Hot and steamy on the deck today. 91 degrees with 60% humidity makes it feel like 104. A pleasant outdoor day for my Filipino friends, but, a number of years past my youth in the islands, I’m feeling it. However, with thunderstorms on the way in an hour or so, I’m not about to give up outdoor time. We endure on the deck. And, clearly, the cicadas are loving life. They’re loud and proud. Another reason to stay out here.
Voting booths across the country were also smokin’ yesterday. Kansas, ruby-red Kansas, shocked the nation. Demonstrating once again that when even conservatives get a good hard look at how Republicans govern, they turn thumbs down. Meanwhile, the clown car made its scheduled stop in Arizona and Michigan. A big thumbs-up from Republican voters there for the unreality community. All this and Pelosi thumbing her nose at China, a hellfire missile interrupts a terrorist at prayer, and a huge win for climate action is on the brink of passing. It’s been a day! It’s been a week.
But let’s start in Kansas. A political watcher wrote a book a few years back titled “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” He was trying to figure out why conservative voters kept voting against their own self-interest. Or what this fellow perceived was their self-interest. Essentially what he learned was that, for conservative voters, the culture wars trumped their economic interest every time. Which made/makes conservative voters easy marks for Republican politicians. Simply gin up a culture war every four years, gay marriage, transgender swimmers, CRT, and conservatives run frothing to the polls, seeming to forget/ignore that these same Republican politicians are giving huge tax breaks to their wealthy donors while screwing their own voters on the economic front. Oh, but, you may remember “trickle down.” The only things that ever trickled down were jobs and dollars to Mexico and China. But conservatives were glad to suffer in silence as long as they could wrest the cake from gay folks’ mouths.
So what the hell happened in Kansas yesterday?! Kansas voters, by a 20-point margin, supported their constitution which provides for a right to abortion, which, oh, by the way, just happens to be the biggest culture-war issue of all-time. And, just in case you need reminding, Kansas is a ruby-red state. There may be a few liberals climbing onto bar stools in a college town here or there, but most Kansans like their politicians conversant with hogs and corn and anti-government slogans.
And, again, just to remind you, Republican politicians in Kansas, demonstrating the fear of democracy which consumes the party in the Trump era, did everything possible to prevent their own citizens from voting on the issue. Which, come to think of it, makes me wonder if they don’t know more about their own voters than they’re letting on. But that’s a thought to pursue another day.
Here’s what they did in Kansas. They scheduled the vote for an August day when only Republican primaries had serious import. I.e. they avoided November election day, when more Democrats could be expected to show up. They wrote the bill, which would void the state constitution right to an abortion, in confusing language. And, they sent text messages lying outright to voters, saying a “yes” vote would protect the rights in the constitution. Exactly the opposite was true.
Despite all that, turnout was huge, more than double the 2018 primary, and the measure was defeated in a landslide. In Kansas. Should I mention that again? In Kansas!!! Where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1!! Which means that tens of thousands of Republicans voted to keep abortion legal in their state. Take a deep breath and ponder that again. I mean, they called this vote by 9:30 in the evening, a vote that was expected to be called at 3:00 a.m., if then.
Which confirms a theory which I’ve long held. Voters, even conservative voters, when they get a chance to see what Republicans actually do with power … thank you very much Supreme Court … generally are repulsed. It’s the silver lining I’ve always talked about when Republicans win. Even when Trump won in 2016. Let folks actually see what they do. And after four years of chaos, dysfunction, incompetence, countries around the world laughing at us, the spread of fear and hate in our populace, what happened?! Trump was defeated in a landslide.
It’s not that we want Trump to win. We were lucky to dodge huge bullets while that ignorant imbecile was president. It’s not that we’re happy the Supreme Court is essentially a religious court. The rights they’ve destroyed, and may destroy in the future, will ruin thousands, tens of thousands, of lives. We have to fight Republican malfeasance with everything we have. But, as I’ve often said, if/when they do win, look for the silver lining. When folks see them in action, they generally stick their fingers down their throats and spew like they’ve just ingested the rankest shell fish at the sushi bar. Call it conservative botulism. There is a causal link between watching Republicans do what they do and voting for Democrats. Essentially, the best Democratic platform is simply, “Or you could let Republicans run the show.”
