Politics The 2020 US Presidential Election

Possibly a large number of Trump supporters are taking Covid-19 more seriously than Trump himself does.

My hope is Trump's base is shrinking because many of his now former supporters see him for the buffoon* that he has revealed himself to be.

*Buffoon in the sense that Idi Amin was seen as one.

 

I'm looking at the only thing that matters, which is the number of votes each candidate gets in my county. It doesn't matter much about who the candidate is, if you have a R behind your name, you get 60-66% of the vote, and the D candidate gets 33-40%. Trump got 0.7% fewer votes than Romney.

And while I did expect that the diehard passionate Trump supporters would have made the trip to the rally, maybe a few of them were worried about the virus. Because I don't see their enthusiasm going down when it comes to voting against the left-wing Democrats around here.

 

This ^ reminds me of Texas voters.


I'm also hoping that many now former Trumpers who can't bring themselves vote for a Democrat will at least not vote for Trump. It would be unrealistic to expect a large number of former Trumpers to vote for Biden.

 

I'm thinking that a lot of moderate Republicans now have an old white male they can comfortably vote for over The Impeached 45 so they don't feel so bad.
They never would have voted for Hillary but now it's okay.
Biden is just enough like them that they can do it.

 

Will this number be significant? Enough to swing a few electoral college votes?

If enough groups who supported Trump, for respective narrow reasons, as part of The 2016 Perfect Storm of Discontent, jump ship, we could be rid of Trump.

 

I don't know about swinging the election per se but will certainly put a dent in any kind of lead he might have.
Part of the problem with all of the polling is there are people who won't admit to voting for him because they don't want to be seen as racist, homophobic, etc. etc.
But when they get in the booth they will vote for him.
So in this case the moderates will balance them out.

The only way we can beat The Impeached 45 without things getting really ugly is if there is a good sized lead and even then there will be some problems.
There are way too many people posting videos of themselves shooting up targets labeled 'Libruls' and 'Antifa', then holding them up and proclaiming that this is what will happen if The Impeached 45 looses.

 

I don't see an armed conflict if The Shyster doesn't get reelected. Even his most hardcore base should recognize the futility of going against the military &/or National Guard.

It would be horrible thing for the US.

And it would be sight to behold. Like trying not to look at a spectacular car wreck.

Edit: Misguided people resorting to domestic terrorism would be a possibility.

 

Alaskan Republicans are a weird bunch and don't fit into the normal mold.
While a good portion of them are going to be loyal to The Impeached 45, I'm sure you've noticed that Lisa Murkowski is not always.
She represents what is known as the Bush Republican.
Governor Jay Hammond, who I voted for, was one of the perfect examples of the Bush Republican.
This isn't Bush as in the Bush family but Bush as in the far backwoods of Alaska, the villages and towns that can't be reached by road.
These are people who might be conservative to a certain degree but are first and foremost Alaskans.

 

Several groups of Republicans have been formed over the last year or two

Republicans for the Rule of Law was the first, created by mainline conservative media figures like Bill Kristol.

The Lincoln Project was formed by conservative Republican lawyers including George Conway, the husband of Trump senior advisor, Kelllyanne Conway. It has produced a number of hard hitting 30 sec and 1 minute campaign ads against Trump (can be found on the website).

The most recent group is Republican Voters Against Trump. These are ordinary Republicans who voted for Trump in 2016 and wont do so in 2020, “I’d vote for a tuna fish sandwich before I’d vote for Donald Trump again.” They make their own short videos that the Biden campaign is putting out in it its online campaign media. There are close to 100 videos and growing by the day (on the website)

There are lots of decent, honest conservatives who are appalled by what Trump has done to the Republican Party. Their influence remains to be seen.

 

Here is the latest ad from the Lincoln Project, following the underwhelming rally last night in Tulsa.



