Are Republicans Getting Worried?
Are Republicans getting worried about the outcome of the upcoming election? This is a real possibility at this point, given the polls. After all, if the Democrats have a very big night three weeks from now, Republicans may be cast out into the wilderness for at least the next two years. And just like the robins return in the spring, if there is a Democratic president and the Democrats control both houses of Congress, Republicans are going to try everything in their power to sabotage Joe Biden's first two years in office. They did so before, back in 2009, when Mitch McConnell told his fellow Senate Republicans that their only goal was to "make Barack Obama a one-term president." That didn't really work out for them, but they did manage to claw back majorities in Congress.
There are many reasons why the Senate is moving at lightspeed to confirm President Donald Trump's conservative pick for the Supreme Court, but one of them is surely that they know this could be the last one they get for a while. But more telling, perhaps, is Republicans' newly resuscitated concern for fiscal responsibility, even in the face of the ongoing pandemic crisis and even when the economy quite obviously needs some more stimulus.
Donald Trump is even out there begging the Senate GOP members to "go big" on a stimulus package. The White House's latest offer to Nancy Pelosi stands at $1.8 trillion, which isn't that far off from where she has come down to ($2.2 or $2.4 trillion). But no matter what deal Pelosi strikes with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, it seems likely that it has no chance at all of passing the Senate -- at least before the election. McConnell has countered by scheduling another vote on his own woefully inadequate bill (containing only $500 billion), but even getting a majority of his own fellow Republicans to vote for it is in question. It is highly doubtful he'll turn around and support a bill with a price tag four times as high, at least at this point. Such a "go big" bill might actually pass the Senate if given a chance, since every Democrat would vote for it and at least a few Republicans (including those in the tightest of election races right now).
This foot-dragging on McConnell's part could tank the economy. It may already be doing so -- unemployment filings are headed back above one million per week, and the economy is noticeably slowing down. This could lead to a dreaded "W-shaped recovery" or "double-dip recession." This raises a pretty obvious question: why would Senate Republicans consider allowing this to happen (through what they are best at -- their own inaction) if they thought that Trump was sailing to re-election? Wouldn't they want him to be able to brag about how robust the recovery will be early next year? This is especially telling because some Republican senators might actually win re-election if such a bill were to pass before Election Day -- but not even that fact is enough to convince McConnell to act.
The flip side is obvious. If Senate Republicans are now thinking that Biden will win, then refusing to aid the economy right now would pretty much guarantee at least six months of economic woe for Biden to start his term off with. The slower the recovery the better (for the GOP), if it means their chances of a big midterm victory improve. This is callous and cynical in the extreme, it is worth pointing out, because what we are talking about is not just "the economy" in the abstract, but tens of millions of workers and households and salaries and unemployment checks. A lot of financial pain, in other words, that Republicans would be allowing to happen just to score a political advantage. But that's the way they operate, these days (once again, see: Obama's first year in office).
They'll couch their political positions in the same high-falutin' nonsense they normally use, of course, which allows them to delude themselves into thinking they're taking some sort of moral high road. They'll talk about fiscal responsibility and budget-balancing and the national deficit and debt until the cows come home, but after paying not the slightest bit of attention to such things for four straight years, all of it will be simply unbelievable. The Republican Party already sold its soul on this matter. They went along with a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy that is never going to "pay for itself," and earlier this year they were on board with all the other massive pandemic bailout bills. There was no talk of austerity or "borrowing against our children's future" during any of it, please note.
If Joe Biden wins the presidency -- and especially if Democrats win control of the Senate -- then all of that will change in the blink of an eye. Every Republican in the Senate will rediscover their inner budgetary hawk, and they'll dust off all the language they sanctimoniously use each and every time a Democrat is in the White House. And then they'll try to block pretty much everything on the Democratic agenda -- up to and including all the stimulus Democrats are trying to pass to save people from losing their job or becoming homeless. Republicans simply will not care what happens to the jobs picture, if Biden wins. They likewise will not care what happens to the fragile recovery. Instead, they'll do everything they can to block any and all measures designed to get America back on track again.
