US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5712

Donald Trump’s rocky performance on the final debate stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday night did little to allay his party’s concerns that the GOP is headed for an electoral catastrophe up and down the ticket.

In interviews with over a dozen senior Republican strategists, not one said Trump did anything to change the trajectory of a contest that is growing further out of reach. And many said they were deeply distressed by Trump’s refusal to accept the results of the Nov. 8 election, an eyebrow-raising moment already dominating headlines.

With Trump’s prospects for securing 270 electoral votes growing dimmer by the day, many Republicans have turned their focus to the gritty, unpleasant task of protecting the party’s congressional majorities. Trump, they said, did little to buttress the GOP ticket — and may have worsened its position by repeating his claim that the election is rigged, something congressional Republicans are sure to be pressed on in the days to come.

Immediately after Trump’s remark, several party higher-ups, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, took to Twitter to distance themselves from it.

“The biggest loser tonight was not Trump; the presidential race is over,” said Robert Blizzard, a GOP pollster who is working on a number of congressional races. “Instead, down-ticket Republicans lost tonight — they needed some help and got absolutely none.”

Republicans have been conducting extensive polling to gauge what impact Trump’s tanking fortunes are having on House and Senate candidates. While many candidates have taken a hit since the release of the bombshell “Access Hollywood” tape, party operatives maintain that the bottom hasn’t completely fallen out and that a down-ballot landslide isn’t necessarily in the cards.

Yet many Republicans were eager to see Trump deliver a steady performance, something that would stabilize his poll numbers at a time when surveys show him losing ground in traditionally conservative states like Arizona, Georgia and Utah.

Steve Schmidt, who guided John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, said Trump’s refusal to commit to accepting election results would overshadow any strong moments he had.

“It’s the one and only headline that matters coming out of the debate,” said Schmidt. “It’s absolutely unprecedented for any presidential candidate in the history of the country.”

Not everyone agreed the performance was a complete wreck. To some, it represented a marked improvement on Trump’s first two showdowns with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — one that was badly marred by one particularly damaging moment.

“He made a really huge mistake tonight when he would not commit to 100 percent accepting the results of the election whether he wins or loses,” said Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based Republican strategist. “For him, that is a big takeaway from tonight. It’s a shame for him; he could have walked away, I think, as the winner from tonight, but that line will be one that is played in a big — in a bigly — way with the press tomorrow.”

To some, the performance represented what’s gone awry with the Trump campaign. After exhibiting moments of discipline early on, he squandered it later — with his remarks on the election, with his refusal to criticize Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and with his comment that Hillary Clinton is a “nasty woman.”

That Trump would go so far as to criticize former President Ronald Reagan — an almost universally beloved figure in conservative circles — on trade policy, left some Republicans aghast. “It’s hard to understand,” said Al Cardenas, a former Florida Republican Party chairman.

On October 21 2016 00:36 Danglars wrote:
Now, serving the unfortunate by reaching into the pockets of our neighbors to meet their needs is open to debate. Both sides will say the other is deliberately misinterpreting the scriptures. And that's probably a religious debate not worth having.

On October 21 2016 00:04 Trainrunnef wrote:


I think we need to spin off News outlets from Media outlets. Any for profit news agency should be forced to have the words entertainment in the name, and any other news agency that intends to treat information in an unbiased and legitimate fashion should be a non-profit organization. We need a way to pull out the fact from fiction, and i am not under any delusion that this is perfect, but it is certainly better than what we have.

On October 21 2016 00:52 LegalLord wrote:
This entire talk of baby boomers being less relevant reminds me of the "just die off already" pro-Remain voters in the Brexit referendum upset that older people were more likely to vote Leave. You can hope that social conservatism loses ground without denigrating the bloc of people who make it relevant. In the courts, it's played out quite favorably to progressive voters, and that should be good enough to realize that it's clear that social conservatism is a losing battle even without wishing bad upon the older voters.

On October 21 2016 00:52 LegalLord wrote:
This entire talk of baby boomers being less relevant reminds me of the "just die off already" pro-Remain voters in the Brexit referendum upset that older people were more likely to vote Leave. You can hope that social conservatism loses ground without denigrating the bloc of people who make it relevant. In the courts, it's played out quite favorably to progressive voters, and that should be good enough to realize that it's clear that social conservatism is a losing battle even without wishing bad upon the older voters.

On October 21 2016 00:54 zlefin wrote:
It's too bad people just don't come to a compromise and long-term plan on the abortion issue.

On October 21 2016 00:46 Mohdoo wrote:


What impact do you see the fall of baby boomers having on 2020? Do you see hope for fighting abortion and gay marriage from here on?

On October 21 2016 01:12 Danglars wrote:

Wait, misinterpreting the scriptures is intimately related to baby boomers, abortion, and gay marriage? What Bible are you talking about?

On October 21 2016 01:12 Danglars wrote:

Wait, misinterpreting the scriptures is intimately related to baby boomers, abortion, and gay marriage? What Bible are you talking about?