David Corn from Mother Jones is putting out a newsletter well worth subscribing to. His latest is filled with lots of stuff about the midterms (of course) and here’s several excerpts from:
The 2022 Midterms and the State of Trumpism
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By David Corn November 12, 2022
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On what Republican control of the House will mean:
...Though the morning-after punditry focused on the MIA Republican tsunami, a simple GOP takeover of the House will yield tremendous—and chaotic—MAGA-driven consequences. As I wrote in the wee hours of Election Night:
House Republicans have promised other disruptions in addition to the inevitable scuffles over such policy issues as climate change, taxes, gun safety, and immigration. They have signaled their intention to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and provoke another debt ceiling battle that could trigger a global financial meltdown. The imposition of further restrictions on reproductive rights is part of their agenda. They will shut down the January 6 committee and launch multiple impeachments (of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas) and a long line of combative investigations. Probable targets: Hunter Biden, the 2020 election, Hunter Biden, the Mar-a-Lago raid, Hunter Biden, the National Archives, Hunter Biden, the January 6 committee and its members (watch out Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Jamie Raskin!), Hunter Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Hunter Biden, the Russia investigation, and much more— including possibly the much-cherished golden oldies of Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s emails. And government shutdowns, anyone?
Revenge and spite are two of Trump’s primary motivations….His thirst for vengeance will push House Republicans to extreme and unprecedented lengths. The lower chamber under GOP control will become Trump’s very own weapon of retribution.
The mainstream media is still trying to figure out why the Red Wave didn’t show up. How many of them are going to pretend its absence means the GOP can be treated as ‘normal’ now? It ain’t over.
Corn has a couple of conclusions about what we should be thinking about going forward:
With all this to chew on, the midterms might offer some guidance for an anti-Trumpism strategy. The results show—as did the 2016 and 2020 returns—that hard-core MAGA extremism is a minority position in much of the country. There are more Americans repelled by the hate and conspiracism of MAGAism than drawn to it. Gerrymandering, the Electoral College, and the two-senators-from-every-state set-up afford Trumpism and the Republicans disproportionate influence. But if the rest of the nation bands together (and votes!), it could isolate this political tumor.
Consequently, the top goal for progressives and Democrats might not be to coax Trump voters to change sides. There does not seem to be much room for such persuasion. Pushing progressive economic populism might draw only a thin slice of Trump-curious voters back to the Ds. Such an appeal likely helped Democrat John Fetterman send Oz back to New Jersey, but it did not carry the day for Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan, who lost to Vance. Instead, the main target ought to be those voters who are in the mushy middle, who do not think much about the threat to democracy presented by Trumpism or the negative policy consequences of Trumpist Republican rule. If progressives and Democrats speak to them—often and fiercely—and make a robust case (which does not have to be predicated on ideological moderation and half-measures), they might be able to forge a popular front that contains Trumpism. This ain’t easy. And in some blood-red parts of the country, it will be near-impossible. (Read this moving Twitter thread from Jessica Piper, a Democrat in rural Missouri who lost a race for the state legislature, recounting what she encountered on the campaign trail.)
This week demonstrated two key notions. Unadulterated MAGAism is a liability for Republicans in non-red regions, and Trumpism—that is, reality-denying, anti-democratic demagoguery—is still a tremendous danger supported by millions of our fellow citizens. The former can help thwart the latter.
emphasis added
There’s lots more good stuff in there. Post mid-terms, his feature “Dumb-Ass Comment of the Week” was overwhelmed by contenders coming from the right. Here’s just one:
Enter a perennial contender for the Dumbass Comment of the Week: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). He had his own hot take: “Why did the Democrats do better than expected? Because for two years they have governed as liberals. They’ve governed as whacked out lefty nut jobs. And you know what that did? That excited their base. That excited a bunch of young voters that came out in massive numbers because when you actually stand for something, your base gets excited.” Imagine that. A political party delivering popular programs to the citizenry and inspiring people to vote. It’s amazing no one ever thought of that before.
If you want a further sampling of what Corn has to offer, here’s Our Land from November 5 before the midterms. He asks if Biden is lowballing the threat to democracy, and concluded with this:
It's true that the party in the White House usually takes a shellacking in the midterms. And inflation cannot be thwarted by a well-crafted political narrative. These are externalities that might be impossible to overcome. But if there ever were a time when the in-party had a chance, this ought to be it. The Democrats are up against a party led by the unpopular and autocratic Trump that has swerved far right and into the swamplands of irrationality and, as Biden put it, “semi-fascism.” The Big Lie, January 6, a war on democracy, a war on women’s freedom, a disastrous Covid response, threats to essential programs such as Social Security and Medicare—there’s so much to pin on the GOP. Yet the last few months have been more an opportunity lost for the Democrats than an opportunity seized. Many Americans might soon pay a high price for that.
emphasis added
Never give up, never surrender; the world is made by the people who show up for the job. Forward momentum.