It doesn't take a crystal ball to see all of this. It's pretty obvious, from where I sit at least. But the most interesting thing is that right now -- with the election less than three weeks away -- Republicans are already shifting their gears to fiscal hawkery. Senate Republicans are, rather astonishingly, completely ignoring Donald Trump's calls for them to "go big" to boost his (and some of their) chances of re-election. If the Senate GOP truly thought this was a razor-thin election, then they'd be falling all over themselves to do exactly what Trump is begging them to.
But they're not. Which means, for the next few weeks, the real measure of how worried Republicans are getting about the election is how much they pivot to their previous position of fiscal responsibility. The more they talk about it, the more worried they are, in other words. It's certainly something to keep an eye on for the next few weeks.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
A PUBLIC APOLOGY OR TWO:
Thanks to everyone who expressed good wishes to me. Obviously, I'm back to writing columns again.
The reason I didn't just say what is was is because it is embarrassing. I spent the last two days doing my income taxes, because I filed an extension which meant my due date was today (Oct. 15). Normally, I manage to get everything done on my own time, but this year (for some reason) it just totally snuck up on me, until I hit full panic mode when I realized I only had three days left to get a WHOLE lot of accounting done. So, like I said, it was my own damn fault, and (sadly) you folks paid the price by getting nothing new for two days. My sincere apologies to all.
The good news is the taxes are in the mail and everything is right with the world again. Well, maybe not everything, but no late fees or penalties anything, which is good enough, these days. We're back to normal once again and FTP will happen on time tomorrow.
I did consider doing a post-townhalls snap reaction column today, but it would have just taken too long. With Biden at two hours and Trump at one, it would have been 11:00 PM before I could even sit down to write -- and that's Pacific time, meaning "already tomorrow on the East Coast." Rather than put myself through that marathon (after two nights being up VERY late crunching numbers), I decided to write a more generic column today. I promise I'll have a few things to say about the townhalls tomorrow, though.
In any case, I just read the comments from the past two days and had to address my own laziness and procrastination -- this time I couldn't even blame it on the car! Thanks for all the well wishes everyone, but I deserved none of them.
Oh, which brings up another sore subject. While going over the CW.com books for the year, I notice there is a GIGANTIC issue which I have also fallen down on in a very big way. Last year, during the site's annual pledge drive, I don't think I sent out any "thank-you" emails to those who donated so generously to the site. This is inexcusable behavior on my part, plain and simple. I blew it, and I am sorry. I owe everyone who donated last time around a thank-you note. Perhaps I will send them anyway (after the election is over), under the "better late than never" line of thinking.... But I at least wanted to offer up a public mea culpa maxima here to all my donors, after noticing my blunder while doing my taxes.
Words to live by:
"If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done."
Sigh. Next year, I'll do better -- I promise!
Thanks for everyone's patience...
-CW
I'll be happy to do the summary for the Trump town hall.
Trump lied repeatedly and loudly. <---- That's it. :)
Full disclosure: I did not watch the Trump town hall. I didn't need to, but I would wager it went something like this:
* They asked Trump about health care, and he lied and said he had a great health care plan that was less expensive for everybody. #SSDD
* They asked Trump about caronavirus, and he called it the China virus and lied about a vaccine being available soon and blamed everybody but himself for the spread in the United States. #SSDD
* They asked him about his taxes, and he lied about how he was going to release them one day. #SSDD
* They asked him about the economy, and he lied and claimed it was the greatest economy ever. #SSDD
The SOB is a pathological liar.
Chris Weigant
1
A PUBLIC APOLOGY OR TWO
No apologies. :)
[3] Kick
Not bad! You missed:
* They asked Trump about DACA, and he lied and said his administration wasn't trying to block it, it was just responding to Coronavirus and also maybe crime, sort of.
* They asked Trump about what a mother of a young Black man should tell her son; and he lied that he has done more for Black americans than any other president aside from maybe Lincoln.
And so on. Pretty much everything he said was a lie.
Also, Joe hitting the ball out of the park.
Having your own blog means never having to say you're sorry. Heh. I'm very glad that it was just taxes!
Love, love, love it when Joe goes off the charts or hits it out of the park!
Put one in the can for Jolting Joe today, early voted in-person. Plenty of voters but also lots of poll workers, I was in-and-out in five minutes, many masks in evidence and no sign of any fascist poll watchers.
