‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ Goes Both Ways
The closer we get to November, the more I'm getting really down about this Trump stuff.
Bonkers, just bonkers. He's the Democrats' best friend!
More:
Along those lines, a conservative reader emails:
In “Tired of the Trump Drama,” you said:
Given the economic situation, and given how far to the Left the Biden Democrats have governed on social issues, Republicans ought to retake the house in a landslide, and ought to have a decent shot at winning the Senate. They're now talking about how the Senate looks increasingly out of reach for the GOP, and that the Democrats may not lose nearly as big in the House as they have feared -- and might even hold on to it.
At this point, I wouldn’t expect any kind of resounding outcome in November. Take a look at this latest CBS poll:
Now, it’s one poll, but given Biden’s low approval ratings and how things have been going generally, you’d expect to see more of a turn against the Left. However, these numbers almost never seem to change. Specifically, the fact that Republicans still cannot decisively win Independents is a very bad sign. You can decry the Democrats all you’d like, but the fact is, they do a much better job of winning over voters than the Republicans. When faced with a choice between someone who makes false promises vs. no promises at all, most people will always cast a vote for someone who promises them something. The student debt forgiveness is a perfect example. It’s bad policy, but it’s great politics.
Simply put – no matter Biden’s approval ratings, people don’t see a worthwhile alternative on the Right. Honestly, I can’t blame them, either. The Republicans really need to focus more at the local level and address serious concerns on the part of the public, this is their only route to victory.
That said, if I were to be cynical, I wouldn’t mind it if the Democrats continue to control government because if things are going to get worse, it’s better they be in charge than the Republicans. The problem is, by the time people realize the Democrats are the problem, it might be too late.
Yes, I will almost certainly vote for Trump if he is the 2024 nominee, because the party of child mutilators, liberal racism, and war with Russia is far worse than anything Trump is likely to do. But once again, I'm sick and tired of the conservative movement making itself beholden to the vagaries of Donald Trump's addled mind.
Subscribe Today
Get daily emails in your inbox
The damn country is falling apart, but we're talking about Trump, as if he is capable of doing anything other than making us talk about him, and wondering what he's going to do next. Seriously, the wheels are coming off in a big way, and the Right, which has a perfectly good, effective populist (or populist-adjacent) governor in Ron DeSantis, who could be the GOP standard-bearer in 2024, instead has its head up Trump's backside. Meanwhile, the Democrats rack up wins that they don't deserve. Republicans need independents. Trump is toxic to independents. I know how it goes: when people like me say that, some of you say "Trump Derangement Syndrome strikes again!" You know what? TDS goes both ways. It is keeping many of you from recognizing reality, and what is in the best interest of our troubled country.
And no, Trumpist goofball candidates do not help either, In Maryland, where Larry Hogan leaves office with a deep reservoir of good will among all but the knee jerk Left, the GOP threw away its chance at retaining the governor's mansion with a MAGA guy who could probably cut it in red Mississippi but not in blue Maryland. The GOP needed to take a page from the Democrats play'book of 2006: A fifty state election, disputing every race with candidates who are electable, and positions that fit with the voting electorate, not the Maestro of Mar al Lago.
I think the Dems are deluding themselves right now, the polling I've seen is pretty damn inconsistent. That being said, they could get a beating in the house and still easily keep the Senate, because of the favorable map this year for them.
I will say it now and will say it often. Populism is the key. Even left populism, which is often borderline dysfunctional vote bribery and attacks on tangible capital investment, is quite potent, so if you don't have right populism of your own, you will lose in the long run. Populism is much more important than nationalism right now. Trump is a populist in style, but less so in substance.
The centerpiece of right populism should be family subsidies and dismantling the bureaucracies.
I have no desire for Trump to run again. He makes horrible personnel decisions. He causes problems for himself. He struggles to complete tasks. He underestimated the corruption of the federal bureaucracy and actually believed politicians dictated policy. He is completely stuck in the NYC media market mentality he started in decades ago.
Yeah, his fans love Trump, like a celebrity. A lot of them were apolitical prior to 2015. Others appreciate his policies that improved their own lives. A lot are just mindless fanboys, like Obama had millions of mindless fanboys, especially in the media, including those who talked about Obama's clothing choices. And let's not start on the Hillary fangirls, especially in the media, fawning over the most unlikable politician in the last 50 years.
That doesn't make the Trump fanboys deranged. They are not fabricating dossiers and getting the FBI to do their dirty work, laundering lies through the media.
I remember people who got deranged over Obama. "He's a communist!" I said to them the same thing I told the TDS sufferers "Step back and look at policy and actions." They wouldn't listen.
Yes, the Dems can't get over Trump because they have nothing else. They have been horrible for the country. But that doesn't mean that you need to do article after article on Trump.
They do. Trump's problem was that he had (and still has) no idea how to do so.