Trump and his dog whistle

[iris lilies]

For the record, I've always thought litmus tests to be counterproductive. My preference would be for a GOP big tent that can accommodate traditionalists, social conservatives, constitutionalists, libertarians, the healthier sort of nationalists, neocons, paleocons, and whatever. All this RINO business only detracts from the project of preserving traditional liberties from overweening government power.

Speaking as a partisan, if the party hopeful of creating ever more government power to exalt the collective over the individual wants to treat political debate like a theological dispute, I can only applaud.

I could be wrong, I don't see the present electorate yearning for a new dawn of Democratic Socialism.

If the social conservatives can stay away from trampling traditional liberties, thay can be in the tent. But I am not convinced they can. All of the others may huddle here in the tent, out of the rain.

[jp1]

As long as gasoline stays somewhere around $2/gal.....the stock market doesn’t crash and we don’t enter another I’ll advise foreign “conflict” without Congressional approval.....they’ll still be talking about impeaching Trump well into his second term of office. Any day now....any day now.

You're certainly right that trump isn't likely to get impeached. Or at least not convicted by the senate. None of his crimes, even money laundering for Russia, will be enough to make the senate democrats actually show that they have even a shred of values left. (Or did they just not have any to begin with?). But I think you're off about that second term. After all, Individual 1 only got 46% of the vote the first time around and the worst we knew about him was that he was a gropey turd of a human being. With what we know now I doubt there are quite as many people willing to vote for him next time around and he didn't have any votes to spare.

[LDAHL]

You're certainly right that trump isn't likely to get impeached. Or at least not convicted by the senate. None of his crimes, even money laundering for Russia, will be enough to make the senate democrats actually show that they have even a shred of values left. (Or did they just not have any to begin with?). But I think you're off about that second term. After all, Individual 1 only got 46% of the vote the first time around and the worst we knew about him was that he was a gropey turd of a human being. With what we know now I doubt there are quite as many people willing to vote for him next time around and he didn't have any votes to spare.

I think you’re right, unless both major parties behave idiotically. So it’s roughly even odds.

[Williamsmith]

Our election process is quite adept at making victors out of persons who claim less than 50% of the vote. Trump has continued to campaign with an eye toward his second term. I see no one from the Democratic Party able to get even close the vote total needed to overcome an incumbent. None have emerged. It will be a wild ride up to the next election. Trumps base has no been eroded......they are quite fanatical.

[LDAHL]

I think Trump’s base is pretty solid, but I wonder if he’s lost support in the mainstream GOP and raised the level of enthusiasm with the Democrats who weren’t all that thrilled with Clinton in 2016.

I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that serious opposition could emerge in the GOP primaries. I also think there’s a chance the Democrats could come up with an electable candidate without fratricidal infighting.