Hey Kick, when you and your merry band of political ninjas get tired of flipping districts in the hill country we could use some help here in TX-1, booting Louie would be a real feather in your cap. Just a thought.
chaszzzbrown
5
Charles Brown, Esq.! So good to see you. :)
* They asked Trump about DACA, and he lied and said his administration wasn't trying to block it, it was just responding to Coronavirus and also maybe crime, sort of.
What?! No mention of Trump asking the Supreme Court of the United States to completely put an end to DACA and Trump losing in the high court? Trump actually claimed he wasn't trying to terminate DACA? Oh, good God, what a mother effing liar and piece of human excrement that SOB is.
* They asked Trump about what a mother of a young Black man should tell her son; and he lied that he has done more for Black americans than any other president aside from maybe Lincoln.
Oh, FFS! Those who know history and the efforts of Kennedy/Johnson might have a thing or two to say about that... namely:
* The Civil Rights Act of 1964
* The Voting Rights Act of 1965
* The Fair Housing Act of 1968
Wasn't Donald Trump the president bragging to "suburban housewives" that he protected their neighborhoods? He sure does talk out of both sides of his fat ass, doesn't he? #SSDD
If Trump had his way, "Black Americans" would neither be allowed to live in the suburbs nor to even vote at all since ~95% of them will vote to elect Biden/Harris and a mere ~5% will vote for Two-Faced Trump. Even Herman Cain won't be voting for Trump in 2020, and do not doubt for one second that Trump would disenfranchise "Black Americans" via Executive Order with the stroke of his fat marker if he thought he could get away with it. #SSDD
John From Censornati
I voted early in person this morning. Everything was very efficient, but it did involve a lot of walking. I was glad I took my cane with me.
That's what I'm talking about! JFC gets a picture too for voting yesterday. Yaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssss!
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Apologising for doing your taxes is like taking the blame for the wetness of water. I prefer the knackered vehicle trope as it conjures up trippy Mystery Machine capers, only it's a cat that has a speech impediment and the creepy lighthouse attendant is an obnoxious Republican who bounces from catastrophe to disaster for our amusement.
Speaking of obnoxious Republicans, Kick was correct, the Trump townhall slow-motion, packed-airliner runway crash didn't veer at all from past Trumpian debates insomuch as he evaded questions and hectored and belittled the host.
These debates are like dumpsters behind a Wallmart, you only get out of them what people wouldn't pay for, even at half the price. If there are any undecided voters at this point, then why are tens of thousands of people lining up to vote three weeks before the polls close?
'Going through the motions' is the best way to describe this election at this point in time. If these line-ups to vote in person are anything to go by, the only question that will be answered on or about Nov 3rd will be how resounding the thrashing of Trump and the GOP was.
I suspect Democrats and other sane voters have collectively decided the only way to be 100% sure Trump, and his GOP co-conspirators, don't subvert their vote is to get out and handle it in person.
LL&P
Commander in Chief by Demi Lovato (and LP.)
Steedo
9
Put one in the can for Jolting Joe today, early voted in-person.
Another voter! Oh, boy. I must do a very different picture for Steedo:
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On the one hand, it may seem similar, but on the other hand, it's totally the other hand! ;)
Plenty of voters but also lots of poll workers, I was in-and-out in five minutes, many masks in evidence and no sign of any fascist poll watchers.
Great. Texas is officially flippable if people will get out and vote!
Hey Kick, when you and your merry band of political ninjas get tired of flipping districts in the hill country we could use some help here in TX-1, booting Louie would be a real feather in your cap. Just a thought.
OMG! Louie Gohmert is your representative!? You have my sympathies, Steedo. That TX-1 is gerrymandered to the point where you are stuck with Louie until (hopefully) it can be redrawn after the census where you get a human to represent you and not a brainless conspiracy rightwing nutcase. :)
Hey Kick -
So, what's your thinking about the TX ballot-box-a-palooza? Is it going to end up mattering a lot, a little, not at all, a slice of pie? Please select one.
Kick [3] -
You nailed it. Every single bullet point, in fact. I DID watch it, so I can tell you your prognostication skills are beyond reproach.
[4] -
Thanks!
:-)
James T Canuck [12] -
Hey, the last major auto repair the car went through (not a Mystery Machine, alas...) DID involve a hose known as the "octohose" for its needless complexity. However, after a few months of running it after the repair, the coolant hasn't dropped an inch. Was insanely expensive to replace the whole coolant system, but it is (slowly) paying off! Heh.
