Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Dr. Strangelove]

Favorite tactic of Trump's to soften the blow of his candidate losing is to point out that the guy was losing by a ridiculous amount until Trump decided to get involved. The RNC is stepping in this time too, claiming that the Republican in Mississippi was losing by double digits until Trump went there.

Bevin was indeed down by a lot a long time ago but he had pretty much closed the gap well before Trump's rally on Monday. And Bevin claiming he's Trump friend definitely helped him. But this is probably one of the only times being associated with Trump has actually helped a candidate since 2016

[Ghengis Jon]

Beshear should run a tv ad with Trump's anti-Besear tirade as the narration. Thank Trump for the incoherent rant that was the final nudge needed to push him over the top to victory. Express profound gratitude for highlighting his utter rejection by Trump as a badge of honor, endearing him to the electorate. Tell Trump he's always welcome in Kentucky, home of some of the most scenic penitentiaries in the nation.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Like any good mini-Trump would do, Bevin has declared himself the victim of voter fraud

...even though every other Republican running for statewide office won easily...

[iam416]

A lot of posts for the equivalent of beating a RichGOD M team. Yeah, they look like they should win because of the name, but then you see what they are. I mean, cool. But, meh.

But, hey, maybe you boys can oust McConnell! Kentucky's gone PURPLE!!!!

[Dr. Strangelove]

A lot of posts for the equivalent of beating a RichGOD M team. Yeah, they look like they should win because of the name, but then you see what they are. I mean, cool. But, meh.

But, hey, maybe you boys can oust McConnell! Kentucky's gone PURPLE!!!!

When Der Drumfkaiser flies to Kentucky the night before the election for his weekly AIN'T I GREAT? rally, and tells the crowd you gotta make sure Bevin wins else it'll make me look bad, you're obliged to give us 24 hours for a little gloating.

Anyhoo, Josh Holmes, McConnell's former Chief of Staff, is no fan of Trump but Republican through and through. The results from last night that he thinks show the biggest problem for Republicans in 2020 are the local elections in Bucks, Delaware, and Chester Counties, PA. Republicans got slaughtered in traditional strongholds.

[Ghengis Jon]

A RichGOD M team? Ouch, that's a low blow.

[iam416]

I need to speak your language, Jon. Heh.

[Hannibal]

Scott Walker and now Bevin should be examples that in the Trump Republican Party you cannot be overtly anti-union. Must conceal it.

This is a good point. That era is largely over. People are unhappy with their schools, but they don't blame the teachers. Or rather I should say -- the days when that is a winning election strategy are over.

[iam416]

Hmmm. So, Kentucky also elected its first black AG and it's first R AG since the 1940s? That seems like a story, too.

[Hannibal]

Demographics certainly didn't help the Rs yesterday. I'm surprised that it took so long to flip Virginia. It's never going red again.

Texas is the ultimate prize though. It goes blue no later than 2028.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Demographics certainly didn't help the Rs yesterday. I'm surprised that it took so long to flip Virginia. It's never going red again.

Texas is the ultimate prize though. It goes blue no later than 2028.

Quick note on Virginia, the racial composition is not wildly different than 20 years ago. The difference is college-educated whites now make up a significantly bigger portion of the white population, and Trump has been driving those folks out of the Party in droves.

Not all Northern Virginia/DC either. Richmond and the Hampton Roads metro areas have grown much faster than rural Virginia and a lot of it is transplants. Richmond in particular used to be pure country club Republicans and cigarette company execs. Has dramatically changed.

[Dr. Strangelove]

And while it's generally true that Trump has hurt Republican standing in suburban America, not all suburbs are alike. So while the suburbs of DC or Columbus have been trending more Dem over time, the suburbs of Milwaukee or Cincinnati aren't really budging that much.

EDIT: I'll throw out Westmoreland County, PA as an interesting example that defies trends. It's a suburban/exurban county just east of Pittsburgh. Population peaked in 1980 at almost 400K people. Used to reliably vote Democrat. But like the rest of SW PA is started to go into decline with the death of the steel industry and now has almost 50,000 fewer people than 40 years ago. This is the epitome of "Trump country" -- he won it by almost 30 points. The same county that had voted for LBJ and Carter and Mondale and Dukakis.

[froot loops]

If there is enough demographic change where a state like Texas turns, it doesn't mean that it is forever. What it would mean is the tactics and policies change of the party losing it. Trumpism is not some long term strategic plan, it is more like the last phase of the southern strategy. Its more likely that Texas would be a gigantic swing state.

[Hannibal]

The racial composition of Virginia isn't wildly different per se, but the white population percentage has dropped since the 2000 census from 72% to 62%. Not the only factor for sure, but that shaves off a lot of margin of error for a state that has voted for the Dem presidential candidate since 2008 and I'm guessing has tons of people who work for the federal government. There are still a ton of swing voters out there but it helps if you only need to win 55% of those people instead of 65% of those people. Economic Libertarianism has fallen out of favor over the past 10 years or so, which leaves the Rs right now with very little to win on.