DONALD TRUMP HAS A SIZE PROBLEM
Trump’s got a size problem. It’s not growing, in fact, it’s shrinking. And the whole world saw. We’re talking about Donald Trump’s crowds, of course. Despite a “record-setting one million tickets sold,” the Trump campaign couldn’t fill a 19,000 person stadium in the heart of Trump land. What a letdown.

Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project said, “Donald Trump can’t deliver on his wall. He can’t deliver on COVID-19 testing. And now he can’t even deliver crowds.” He continued, “The only thing Trump is good for is a cheap laugh.”

Donald Trump has a size problem | The Lincoln Project

 

Very few. One married couple I know have turned against The Shyster. The wife is a contrarian, hubby thought The Shyster was actually going to "drain the swamp."

Covid-19 changed their minds because they have a son with an immunological disorder who's in college. Shyster's lack of leadership disheartened them.

 

I know about 5 Trump supporters. 4 are religious and anti-abortion, so they aren't going to vote for a Democrat. 1 is an Obama -> Trump voter because of the criminal Mexican issue. Plus he is one of the blue collar types and knows that trade deals screwed over workers in America. Immigration didn't help his friends get jobs with the added competition for them.

I'm not sure what is going to happen if he loses. I fear that it won't be a good thing if the first order the new Democratic President has to give is to shoot protestors and armed insurgents that have surrounded the White House in large numbers. Especially after the tear gassing of protestors for a picture a few weeks ago in the same area.

Now, after the Tulsa rally, I'm not sure what is happening to his base and enthusiasm. But if they think the Democrats are going to come in and destroy their lifestyle and culture, the right is going to put up a fight of some sort. I don't know if they will get large numbers to make a stand, or if the military and local police would refuse the orders to attack them. Now, maybe the new President could go fly on Air Force 1 or to some secondary location and just wait them out. In January with no bathrooms, no new water supplies, no food resupply, loud music/noises to prevent them from sleeping, and if it is cold I have a feeling that they wouldn't last long there.

The issue is what happens when they start doing the domestic terrorism as a mob type of thing. Especially if they are suicidal and the rules don't apply to them anymore.

 

Mike Pence reminds me of a corporate attorney turned corporate media relations spokesperson (spin doctor) turned politician.

Someone posted, I forget who it was a while back, not to be fooled by Pence just because he's more palatable than Trump. I totally agree with that.

Just in case anyone is hoping to see Pence take over, if Trump gets reelected.

 

Pence, Paul Ryan, and Ted Cruz scare me a lot more than Trump if they got into power. Now, I'm not sure they would be willing to take the radical steps that Trump has taken with disregard, but they would be much more adapt at getting policy done without drawing media criticism. I'm not sure if any old Presidents have done this in the far past, but Trump has shown that if you support your base and do their will, that the approval rating you get is very high within your party.

 

The virus and the protests have unified the left a lot more than I was expecting 4-5 months ago. I'm sure if Biden wins, that the protests will be just as big next year if things don't change, but the lacking leadership during this time is just too obvious to ignore.

The desire to overhaul the healthcare system, and what taxpayer money is spent on is still there though. Along with reforming the police budgets and cleaning up the environment.

 

So King Shyster didn't hear the "White Power!" shouts at the start of the video he retweeted. No apology, no condemnation, just the lame excuse.

King Shyster didn't receive the intelligence reports that Russia offered (and paid???) bounties to Taliban fighters for killing US soldiers. But many top officials say yes he did. Now the story is he did receive them--and actually read them--but decided they weren't credible. Does anyone believe this? Oh, must mention other intelligence agencies considered the reports credible.

King Shyster has said very little about Covid-19. In fact he's been keeping a low "live" profile recently, letting his spokesperson handle the tough questions.

Is King Shyster feeling OK?

Is he listening to advice to avoid in person exchanges? Other than his rallies.


I think Biden should be doing more to challenge Shyster. What, exactly, I'm not sure. Maybe present how he would've handled Covid-19.

But he has to be carefully criticizing Shyster. Factual criticism can quickly become unfair persecution in the minds of some voters.

 

One rule of thumb in politics is that if your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, don't get in the way.