been demonstrated in her rapid treatment of her colleague Al Franken. I heard her referred to as 'She would eat her own,' and she seems to have demonstrated that. I know [Gillibrand] thought she was doing the right thing, but I think she will be remembered by this rush to judgment. I have heard [that] some of her women colleagues regret joining her."[151]
- I think Trump's run in 2024 is more about putting the justice department and the courts in the position of having to prosecute a candidate for President. Not a good look.
Do you actually believe that being a declared candidate is going to slow down or stop any pending or potential litigation regarding Trump ?
That only works for democrats.
There really is a double standard when it comes down to who gets away with what that is based on which political party one is in.
