The D.C. Republicans Know That Trump Is Toast
My last piece predicted a big Biden victory based upon past historical trends. I pointed out that a poor economy, low approval ratings and a perception of incompetence in the past have all doomed the re-election bids of incumbent presidents. Interestingly enough, I was pleasantly surprised that this article was one of my post popular ones ever. I want to thank my readers for the positive response. It was gratifying.
At the same time, we’re receiving hints and clues from the Republicans in Washington that Trump is likely to lose the election and the Democrats are going to gain control of the Senate. Behind the scenes, the likes of Mitch McConnell aren’t buying the delusional happy talk coming from Donald Trump and his followers.
A big tell is that Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham are actually contacting senior GOP appointed judges and asking them to retire before the end of the year. The Senate Republicans would like to have Trump appoint their replacements rather than Joe Biden. If the D.C. Republicans were confident about their electoral prospects, they wouldn’t be reaching out to federal judges like this. This pressure being put on judges to retire isn’t ordinary.
Another big clue is that Mitch McConnell is warning Democrats against eliminating the filibuster rule should they win the election. This certainly should tell all of us that McConnell is expecting that he will be in the minority next year.
I would advise the D.C. Democrats to ignore McConnell’s so-called warning. If the Kentucky Senator wants to maintain the filibuster rule, that tells me that this rule is bad for the country and bad for the Democratic party. Right wingers have abused the filibuster rule since the 1950s to obstruct progressive reforms that would benefit African-Americans and working families.
Between 2009 and 2017, McConnell abused the filibuster rule in an attempt to destroy Barack Obama’s presidency and sabotage the economy. Already, McConnell and his GOP Senate colleagues are scheming to destroy a Biden presidency.
The reality is that the right wing agenda largely consists of deficit funded tax cuts for the wealthy and big business. The Republicans can pass that agenda with 51 votes in the Senate using the budget reconciliation rules. In contrast, Democrats can’t use the budget reconciliation rules to pass universal health care, gun safety reform and climate change legislation.
Senate Republicans who are facing tough re-election campaigns are also sending a strong message that they believe the polls. In their recent television and internet ads, Thom Tillis, Corey Gardner and Martha McSally haven’t mentioned Trump. As the Washington Post reported: “In their campaign ads back home, it’s as if the unpopular incumbent president doesn’t exist, as Republicans choose instead to highlight their own achievements or go on the attack against their Democratic challengers.”
The D.C. Republicans are already beginning to pretend that they never supported Trump. If Trump was popular and headed for re-election, one would think that these Republicans would embrace him. Instead, they are playing the voters and the press for chumps. Republican propaganda depends upon voter amnesia and bad memories.
There will come a day where you won’t be able to find any Republicans who will admit that they once were fired up about Trump. We can’t let the voters forget about a second consecutive failed GOP presidency. We can’t count on the mainstream media to remind people about Trump’s failures. As Democrats, we have the duty to refresh memories. Fomer George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum said it best: “When this is all over, nobody will admit to ever having supported it.”
I would recommend that you commit your time and/or money to good Congressional and legislative candidates. Elections have consequences. Let’s chase the money changers out of the temple in 2020! Together, we can whip the corona virus and take our country back!