Trump’s Done.
Finished, Kaput. Only his most loyal madmen are flaunting Trump. This last sex scandal hits home to everyone, their wives, and daughters. It’s not some ‘other’ group now. It’s Republicans too.
Hillary has no coat tails.
I haven’t seen evidence of coat tails for Hillary except as a reaction to the statements of Trump. 20 years of Republican hate just isn’t moving the pointer in Hillary’s direction.
All Republican money is now shifting to the down-ticket races.
Republican operatives are admitting that money is flowing away from the Trump Campaign into the down-ticket campaigns. Republicans trying hard to keep control of the Senate, and knowing they can keep the House.
Republican focus will now be on Hillary’s leaked speeches.
They will maintain the focus of hate in the hopes that disassociating from Trump will fog the campaign enough for Senators and Congressmen to maintain their seats. It’s still hate Hillary in the Republican playbook and that won’t change. These speeches are to Hillary what Tax Returns are to Trump.
Hillary can move the needle tonight.
When (not if) she is attacked on the speeches, she needs to show growth and learning, a greater understanding of the economy, the greed of the 1% shown to her by her main Primary opponent, Bernie Sanders. Be for Fair trade, not Free Trade. Banks and Wall Street need to be more tightly regulated (Wells Fargo).
She can (correctly) claim that these views came about from the Primary race, that experience leading to understanding of the excesses of the Wall Street sector, and the need for correcting it.
Fair Trade can lift all boats, Free Trade is a failing experiment and demonstration of unchecked greed.
Tonight’s Hillary focus should be coat tails.
How to convince the heartland where business has failed and left for expat pastures is Hillary’s major problem tonight. They all blame her (and Obama) for the decline of their position in the economy. This is her chance to show them that she does hear them, and care, and that something positive needs to be done. BUT she will not be able to accomplish this if she has no coat tails, if Republicans are in charge of the Congress and continue with their Scorched Earth policies of opposing the Democrat, just because she is a Democrat. (example: Scorched Earth = Supreme Court nomination)
Unless Hillary gets coat tails.
She becomes a ineffectual as Obama is. Reduced to Executive orders to keep the economy on life support, or growing with a lot of pain for the 99%. Without coat tails, Hillary fails to win, by winning.