So, the lesson is, when Republicans do things like this, Democratic politicians need to embrace it. Run hard on it. Don’t run away from the rights of women. Embrace it. Spend 24/7 painting a picture of what this country will look like if Republicans get their way. And if you go overboard a bit with your picture. Fine. Make sure folks get the message.
Now some more bits of good news from yesterday’s primaries. In Washington, both of the pro-impeachment Republicans survived their primaries. Something to build on. Baby steps.
Yes, the clown car emptied to raucous Republican applause in Arizona and Michigan. Folks who actually believe, or pretend to believe, that Trump won the last election, won primaries across the board. Including positions which will certify the next election.
Which means, and I don’t mean maybe, that if they win in November, they will, not might, will, refuse to certify any Democratic wins in 2024. Republicans will have achieved what they are seeking. Only Republican victories will be legitimate. Democratic victories simply get tossed out.
That will throw the nation into constitutional crisis, which, if Congress and the Supreme Court go along with the Republican scheme, will end democracy in America. That is what is on the ballot in Arizona in November.
Now, I think that is likely a good thing, because I have a wee bit of faith in Arizona voters. I suspect these ridiculous Trumpers will lose to Democrats in November. But it’s not hyperbole to point out that the future of American democracy is on the ballot in Arizona in November.
Now, Republican Peter Meijer, who voted for impeachment, losing his Republican primary to an ignorant Trumper in Michigan. Much discussion about the Democrats running ads ostensibly in support of this Gibbs fellow. Which likely raised his name recognition at the very least.
I confess I’m torn on this. If the Democrats win the seat in November, it will be hard to argue against their strategy. I’m most definitely not in the “when they go low, we go high” category. Democrats need their Lee Atwaters. We need to play hardball where necessary to save the republic. It’s as simple as that.
At the same time, the tactic embarrasses me.
But at the same time, Democrats did not stretch the truth at all in their ad. They simply told Republicans exactly who Gibbs is. It plays like a pro-Gibbs ad. I mean, to many/most Republican voters, being a liar, an idiot, an ignorant fool, is a plus. That’s all Democrats did. They ran an ad pointing out who Gibbs is.
So, when Meijer and others complain, what they’re complaining about, as “The Bulwark” pointed out this morning, is that their own voters prefer fools for candidates. When given complete information about two candidates, their voters prefer the moron. It’s hard to blame Democrats for that. That’s just who Republicans are these days.
And, oh by the way, did you see any prominent Republicans campaigning for Meijer?! Did you see the national party pouring money into his race to make sure the semi-sane guy got elected? No. Why? Because they know their voters. And they’re terrified. They’re terrified of what their own party has become. And none of them, outside of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, have a leader’s bone in their spineless bodies. So, instead of stepping up and trying to lead their voters to a better place, they cower in Washington, and let the last few sane/decent Republicans go down. And then go on national television to bitch at Democrats for not saving their asses. And I find it very hard to sympathize with that!
Oh, but while we’re talking about leaders. Let’s pause to celebrate an ancient woman who refused to be intimidated by one of the most powerful nations on earth. Refused to be intimidated by many in her own party. Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan. I honestly don’t know if that was a good move or a poor one. But I celebrate her for doing it. That’s what leadership looks like. In two weeks, when Liz Cheney loses her job, there won’t be a single Republican left on the planet with a spine like that.
And let’s give Joe Biden and Democrats a round of applause for an amazing week! If this Manchin compromise bill passes, the entire narrative of Biden’s presidency might flip.
And maybe, just maybe, the hidden hordes will come out across the nation in November, like they did in Kansas yesterday, and maybe, just maybe, democracy will live to fight another year or two.