Trump Will Now Bet The Farm That Racism And Misogyny Will Save Him-- He'll Lose That Bet

 

"Please Stop And Let Me Finish, Sir" by Nancy Ohanian

Republicans are desperate to make the election about something other than Trump. In a Trump referendum, they lose-- top to bottom. And now it looks like someone has finally persuaded Trump to do the unthinkable, help make the election not-about-him. Appealing to his innate racism and misogyny, Trump is preparing to try to make the election about Kamala Harris.

Reporting for the Associated Press yesterday, Kathleen Ronayne wrote that "Grasping for a comeback, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are intensifying their focus not on Democratic nominee Joe Biden, but on his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris-- arguing without evidence that it’s Harris, the first Black woman on a major party ticket, who would really be in charge if Democrats win the White House. The effort is laced with sexist and racist undertones, and one that is aimed at winning back Republicans and independents who are comfortable with Biden’s more moderate record, but may associate Harris with Democrats’ left flank, despite her own more centrist positions on some major issues."

I filled out my ballot yesterday. My record is unbroken-- another pass on Kamala Harris. I looked at her every time she's run for office and didn't vote for her. The funny thing about this time, though, is that if it were Harris vs Trump, I probably would have voted for her. But as much as I understand the consequences of another Trump term, I just couldn't vote for Biden, safe in the knowledge that the size of the anti-Trump landslide in California doesn't need my vote. During Biden's many decades in the Senate, he always had one of the worst, most GOP-like voting records-- always an "F" and always among the 2 or 3 Democrats eager to vote against progressive priorities. Kamala, like most politicians, may not believe in anything beyond her own career trajectory, but her voting record is actually excellent. ProgressivePunch rates her a solid "A" and her record is not just in the top 10, the not always relective-of-reality algorithm employed by ProgressivePunch shows her "more progressive" than Bernie. (She's got a 95.47% lifetime crucial vote score; his is 94.55%.) On the other hand; he's an actual progressive; she's... a savvy California politician from the liberal wing of the establishment.

Trump, of course, isn't going to attack Kamala because she isn't a true progressive. Ronayne wrote that "During the past week, Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News that Harris would assume the presidency within 'three months' of Biden’s inauguration. During a conversation with Rush Limbaugh, he warned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would 'replace' Biden with Harris. And the president called her a 'monster' during an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business." If Trump thinks this is going to help him with suburban women, it may be in for a rude awakening next month.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Trump ally, is pushing the president to make Harris a campaign centerpiece.

“If voters understand the totality of her radicalism, they would conclude that she would be a very high-risk person to put in the White House,” Gingrich said.

He went on to call Biden “docile” and Harris “aggressive.”

The sexism and racism associated with such language, including Trump’s reference to Harris as a “monster,” are aimed at Trump’s most loyal supporters.

“It is really an effort to say to their base, ‘Look, we don’t want a Black woman to be president,’” said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. ”‘We don’t want this Black person to take over in case something happens to Joe Biden.’”

Fudge said efforts to brand Harris as radical don’t align with her record, particularly on law enforcement. Harris and Fudge are both former prosecutors.

Republicans “consistently talk about law and order to the only person in this race that has a law-and-order background,” Fudge said.

Still, there are some signs that Trump’s message is resonating with his base.

“I’m scared that if Harris gets in, it will be a Harris administration ’cause old Joe’s got some issues,” said Bob Stanley, a retired orthopedic physician assistant who lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and said he will be voting again for Trump.

Unless Biden dies, ole Bob Stanley needn't worry about Harris running the country any more than any other vice president ever has, including the current master-manipulator. Chances are, if Biden is a puppet for anyone, it will be Obama. Ronayne added that "Joshua Dyck, an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, said the focus on Harris is a sign that Trump’s attacks on Biden aren’t working. 'This is a desire not to run against Joe Biden, to run against anybody but Joe Biden,' he said."

There’s little evidence that Trump’s strategy will change minds. While vice presidential picks generate buzz, they rarely sway voters, said Dyck, who also runs the UMass-Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion.

One exception may be 2008, when Republican John McCain chose little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. McCain was 72. A New York Times/CBS News poll taken just before the election found 59% of voters said Palin was not prepared to be president.

...Biden and Harris can best respond to the attacks by focusing on their agenda and policies, said Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California. Other allies can denounce Trump’s comments, as the women of the Congressional Black Caucus recently did.

“There are those in the country who need to raise their voices and say this is un-American,” Lee said. “We cannot tolerate this in a multiracial country.”

OK, here's one voter who didn't vote for Kamala and who agrees completely with Barbara Lee-- Trump, as always, is un-American, racist and fun of rage and hatred towards women. Is that news to anyone?