Goddamn Trump is ruining sleep again.
What do we know doesn't work against Trump?
1. Not attacking him. Not attacking Trump doesn't work. No negative ads in the first two states has meant a small, statistically meaningless, lead in Iowa and a large, meaningful, getting to be prohibitive, lead in New Hampshire.
2. Attacking Trump. That doesn't work either. We now see the Republican dilemma. Neither not attacking Trump nor attacking Trump has worked. Attacking Trump hasn't worked, that's the con-wiz on Jeb!?'s early attacks, on Graham's, McCain's, that Spanish TV guy's confrontation with him, Megyn Kelly's, others I may have forgotten. There is considerable, recent precedent for the view that attacking Trump doesn't work. And there is evidence that this may not be the year of the political attack ad, period. Hillary Clinton unleashed a barrage of attack ads on Col. Sanders. Result: Sanders rose in the polls.
My sense, only that, is that the "right kind" of attack has not been directed at Trump. Like my friend Greg Hall's attacks, which successfully got under the skin of an NBA referee in mid-game. Greg and Trump are both masters of the one-line zinger that is so devastating that it silences their victims. He can't respond because he is left bleeding and dying on the floor.
The one-line zinger is guerrilla warfare which time and again has proved devastating against conventional forces. Guerrilla warfare not only destroys the enemy but it destroys the enemy's will to fight on. It's a double-wammy. Trump is a political guerrilla warrior. How do you defeat a guerrilla force? Play small ball too. Do not mass your forces, send in your own conventional guerrilla warriors, your "Special Forces," take out the guerrillas as they take you out, with surprise retail attacks. They are smaller than you after all. Send your conventional political guerrillas all over New Hampshire at once. Zing Trump in every town and hamlet. Attack! Attack! Attack! at every precinct. The Bushes are doing it. They have plans to unleash the clan on New Hampshire. They have to come up with the right zingers, several of them.
That's one way that attacking Trump may yet work.
3. Ostracize Trump. How? I suggested this very early on. How has Trump dominated the polls since July-and by spending virtually no money! He tweets, he holds his own rallies, he debates. There have been six debates so far. He has won every one of them. Ignore him. Aggressively ignore him by refusing to participate on the same platform with him. If the other ten GOP candidates decided to stage their own debates without Trump, that would deprive him of that platform. If a Trump falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear him, would he make a noise. No. If there's noone listening there is no noise. The others don't have the moral courage to do that. They are amoral politicians.
Can they adapt to this new political order? They have not so far. But can they? They can. Not with politics as usual but with extra-political thinking. If I were Hillary Clinton, I would give the most serious consideration to ignoring Trump and never appearing on the same platform with him. And I'd have my secret weapon, Bill, all over the fucking country zinging Trump.
Thoughts for the night. Good night.
What do we know doesn't work against Trump?
1. Not attacking him. Not attacking Trump doesn't work. No negative ads in the first two states has meant a small, statistically meaningless, lead in Iowa and a large, meaningful, getting to be prohibitive, lead in New Hampshire.
2. Attacking Trump. That doesn't work either. We now see the Republican dilemma. Neither not attacking Trump nor attacking Trump has worked. Attacking Trump hasn't worked, that's the con-wiz on Jeb!?'s early attacks, on Graham's, McCain's, that Spanish TV guy's confrontation with him, Megyn Kelly's, others I may have forgotten. There is considerable, recent precedent for the view that attacking Trump doesn't work. And there is evidence that this may not be the year of the political attack ad, period. Hillary Clinton unleashed a barrage of attack ads on Col. Sanders. Result: Sanders rose in the polls.
My sense, only that, is that the "right kind" of attack has not been directed at Trump. Like my friend Greg Hall's attacks, which successfully got under the skin of an NBA referee in mid-game. Greg and Trump are both masters of the one-line zinger that is so devastating that it silences their victims. He can't respond because he is left bleeding and dying on the floor.
The one-line zinger is guerrilla warfare which time and again has proved devastating against conventional forces. Guerrilla warfare not only destroys the enemy but it destroys the enemy's will to fight on. It's a double-wammy. Trump is a political guerrilla warrior. How do you defeat a guerrilla force? Play small ball too. Do not mass your forces, send in your own conventional guerrilla warriors, your "Special Forces," take out the guerrillas as they take you out, with surprise retail attacks. They are smaller than you after all. Send your conventional political guerrillas all over New Hampshire at once. Zing Trump in every town and hamlet. Attack! Attack! Attack! at every precinct. The Bushes are doing it. They have plans to unleash the clan on New Hampshire. They have to come up with the right zingers, several of them.
That's one way that attacking Trump may yet work.
3. Ostracize Trump. How? I suggested this very early on. How has Trump dominated the polls since July-and by spending virtually no money! He tweets, he holds his own rallies, he debates. There have been six debates so far. He has won every one of them. Ignore him. Aggressively ignore him by refusing to participate on the same platform with him. If the other ten GOP candidates decided to stage their own debates without Trump, that would deprive him of that platform. If a Trump falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear him, would he make a noise. No. If there's noone listening there is no noise. The others don't have the moral courage to do that. They are amoral politicians.
Can they adapt to this new political order? They have not so far. But can they? They can. Not with politics as usual but with extra-political thinking. If I were Hillary Clinton, I would give the most serious consideration to ignoring Trump and never appearing on the same platform with him. And I'd have my secret weapon, Bill, all over the fucking country zinging Trump.
Thoughts for the night. Good night.
