The key to winning in 2018 will be energized Democrats going to the polls in a midterm year … but it wouldn’t hurt if depressed or disgusted Republicans stayed home, and the New York Times does not appear to have had trouble finding those sentiments in four suburban, Republican-held districts around the country. There’s Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, where Tuesday night’s special election was shockingly close, and Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, where Jon Ossoff is also putting a serious scare into national Republicans, while local Republicans appear to be unhappy with their party:
At a well-tended shopping mall outside Atlanta, Eric Riehm, 48, said he was beginning to question the point of casting his ballot for Republicans.
“The vote seems to matter less and less, because nothing can be done, just like repealing Obamacare,” said Mr. Riehm, who works in information technology sales and voted for Mr. Trump.
Hey, the guy you voted for is in the White House despite losing the popular vote—don’t tell me about the vote mattering less and less. Meanwhile, in New Jersey:
Mr. Boyle, who said he usually votes Republican, faulted the party for failing to “do the homework” on health care, and criticized lawmakers for focusing on their own interests instead of forging bipartisan agreements.
“It’s all about ‘me,’ not about the better good of the overall population,” said Mr. Boyle, who recently retired as a marketing executive at Johnson & Johnson. Of Mr. Trump, he added: “He’s a mess.”
They’re Republicans. It’s never going to be about “the better good of the overall population.” But however misguided their reasoning, their disappointment and disillusionment is welcome, and if it leads some of them to stay home—or even change their votes—in 2018 and the special elections between now and then, it could even be a force for the better good of the overall population.
Speaking of which, we can get started on this right now if you chip in $3 for Jon Ossoff or sign up to make calls to get out the vote for Ossoff.
