There's a sign I pass on my way to work, and it is randomly painted with liberal messages--and for a little while, it was a message about the "elephant in the womb" meme: the GOP elephant inside of a uterus. I also passed a handful of "Roevember" signs. (I also too, still see the "trucknutz folks"--but the suburbs outside of Philadelphia are a strange mixture.) There was an uptick in women and youth votes this year, and I definitely think the Dobbs decision had a lot to do with that.
That democracy and specifically, anti-theocracy and anti-fascism was on the line might be harder to demographically define, but I think that definitely was the case here in PA, where the GOP gubernatorial pick was both an insurrectionist and pretty openly theocratic. Folks didn't necessarily see democracy as a major issue pre-election, per the polls and the pundits, who preferred an "It's the economy!" line.
But the economy isn't bad--just a bit of inflation? Growth and record-low unemployment, plus an actual reduction in the deficit were great factors going in, and the inflation and especially fuel prices are issues that have to be laid at the feet of the corporations, since we are a capitalist society that hasn't nationalized the refineries--right?
So, what were folks looking at? What you couldn't ignore--the absurd quality of the GOP candidates. What they stood for. (I wish more voters in Ohio, Florida, and Texas knew to what extent they voted for clowns, but too many of their voters are verily seeing through a funhouse mirror.)
The Democrats have been performing like normal liberals--and it's been good. They can just keep doing that. The public isn't gonna mind.
And here's the other wild thing--the mid-terms can't be a referendum solely on the current president when the former guy never went away. We were staring election-deniers and actual crazy-pants messages in the face for the last two years of Biden's presidency--courtesy the Big Lie, the failure of the GOP to purge the insurrectionists, and the insistence of rejected America-stalker Donald Trump to "not be IGNORED!"
He rallied and endorsed and now he's getting some (rightful) blame. Pat Toomey, Winsome Sears, numerous others (probably more than want to be public with their admonishments) in the GOP are concerned that the so-called leader of their party took them here--to Failsville.
And for his part, he's going BOOM! on his (failing!) Truth Social. The way he used to do at Twitter, which he isn't back on and can't go to now that he has this thing.
Trump is having a meltdown on Truth Social pic.twitter.com/PTTnGQa0gf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2022
Very "Stable genius". How surprised should anyone be that a movement to get the GOP to cut their losses with him exists?
4 comments:
Not sure who came up with Roevember, but it's brilliant. And for now, our democracy is safe from the fascists and the theocratic folks, but they'll be back...
I'm not even all that comfortable with the word "safe". But they definitely will be back around, just...mutated. I'm casting a pretty wary eye at DeSantis/Rubio and Proud Boys canvassing down in FL, and DeSantis' support of Mastriano here is PA. I'm seeing an alt-right alliance with the theocrats which badly disturbs me. And one of the things that shakes me about Mastriano's campaign is--it was the most inept and lazy thing. I mean, he didn't really seem to spend money or try to promote himself as "not that bad" to mainstream reporters at all. Stuff like the support from Andrew Torba and his wife's weird anti-Semitic statements got no cleaning up at all from a comms staff.
What if someone like him--but less of a naked ideologue? See, I expect lessons to be learned and adaptations to be made, and am still concerned about what's percolating in local politics like school board races. The "concern mommies" and book banners--I don't see them going away.
"Stable genius?"
He dredged that up out of his failing memory. Dude has sennile dementia and it's progressing.
I think he thinks "stable genius" is funny--but having come up with the term suggests to me he knows full well both his stability and competence are pretty questionable.
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