Yes, the protests really are helping Trump
Even the New York Times gets it. Here's an alarming story out of Wisconsin, a state that will probably decide the Presidential election in a couple of months.
In Kenosha County, where the president won by fewer than 250 votes in 2016, those who already supported Mr. Trump said in interviews that the events of the past few days have simply reinforced their conviction that he is the man for the job. But some voters who were less sure of their choice said the chaos in their city and the inability of elected leaders to stop it were currently nudging them toward the Republicans.
The Democrats are finally waking up to this. Yesterday Oregon's governor, Komkast Kate, suddenly piped up with a law-and-orderish tweet.
Let me be clear: It’s time for the violence and vandalism to end so Portland can focus on the important work to be done to achieve real change for racial justice. Those who have committed acts of violence will be held accountable.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) August 25, 2020
I guess someone read her a poll.
But it's gone on for way too long, and neither she nor Portland's mayor, F. Ted Wheeler, has ever quite known what to do about it. The kids are not going to obey. And if the police don't come down harder and smarter than they already have, it will continue to be Groundhog Night every night.
I think the politicians are being played by the cops. As usual. But there's more at stake this time around than ever.
This had the feel of a directive from the top from the beginning. Nancy Pelosi looked into her crystal ball and saw a Trump defeat by pandering to the protesters. The disgusting part was that it allowed the Dems to wrap themselves in this sanctimonious virtue signaling that wasn't real. It was a calculated political decision and Nancy blew it. Remember when she put on the African garb and knelt down for 8 minutes? That was trying way too hard to pander to the BLM movement. Meanwhile Joe Biden came forth to say the death of George Floyd would be remembered as being more important than the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I thought that was not just a bad read but it was actually offensive to the same people Joe was trying to ingratiate himself with. Look, if these politicians really cared they would have done something decades ago - not when the political winds began to blow. The local politicians would have responded to Kendra James and others by implementing more police accountability and changing methods designed to protect guilty cops from justice. So now the political winds have changed direction again and the politicians are suddenly rebranding themselves as law and order types. But it's probably too late. Trump is rising and downtown Portland is a wasteland.
ReplyDeleteNo matter. Nancy Pelosi has a new vision to try and save this thing. This morning she recommended that Joe Biden skip the debates to avoid "skullduggery." She says of Trump, "I wouldn't legitimize a conversation with him." Is anyone buying that as an excuse?
This is the week where Dems started saying, "Oh shit..." about their decisions. They got no bounce from their convention and now Trump is ticking upwards. They can't even get Joe to rebut Trump's speech this week and assigned it to Kamala Harris. We're supposed to send President Biden to face off with Putin, etc... and they're trying to get him out of a debate? Wow.
I could be wrong but Trump - if left alone - would have served up a silver platter full of reasons to lose. He would have fucked everything up just like he did in Atlantic City with no help from anyone. Instead the Dems have given him cover. With each of their plans that backfires, Trump's chances of winning grow. I know he paid Stormy Daniels to shut up, but he must have been paying Rachel Maddows to talk. Along with Nancy, and Adam Schiff, she's played a huge role in giving Trump a chance. And lurking out there is still the Russian collusion indictments. But enough. The Dems are now the Law and Order party. How easy was that? So what form will the phoniness take? I could see Nancy Pelosi at one of the riots pointing a gun at an arsonist and saying, "Freeze. You're under arrest."
Jack, do you have a take on Guardian Portland story today? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/28/portland-violence-far-right-protests-police?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
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