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Friday, July 8, 2016

The Real Choice in November: are You With Trump or Us?

The events of the last few days just give further impetus to the question. After the shootings of black men and the Texas shootings of police it's very  simple. Do we heal as a nation or not? A victory for Trump is a victory for those who seek to divide us among racial and other lines.

"In an ever more polarized country, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is forcing the question."

"It’s a threshold question, one that can trigger uncomfortable conversations: Do you support Donald Trump?"

"As his outrages add up, and up, and up, Americans are going to be confronted with the question of where they stood when the would-be strongman vied for power, fueled by an ethno-nationalist slate. A great sorting on the Trump question is coming."

"Votes for president have long been a kind of social signifier. People will proudly boast that they voted for JFK; while it’s harder to find those eager to claim having supported Richard Nixon. You don’t find many boastful Carter Democrats (or George Bush Republicans, Jr. or Sr.), but among liberal old timers, voting for FDR remains a badge of honor; so much so that Bernie Sanders, who up until last year had never been a Democrat, proudly associated his brand of “Democratic Socialism” with the 32nd president. There is little that defines a modern conservative more than an effusive and often revisionist adoration of Ronald Reagan; indeed, to be “Reaganite” is to be the conservative ideal. There are even “Reagan Democrats,” who proudly crossed the aisle to vote for him."

"In many quarters, there is no shame in the game. In very conservative pockets of the U.S.—particularly across much of the deep south—just about everybody, or at least everybody white, will be a Trump voter. While Trump is unlikely to become the next president without some dramatic, material shift among voters of color, just by dint of being a Republican he is all but guaranteed the support of at least four in ten voters—and perhaps six in ten white voters—nationwide on November 8."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/08/trump-or-us-which-side-are-you-on.html

Maybe. Although give some credit to white voters. Most polls have shown him struggling to break 5 of 10 white voters. Most have had him at around 49 percent-with Hillary at around 40 percent or so.

White women who graduated college are turning from him in droves-the Jennifer Rubin bloc.

Joy Reid argues that there are three types of Trump supporters:

"First, there are the die-hard Trumpists; those openly and proudly with him no matter what he says or tweets or what outlandish company he keeps (Indian whoops? Skinhead brawls? So what! We’re getting our wall!) They believe wholeheartedly that “Mr. Trump” will use his business skills to bring back the 1950s era they’re nostalgic for, complete with good-paying manufacturing jobs and a country without so many Mexicans and other foreigners. Even if he can’t pull off his promises, they’re looking forward to the death of the multiculturalism, “safe spaces” and political correctness of the Obama era. They’re copping “Make America Great” hats on the Internet, stocking up on guns and ammo to tackle ISIS in the heartland, or ticking the heart icon under “Trump girls break the Internet.” Win or lose, some on the rough edge of this camp will be aggressive with unbelievers after November 8th. Just ask Asian or Polish Londoners across the pond who are catching hell now from the worst of the Brexiteers."

For the hardcore Trumpsters, the more 'politically incorrect' the better.

"Then there are the reluctant Trump supporters; the ones who readily confess to being uncomfortable or even embarrassed about their candidate, but who will vote for him anyway; out of partisanship, or Hillary hatred, or some other formulation perhaps only ambitious, elected Republicans like Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio can truly understand."

As Reid says, these folks are always waiting for the 'pivot' that never comes.

It's the Little Marco position: Trump is not qualified to have the nuclear codes. But hey, he's not Hillary Clinton who used private email.

Here's some good news for Hillary Clinton-ie, some good news for the country as it makes it more likely she wins.

"The US economy gained 287,000 jobs in June, the strongest monthly result of 2016. The unexpectedly strong result helps put to rest fears of the US economy tipping into recession — a recession that would have been bad for Hillary Clinton’s chances of capturing the White House in November."

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/8/12128092/june-jobs-report




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