Oh, and I really liked your Dumpster metaphor, very nice indeed!
:-)
AS for the townhalls, I thought Trump blew MULTIPLE oppoertunites to do himself some good -- I mean, some of those questions were absolute softballs, just floating over the plate, and Trump didn't even try to swing at them. Un-freakin-believable. He was committing political hari-kari (sp?) throughout the whole evening.
I will say this: I have a profound and deep new appreciation for Savannah Guthrie. I always considered her a total lightweight before now, but I must say she handled Trump like I've never seen any journalist handle him before. She spent the first 20 min. of a 1 hr. townhall calling him on his BS from the previous debate, and drilling in whenever necessary. She really kept this up the whole night.
FAR better than Chris Wallace, I have to admit, in all appreciation. Go, Savannah! Well done!
:-)
-CW
I watched long enough to hear Savannah ask the orange one about him agreeing with McConnell regarding presidents nominating supremes in an election year and now reversing that opinion. He started talking about Kavanaugh and I changed the channel.
A friend told me that he told Guthrie she was cute.
The White House's latest offer to Nancy Pelosi stands at $1.8 trillion, which isn't that far off from where she has come down to ($2.2 or $2.4 trillion).
It's actually very far off according to Pelosi. You're falling into a GOP trap by only talking about the numbers and skipping the other details. The spending priorities are not the same.
Gotta give props to Team B for the messaging of having ABC show live Biden continuing to engage with town hall attendees after the 'Official End of The Town Hall'. Risk-free since we can't hear what they're saying; but the body language speaks volumes.
Sheldon Whitehouse should at least get an honorable mention in Friday's column. He made it clear that if "we're gonna do it because we can" is the new GOP standard, then it's the new standard for both parties. We have to hope that he knows what he's talking about.
CW,
I am glad that I read your apology in the comments section before I commented on this article, or else this comment — It doesn't take a crystal ball to see all of this. It's pretty obvious, from where I sit at least. — would have warranted a response of,
”WELL, DUHHHHHHHHH!!!!”. Some of us have been screaming this since 2011. If Biden wins the presidency, the one thing that I would challenge you to remember to do when reporting on the Republicans return to claiming that they are worried about the national debt in the future is to remind us WHY they are suddenly worried about the debt! Republicans do not actually give a crap about our national debt... their history of running up the debt anytime that they are in power proves this to be the case. The GOP only cares about hurting Biden’s presidency — regardless of the consequences that that desire might cause their constituents or our nation as a whole! They will INTENTIONALLY (should always be used as a reminder!) choose to vote against their constituents best interests because their party cannot run campaigns that focus on their ideas, and therefore must resort to attacking all things associated with the Democratic Party to garner votes.
THAT is what must never be allowed to be overlooked in reporting on the GOP. We cannot afford for people to forget what their true motivation is or they might start to believe their excuses and arguments make sense.
chaszzzbrown
15
So, what's your thinking about the TX ballot-box-a-palooza? Is it going to end up mattering a lot, a little, not at all, a slice of pie?
I think the transplanted Floridian asshole now leading the Texas GOP suing the GOP Texas governor in order to limit his power is freaking hilarious because the GOP loses no matter what. :)
So I'm not sure exactly which dance you're referring to since there are so many playing out simultaneously, but I do know that Texas is a typical nonvoting state that is now setting records that are near double for early voting in Harris County and Denton County, and the GOP is terrified and reacting accordingly.
If "We the People" of the large counties are allowed to vote without impediment, Texas is ripe for the flipping... and parts of it will flip and it matters a lot in the big cities and the 'burbs where they're attempting to disenfranchise thousands of us. On the other hand, Texas is so big that some counties will notice precious little that seems any different from a typical election because one ballot box per county suits them just fine, and in some of the piss-ant counties it won't make a dang bit of difference at all.
So the answer is: All of the above and a slice of blueberry pie.
Please select one.
Oops. :)
Chris,
You make a pretty good case for why the Republican cult of economic failure is a very apt description of the GOP and has been for a very long time. You really should start using the phrase - I'm sure David Fiderer won't mind.
