26 August 2018

Dangerous Days

I often don't agree with Andrew Sullivan, but his work is almost always an interesting, thoughtful read. His latest piece for New York magazine (link here) is titled "Here’s Where Things Get Dangerous With Trump."

A short excerpt:

"There was a sense among some this week that we had at last reached that golden 'inflection point' when all of Trump’s lies, scams, cons, and crimes finally sink in with Republicans, and the cult begins to crack."

"I tend to think something else is happening: that we are entering the most dangerous phase of Donald Trump’s presidency. We always knew this would happen — that the rule of law and Trump would at some point be unable to coexist — but we had no idea how it would specifically play out. Now we see the lay of the land a little more clearly."

"What we’re about to find out is if Trump can pull off all his usual tricks, and face no serious political or legal consequences for this. I'd say that question remains nerve-rackingly open."

I don't know if I agree with this last point. The midterms are in a little more than two months. Republicans stand a good chance of keeping the Senate, but Democrats stand a better chance of taking the House. If that happens, the gameboard is completely upended.

Because of extreme gerrymandering and dark money, sitting Republicans in Congress are hiding behind Trump for now. If their party suffers major losses in this year's midterms, then at least some will begin to peel away from Trump.

Trump's base is shrinking and weaker. This past week did serious damage and cost Trump significant capital. That can't continue indefinitely.

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