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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Campaign Is About To Take A Very Dangerous Turn, And Democrats Should Be Extremely Alarmed
Last edited Tue Sep 1, 2020, 06:42 PM - Edit history (1)
This is going to get very dark, very quickly. Donald Trumps election campaign might not be disciplined, well-run, or even particularly smart. But it has several advantages that Joe Bidens does not, most of which stem from the presidents total disregard for political norms and normal human decency. While Trump has an assembly of campaign managers, spokespeople and organizers around him, he has molded his current operation into a mirror of himself. While this means total dysfunction and chaos at all levels, Trump has historically shown a remarkable ability to survive self inflicted disaster and come out on top. It is a dangerous mistake to think that Trump is politically stupid. He isnt.https://thebanter.substack.com/p/trumps-campaign-is-about-to-take
Do not underestimate Trump
If Joe Bidens campaign is to deliver the resounding victory they badly need to get rid of Trump, they need to pay very, very close attention to what is happening in his campaign right now, and make sure they have the ability to counter repeatedly. And hard. While the president is a narcissistic sociopath with little ability to control his egoic impulses, his political instincts can be unnervingly good. Trump doesnt strategize per se, but he has an uncanny ability to sense the mood of his supporters, instill fear in white Americans, and sow chaos to his advantage. This mastery of the dark arts of politics delivered him victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and has allowed him to completely takeover the GOP and turn it into his own personality cult. Trumps political weaponry should never be underestimated, because as Hillary Clinton recently warned Biden, the president is somebody unlike anyone you've been involved with before in politics, someone who lies with impunity, who literally will say anything, try to throw you off your game." More than that, Trump will literally do anything to throw Biden of his game too. Trumps strategy in politics is to engage in all out warfare by throwing as many things at his opponent as possible. Trump, it should be remembered, brought Bill Clintons sexual assault accusers to a press conference before his debate with Hillary Clinton, literally stalked her on stage, and then promised to throw her in jail. This year, the Trump campaign is going even darker.
Law and Order Is Trumps Issue
As Black Lives Matter protests flare up around the country in response to police violence, the country is embroiled in what could be described as low level civil war. Armed right wing militias are driving into cities to fight protestors, and sometimes kill them. Reported the NYTimes: The police in Kenosha shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back, fueling protests there and elsewhere, while right-wing groups in Portland came into the city to confront Black Lives Matter demonstrators. Last week in Kenosha, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois went to the scene of unrest there openly carrying a rifle and saying he had come to protect businesses. Before the night was over, two people had been fatally shot, and Mr. Rittenhouse has now been charged with homicides. With the violence, Trump has found his opportunity. Pointedly, Trump has refused to condemn the white militias or Kyle Rittenhouse (despite clear video footage of the violence and killings), and instead has been laying the blame on antifa, Black Lives Matters protestors, and liberal mayors of cities hit by violence. He has been threatening to send in federal troops to quell protestors and done absolutely nothing to try to calm the situation down. As Joe Biden noted in a powerful speech yesterday in Pennsylvania, he cant stop the violence because for years hes fomented it. Trump wants more tension on the streets, more violence, and more police brutality. Why? Because he understands the optics help sell him as the law and order candidate.
The New Strategy
The GOP convention last week starkly laid out this new strategy. Every speaker knew what to say; the country is out of control, Democrats hate the police, and Donald Trump is the only one who can maintain law and order. Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans or whether we give free rein to violent anarchists and agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens, Trump told the audience gathered at The White House. How can the Democratic Party ask to lead our country when it spent so much time tearing down our country? Trump understands that he needs to claw back educated white people who live in the suburbs, particularly women if he is to capture the Electoral College. He has been busy alarming them about low income housing invading the suburbs (read: black people) under a Biden administration, and knows white suburban voters care a great deal about law and order. Like a rat scavenging for food, Trump has sniffed out the one area where he believes he can eat into Bidens substantial lead. Evidence from recent polls show that it is working as Trump narrowed the gap between him and Biden significantly. With this kind of data, Trump is going to do everything in his power to ensure there is more hate, more racism, and more violence in the coming weeks.
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Demsrule86
(68,347 posts)Carry on.
Response to Demsrule86 (Reply #1)
elleng This message was self-deleted by its author.
Celerity
(42,645 posts)he started his own site.
It's ridiculous.
Celerity
(42,645 posts)simple search will show this. I have posted his articles for a long time and never had such a hostile reaction, so that is all on you as strictly your own singular opinion. As for your slating it as 'hand-wringing' and 'bullshit', I find that to be unfairly dismissive. We cannot afford to take anything for granted as the stakes are too high.
Carry on.
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)something that Democrats and, certainly, Joe Biden began planning for three months ago.
qazplm135
(7,447 posts)he's gone dark twice now trying to redo ads
he's running ads and spending money in places where if he loses the state, it's already a blowout while not spending in some key battleground states like he should
he still hasn't defined Biden in any way that remotely sticks
he routinely says stupid shit
he has no plans for the next four years
he has made little to no movement in the polls since the convention which should be his apex in the race
Crime is at best 5th on the list of voter concerns and there is no indication it's going to rise over the economy or COVID
If Trump were truly not "politically stupid," he would do the following:
1. Push for a broad economic bill closer to the republicans, pushing back against the republicans and thus burnishing his credentials with independents and moderates and having at least a chance of the economy improving enough for a narrow re-election
2. Trying to appear as deeply serious about COVID and solving it to ease voter concerns that he is not equipped to handle it
Just those two things would give him a shot. Not a great shot, but a shot.
But he's incapable of doing either or conceiving of either. He instead falls lazily back on racism and white fear, which is basically all he ran on last time.
He's a one trick mule (pony is giving him too much credit).
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)betsuni
(25,122 posts)Last time he ran on racism and being an outsider again the Republican establishment. He's still trying to be an outsider, but with this law & order stuff it's as if he's running against himself in a way. It's usual for Republicans to run against the government even when they are the government, but I don't think anyone except his hard core supporters are going to still consider him an innocent bystander fighting the establishment and nothing is his fault. I'm hoping all this being scared of Joe Biden and Democrats makes him look weak.
Hugin
(32,778 posts)
"This mastery of the dark arts of politics delivered him victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016..."
Trump won no 'victory' in 2016. He was installed by a complicit legislature using an arcane set of loopholes and 'but...but...but..'s. There was no victory for Trump and there isn't likely to ever be one.
Leith
(7,802 posts)Who the hell is he gonna try to kid?
chumpy's administration has had more indictments and convictions than Nixon's and Reagan's combined. His National Security Advisor (Flynn) had to resign after a mere 22 days on the job because of his coziness with the Russians.
His campaign advisor (Manafort) dragged down 2 of his associates and is still in prison.
He commuted the sentence of another advisor (Roger Stone) after his conviction and before he was due to start his sentence.
chumpy himself has numerous court cases pending for crimes that include rape, sex with minors, financial crimes, and fraud.
That's what I came up with in the first 10 seconds. There are thousands more examples.