11-19-2022, 11:17 AM
(11-19-2022, 02:38 AM)Dill Wrote: Yes, I tend to agree with the bolded here.
But for the moment, Fox is testing the waters by airing some anti-Trump commentary, and somewhat coded affirmations of Trump "policies" which are supposed to have been great and which can be carried forward by others.
Hannity has been hedging his bets, refusing to dump on Trump yet, calling himself "open" to what happens in the next year, but carefully reminding callers how "great" Trump's policies were and how people will soon miss 2 dollar a gallon gas enough to realize their mistaken voting, just because the guy threw out some mean tweets. (This to a caller who was saddened that the MSM had successfully "tagged Trump as toxic" and that's why his support seemed to be waning, not because of Trump's unstable, illegal, and very public behavior. The failed coup is equated to a mean tweet--bothers some, but real men shrug it off.)
As Laura advocates Trumpism without Trump, it may be that "trump vs liberals" is gradually displaced by "DeSantis and others vs liberals."
But they keep repeating the conspiracies of the past 4 years as "fact." Dan Bongino even begged his listeners to send him more conspiracy theories because so many have turned out to be "true"--the Russia investigation Was a Hoax, like the two impeachments, Obama DID spy on Trump, the FBI was embedded in the Proud Boys and so had a role in instigating 1/6, Hunter Biden's laptop has been "verified," etc. They have to remain invested in the "witchhunt" politics to keep their audience and the political power which can extracted from their support.
This need may keep Trump in the mix, even if only inadvertently. The big objection to him is not that he "breaks china," but only that his endorsements no longer have the power to discipline the whole party in his direction. For the moment. It's "the base" that will finally settle this, a base steeped in the aforementioned "facts" and still hostile to the more responsible reporting of the "fake news."
I'm not sure I completely agree with the bolded. I definitely agree with the statement when it comes to the GOP base. Actual legislators and donors may be a different story. The narratives on conservative talk outlets certainly play a role, but the voices on those platforms are just the most available ones for consumption. They aren't necessarily the ones that matter.
Trump was the battering ram for many of the recent policy wins for the right, but they were largely executed by more sober and calculating players-of-the-game like McConnell and judge Thomas. Mitch is IMO the main architect of the modern conservative movement, and he's arguably the most effective legislator in modern US history. Trump was the face and voice of the party, but does anyone think this shift would have occurred without Mitch's persistence and gamesmanship?
My point is, McConnell and the adults in the party like a good lib-owning as much as anyone, but they like power better. They don't care for rhetorical power quite as much as actual legislative power. If Trump gets in the way of the acquisition of that power, he will be dealt with IMO. If he is viewed as potentially diminishing that power, he will be dealt with.
Anyone vs the liberals works in primaries, but national it's not quite as effective. The party will have to win votes that aren't motivated by conspiracies or partisan grandstanding. That's how Biden beats Trump. That's how a red wave never materializes. Even in a bad economy with a largely negative outlook among voters, they still didn't give power back to the authoritarian firebrands. A lot of people are tired of hearing that shit, much as they are tired of the "woke" politics on the left.
Dems have trouble reigning in the more extreme views in their party in national elections, and it's quite a balancing act. It benefitted the right for a long time. Now the right will have an internal conflict that mirrors the one on the left. That, again is how Biden becomes the nominee and president. He's old, vanilla, and not nearly as easy to peg as an extremist. The right will need to find a way to keep it's extremists from gaining momentum and co-opting the party as Trump did. If they don't, they will continue to underperform in national elections.
