Saturday, June 05, 2021

So, Explain This To Me

Trump is not a threat to the legal system (lost 60 election fraud cases). He's not a threat to the Constitution (no path to "reinstatement"). He's not a threat to Twitter or Facebook. But he's a threat to "democracy." 

How does that work, exactly? Because:
"In 2020, the only two age groups that Trump won, according to exit polls, were those aged 65 and older and those aged 50 to 64; younger voters had no use for Trump. That made it extremely important for Trump to maximize his geriatric advantage. But by disparaging mail-in balloting, Trump dumped all over the voting method used in 2020 by nearly 54 percent of voters aged 65 and older, according to census data," he wrote before highlighting the fact that voters over 65, were the one age group that cast the majority of their votes by mail.

Writing that, "....very old, people who vote Republican are very white," Noah said Trump's self-sabotage was compounded by the impact he also had on wealthy voters.

"Rich people tend to vote Republican. In 2020, Trump won voters who earn $100,000, by 54–42 percent. But according to the census data, as voters move up the income scale, they become more likely to vote by mail, not less. Among people making $150,000 and over, almost 48 percent voted by mail—more than any other income group."

Noah went on to note that Republicans are likely aware that they may be hurting themselves, explaining, " "...at the moment, the GOP's overriding imperative is to appease and flatter Trump by yielding to his partisan fixations, never mind their ineptitude. Amid this plague of troubling voter disenfranchisement bills, there's a ray of hope in that."

I'm still not seeing success written on the wall.  Granted, Marcotte waves away the threat of a military coup:

It's true, of course, that there is no pathway (outside of a true military coup, which Trump is almost certainly not up to organizing) that would oust Joe Biden and install Trump in the White House within three months.  

Or within three more years; or ever.  Aside from the fact Trump couldn't organize a two-car funeral procession, what makes anyone think Trump has supporters in the military just waiting for the word?  Well, maybe one or two, but a military coup would take the bulk of the military. Still, can’t let reality get in the way of a good hand-wringing.

As for her real argument:

Trump uses wild conjecture to project images of what he wants the world to look like, and passively allows his minions — whether they are close to him, like Rudy Giuliani, or worship him from afar, like the Capital rioters — to self-direct the actions they will take in order to make his fantasy a reality. 

Yeah, just like Q-Anon; and how has that worked out for either of them so far?  There's a reason Trump says he's going to be "reinstated,"  And there's a reason he won't be; and only one of those reasons is the product of sheer delusion and, at best, wishful thinking.  I might wish for a Maserati in my garage by August.  But if I go around telling people it's going to appear there, it's quite reasonable to conclude, not that I'm trying to passively allow someone to self-direct such a car my way, but that I'm delusional.  Or trying to make people think I am.

And the line between those two states is a very thin one, indeed. 

Besides, Cohen and Giuliani have both found themselves in serious legal trouble thanks to Trump's "directions."  ETTD.  And he's suckered more marks into his orbit:

And that lawyer representing Lindell who's already (within 24 hours of the filing) lost his partnership position? My guess is he's a Trump true believer, too.   Although he was probably smart enough to get paid in advance.  Still, his career is pretty much down the crapper. ETTD. Eventually that gets back around to Trump. And eventually is gonna come pretty damned soon, it looks like.

Democracy is fine. The judicial system is fine. Screwing around with voting is probably going to hurt the GOP more than it helps, in the long run. We will get by.

But Trump won't.  His delusions will comfort him; but they won't change the facts.

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1 comment:

  1. The Thought Criminal9:05 AM

    I wish I believed that, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd want to be wrong about. If the Democrats can manage to win real control of the Senate, which they obviously do not have now with Manchin and Sinema in place, maybe I can breathe more easily. It's always a question of keeping a very easily broken up coalition together. And that depends on successful legislation.

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