I always loved listening to former Treasury Secretary Geithner when he compared failed Republican fiscal and tax policy with pro-growth Democratic economic policy. No one did it better or with more authority.
One of my favourite Geithner quotes, referring to the myths created by the Republican cult of economic failure ... "This is a political argument masquerading as substance." Love it!
Okay Weigantians, let's hear it for CRS!! Yesterday he marked his ballot for the Democrat candidate for POTUS for the first time (and hopefully the last)in his 85 yr life!
Of course, he didn't actually vote 'for' Biden, he voted ANTI Trump, so perhaps that doesn't qualify for laudatory applause?
Chris Christie: I was wrong. The coronavirus is deadly. I should have worn a mask. Everyone should take it seriously. Let's re-elect the guy who lies about it and doesn't take it seriously.
Ben Sasse: The orange one is a terrible person and a worse president. Let's re-elect him.
Why do Republicans hate America so much?
Do you want me to answer that?
@crs
kudos! here's hoping that we'll be equally open-minded if a democratic candidate comes along who is equally brain-dead.
JL
@cw[16],
as i understand it, in writing one is supposed to refer to japanese ritual suicide as seppuku. hara-kiri is often used when speaking, which is why that's the best known term in the West. although it means the same thing it's rarely used in writing.
JL
@John [20]
+1
His laying out of the SC money trail was masterful IMHO
Alin
CRS [24]
Since you live in a red state (as I do), your vote won't affect the electoral college outcome, but it makes the orangutan's phony "rigged against me" BS less plausible by running up the national score. That's why I voted for Biden, so you get my applause.
Donald Trump is even out there begging the Senate GOP members to "go big" on a stimulus package. The White House's latest offer to Nancy Pelosi stands at $1.8 trillion, which isn't that far off from where she has come down to ($2.2 or $2.4 trillion).
The orange one is desperate to distribute $1,200 checks with his name on them, so he's putting McConnell in a bad position. Pelosi should hurry up and pass her bill and let the Grim Reaper kill it. There's a garbage removal project we need some help with here in KY.
Ditch Mitch / Dump Trump
Latest Lincoln Project offering, Girl In the Mirror
[24]
I for one applaud you, CRS. I would have great difficulty pulling the lever for "the other side." You have my respect.
CRS,
Congrats on taking a stand against the criminal administration that we have all suffered through over the past 3 yrs. So glad to see people putting country over party!
— Russ
Watching the Trump townhall where Trump is questioned about his attempting to end the ACA, Trump kept saying that he has a great medical plan ready to go that will cover all pre-existing conditions if the court strikes down the ACA. I don’t know why Guthrie didn’t just ask him why he has not introduced it as nothing prevents the government from rolling out his new plan before the court rules on the ACA? In fact, if they did replace it, the court would not even need to hear the case! Trump is the one who keeps making it sound like his health care program is ready to replace the ACA just as soon as the court strikes it down, but that is not necessary for his plan to be rolled out. Reporters keep allowing Trump to act as if his plan cannot start until the court shuts down the ACA. No, he could introduce a new plan at anytime... if he actually had one to introduce!
Thread killer alert...
If there's ever a syphilis pandemic, count on Trump to organise frequent mass orgies and sell MAGA ephemera...
Masturbate America, Go Away...
LL&P
C. R. Stucki
24
Okay Weigantians, let's hear it for CRS!! Yesterday he marked his ballot for the Democrat candidate for POTUS for the first time (and hopefully the last)in his 85 yr life!
Oh, Lordy, look what you've purportedly gone and done now, mountain man. Well, okay, I've read all the comments giving you ample props, and I hereby incorporate all those sentiments into my comment herein.
Of course, he didn't actually vote 'for' Biden, he voted ANTI Trump, so perhaps that doesn't qualify for laudatory applause?
If you've actually gone and done what you've alleged to have done, then more than a big hand, you deserve a little ass...
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... a little jackass! ;)
[24] CRS
I'll just get onboard the train and say that you show good judgement and maturity in choosing something you highly dislike because it defeats something you abhor; and good character in seeing that Trump is abhorrent.
I offer the song Private Idaho.
thanks for all the music. while not exactly a song, here's something i've pre-ordered on audible:
https://books.google.com/books?id=l2GMzQEACAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions