Larry Elder's mammoth defeat may signal the death rattle of Trumpism. [Maybe]

[Soph0571]

The vote was roughly 2-to-1 against the recall. That's a landslide by any measure. Indeed, when the results are certified, Newsom may have beaten the recall by a larger margin than his 2018 victory in the gubernatorial race.

For Republicans who backed the recall, that's a clear repudiation. And what makes it even more significant is that Newsom did some things as governor that stirred anger and resentment.
----
As word about Elder's jumbled, racist, misogynistic, anti-science and extreme anti-abortion beliefs got traction among Californians who had never listened to his radio rants, alarm bells started to go off. And not just among Democrats. Business leaders were also worried. And that caused voter turnout to soar.

Trumpism can't grow and regain power when all its got are made up tales of vote fraud. California voters just proved it by overwhelming margins at the polls.

[link:https://www.rawstory.com/larry-elder-donald-trump/|]
Emphasis mine

It is an interesting analysis. But way too optimistic IMO. I think I would have rephrased the headline - Elders defeat could be a signal, but probably not..

I mean the man got monstered of that there is no doubt. He got kicked so hard in his right wing balls that right now they are bigger than Nikki's cousins friend.

But a clear repudiation? There is danger in that type of thinking. That the bluest of blue California looked left and right and decided that kicking a far right religious cray cray Trump cult worshipper to the curb was a good plan is hardly surprising. The state that went 63.48% for Biden in the last GE went 67.5% for no. 34.2% voted for Trump and 32% voted for yes. This is not a repudiation of anything. I mean it demonstrates that a few more have got fed up of the utter rabid horror that is the GOP and it is a splendid outcome of course and well done Newsom, but this outcome does nothing to suggest that the cult is anything other than alive and well and living in unmoveable 30% cray cray land. The question for me is not why did Elder lose, but rather - where, with all the hate and nasty and voter suppression, could such an utter ethic and morality free zone of a man win? Cause 22 and 24 is not far away and there are too many places that think he is perfectly splendid with a side of black to prove that they, in the land of white supremacists, are not racist really... 'look at me I voted for a black man'.

Complacency is a danger zone that is every easy to fall into on the back of such a solid result - and the article is straying in that direction. Just sayin'

[Dorian Gray]

1. Honestly

I agree with the assessment that if the Republicans pushed for a NON-CRAZY candidate, they would have done a lot lot lot more damage against Newsom. But the MAGA world pushed for Elder, got what they wanted, and it resulted in losing MORE ground. So I'm cautiously optimistic that this assessment is correct.

They're losing ground. They lost ground in GA. They lost ground in CA. They lost ground in AZ.

People don't want chaos kook-fest.

[OnDoutside]

2. That's the one bright spot in this, that you have to be Trumpy to some extent, and that then hurts

you in a purple or blue state against a Democrat.

[NCDem47]

32. Yes.

They're being pushed out in blue states. Marginalized in purple states. And sent scurrying to the wild, wild West of red states.

[CrackityJones75]

24. I think that is sort of the point

The republican party is all about trump nuts now. That’s what they have become.

[Dorian Gray]

36. Right

and they won't get elected in a lot of places, which will erode Republican power.....

[Marius25]

42. Which is why they're ramping up the voter restriction laws

and gerrymandering.

Our issue is that it's getting harder and harder to win, because of Republican cheating and their built in EC/Senate advantage.

[uponit7771]

48. +1

[Scrivener7]

3. The media is obsessed with the right wing because it is crazy and makes for easy click bait and

and lurid headlines. But I do think the republiQan overreach everywhere is solidifying the resolution of the left.

Given the republiQan attempts to rig voting in their favor with the voting restrictions, it remains to be seen how this will all shake out.

[Escurumbele]

25. Agree 100% with your statement. trumpism is just "jerry springer" kind of show that brings audiences

but I do believe that deep inside people are very concerned about the crazies, deep inside they know its not good for the country, its not good for them.

I just want Democrats to be more forceful in bringing to light the craziness of the GOP, it has to be loud and clear, a parallel campaign dedicated only to show their craziness, their cruelty, their corruption, their lack of empathy, and all the horrible character attributes they display every day. And in that campaign they need to start hitting hard at Josh Hawley, he is a dangerous SOB.

[Deminpenn]

4. Trumpism, when not promoted by Trump himself,

is just not popular. In far less liberal PA in 2018, Scott Wagner who ran for governor against incumbent gov Wolf and as a Trump clone, got trounced by 17 points.

I take the CA recall results as a positive sign that Dems are paying attention and the non-affiliated voters are done with rw nuttiness.

[Cosmocat]

18. I think it is marginal

I am in mid central PA, my poker club is pretty much all righties, and they are a HOT mess of confident and seething with politics. I hear and sense this from all around, they believe they have momentum, that everyone is scared of them and they are going to punch through.

Without 45 on the ballot, yeah, they might not be 100 percent locked in, but Dems have to break a VERY clear pattern of not tuning in for mid terms and you can never count on the non-affiliateds, they buy into more of the right wing bullshit than not, and get sucked into the liberals are scum of the earth bullshit.

[certainot]

29. i'll bet without master limbaugh leading the lies and rationalization, trumpism is dead

i'll bet most of those righties were tuned into limbaugh or one or more of his wannabes and they are no longer all on the same page. with the limbaugh alternatives and the fox blowhards going in different directions, trump has no central messaging to follow either.

the political pollsters should be considered incompetent and not doing their due diligence until they finally ask trumpers something like: "would you say you listen to 0-5, 5-20, or 20+ hours of talk radio every week?" and maybe "what about the most influential family member or friend?"

[Deminpenn]

35. It's less marginal than you think

When Trump's on the ballot, he's pulled out the "unlikely" or new voters. Your friends have always been part of the GOP/libertarian rw and have pretty much always felt the way they do. Just because you are surrounded by them, don't think they are a majority because they aren't.

The voters only Trump can draw out aren't going to show up in the mid-terms. But you are correct that Dems need to turnout, especially in Philadelphia county.

[Cosmocat]

39. I don't believe that is the case

They aren't just taking their ball and going home, hws running in 2024 and they know it, and are engaged in what is going on now.

Cranked up over CRT and the fake virus and mask mandates, storming school board meetings, etc.

There is a LOT of anger action out there.

[Deminpenn]

43. Yes, there are angry people, but they're the same

people who are angry about everything to the left of Atilla the Hun and who vote in every election. And they are a minority despite making up a majority of where you are and in my area.

While they constitute a large segment of Trump voters, they aren't the infrequent/non-voter cultists that Trump has been able to pull in.

[Cosmocat]

44. I don't agree

But we will see.

[Deminpenn]

46. Ok, just saying don't feel isolated because

of where you live. I know it's easy to get discouraged when surrounded by wingnuts.

[YoshidaYui]

5. so long as they follow a Loser

they will lose. Pure and simple..

[mucifer]

6. Depends if a decent voting rights bill passes in congress. If not oy vey

[smirkymonkey]

7. K&R

[Tetrachloride]

8. That story is overly optimistic

1. There are 14 months until the 2022 main elections and 38 months until 2024.

2. Knowing the future is not too fun.

examples:

firestorms on 4 continents
suez canal blocked
afghanistan changes
Blue Georgia senators
no indictment of Trump, Cruz, McCarthy etc
Texas
my next door neighbor the meth user
getting along with my conservative neighbors that i have known for 20-50 years.

[Dr. Shepper]

9. That guy would have easily won

In many red states like the one in which I reside.

[Hortensis]

10. I agree with you and those who worry. Unfortunately, saying that all the trumpists have

is voter fraud strikes me as like saying all the Nazi followers of Hitler had was claims that Poland was persecuting Germans. That lie got old, and there were so few Jews that most Nazis eventually realized it was ridiculous to fear them, so naziism fizzled and died. Not quite.

What started as the Tea Party movement and quickly became far right, dominated by these people, didn't just die after it got out of control and the Koch alliance pulled its plug. It morphed under the leader they created into trumpism. The Republican leadership and their partners, set on their course of a RW takeover, can't control them but must keep them enraged against us.

So death rattle has to be fantasy, but if tRump fizzles and they don't find a new leader to fuel them, and if...etc, seems to me that eventually this movement's insane rage has to burn down to a fizzle. But their fears and resentments would continue.

[JoanofArgh]

11. If Trumpist candidates start losing in red/purple states , that will be the death of

Trumpism. Not before.

[Klaralven]

12. A Black Trumpist, while appealingly exotic, has little natural resonance with the far right base

[KG]

13. trumpism aint going away till trump does

[LenaBaby61]

14. Not even close to the end of tRumpism ...

[gab13by13]

15. Totally agree,

Elder is a crackpot and California is 2 to 1 Democratic.

[GoCubsGo]

16. Yep. Maybe it is in California. But, not elsewhere.

It's alive and well in The Old Confederacy, and in "flyover country."

[JT45242]

17. Nope...about the same numbers as trump in CALIFORNIA

California is an outlier. So a trump clone getting beaten at this rate is status quo.

He was getting about the exact same percent of the vote as tRump. So, in states that tRump won, a clone would likely get about the same

A repudiation would require over 70 percent no.

[The Jungle 1]

19. Keep in mind only 24% of Californians are republican.

They are smart out there.

[KS Toronado]

20. Does anyone know if Larry Elder is on FQX & non-friendly's

this morning talking about election fraud & how Democrats stole this election?

[SKKY]

21. Kamala will probably have to go back to Cali now and prosecute Gavin Newsom...

...for murdering Larry Elder's political career.

[FalloutShelter]

22. To me, this is the money shot...

" And not just among Democrats. Business leaders were also worried. And that caused voter turnout to soar. "

Business leaders were worried. Trumpism...Anti Vax, Anti-science, Anti-women, Anti-workers... is ultimately bad for business.

This is what will kill Trumpism. The Business dollar will go elsewhere, and the nutjob candidates will wither on the vine.

JMHO.

[Jon King]

23. Exactly, mega corporations make money from a stable country, Dem or Repug

These big corporations and their leaders make money in a stable America. Their kids and grand kids and nieces and nephews have great lives, go to college, get connected jobs, in a stable America.

Whether a Dem or Repug is in power only bothers them around the edges, is the tax rate 20 or 22% stuff. But they still have amazing lives either way.

Let Trumpism steal an election, overturn a result in GA and AZ and TX, and you destabilize the country. Mass strikes by Dem voters who had their votes truly stolen. Likely martial law declared. Let science be doubted by too many, China and India blast by us in new technology.

No big corp want to go that far down the Trump rabbit hole.

[sarchasm]

26. Congratulations CA! but ...

… those numbers are the exact opposite in my state in the last GE. A few points more blue, but the crazy is strong out here in the hinterlands. A lot of folks are moving here from CA because of low taxes and more affordable housing (for now) but it remains to be seen whether they are more D or R.

[jaxexpat]

27. Complacency is a persistent enemy.

[Cosmo Blues]

28. Being able to

Pop the champagne and light up by 8:30 p.m. was great after the tension of wondering if. Even though we haven't elected a republican for statewide office in years. Some Republicans will tell you had they just run a moderate Republican they would have gained more traction, they did, he got 5%

[DFW]

30. Elder lost because he was an obscure jerk. This is not the start of a change in the wind.

There is plenty of dark Republican money to put up incompetent right wing jerks around the country and place them into State legislatures, teaching positions, House races, Senate races, even the Supreme Court if they get the White House back.

[Champp]

31. If the Silly Boys (R) loser incel tantrum party in Washington is washed out on the 18th

That will be a SIGN from ABOVE that the Earth is indeed being cleansed of fake christians, fake conservatives, and pretend patriots.

[Blue Owl]

33. Suck it tRump you fat piece of shit

[Paladin]

34. I refuse to be optimistic at this point.

There have been way too many "trump is toast" statements before this for me to feel otherwise. We'd be foolish to yet again underestimate the sick, ignorant, hateful depths to which this nation has descended...

[Cosmocat]

40. Correct

nm

[lindysalsagal]

37. gqp will survive as a minority party for grifters.

but hopefully their ability to do harm is mitigated

[BradAllison]

38. It's California

Trump has been dead there since the start.

Same with NY, or Oregon or Massachusetts..............

[Wounded Bear]

41. Heard that one before. Not relaxing my guard, TBS...nt

[cardonay]

45. It's California

Trumpism in California isn't a bellwether of how Trumpism is doing nationally.
They spread misinformation that leads many voters to vote for Trump, especially in the South and swing states.
Let's not let our guard down because Democrats do great in California.

[roamer65]

47. As goes California, so goes the nation.

Any break by Repukes from Trumpism will need to start in CA first.

It will spread from there to NY and New England.

[SYFROYH]

49. The regal vote was almost exactly like the 2020 Presidential vote

Which are ginormous wins for Democrats both times but I don’t think it shows any change.

[JHB]

50. No, it'll take as least 3 mammoth defeats in a row to signal the end of Trumpism (maybe)...

...and besides, what's called "Trumpism" is just the standard Republican operating system that conservatives have spent their careers programing. It's only called "Trumpism" because some of the programmers want to disown the monster they built.


They've dealt with losses and setbacks before. They've simply waited it out until they found a new thing to latch on to so they could propel themselves back into the driver's seat.

They need to lose. Bigly and repeatedly. Once parts of that brick wall get the feeling that sticking together and toughing it out has ceased to be effective, their mortar will start falling apart, but not until then.