Below is a post that I partially composed last week, it looks like March 6, last Sunday. Since then there have been two other incidents of violence at Trump rallies, those have been added, and Hillary Clinton's lead over Trump has expanded slightly to 6.3%.
As Lee Atwater did to Michael Dukakis with Willie Horton, the Democrats should make John McGraw or any of the others below, Trump's "running-mate."
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It is the morning after and...there does not seem to be a lot of bad fallout for Trump Lovers and Trump/Republican Loathers from Saturday's results. Trump clearly has still a direct path to the nomination and by far the most direct path.
So I began again to look ahead to the general election and what might be done to bring about the result that both I and former Reagan aide Bruce Bartlett most desire: the destruction of Donald Trump's candidacy and of the Republican Party.
I had an epiphany during my China work: everybody blamed Mao for the Cultural Revolution and that blame was well-placed. It was his idea. Did Mao have the support of the Chinese people, though? That was the question that led to the epiphany. It can be difficult to answer that question in a totalitarian system but I did. And others did too. And the answer was yes, Mao Zedong had the support of the Chinese people for the Cultural Revolution catastrophe. Ergo, the Chinese people deserved blame too. They were Mao's "morning suns," carrying out his pogroms and murders.
In a democracy it is tautological to say a leader has the support of the people. And so I did. Donald Trump has the support of about 35% of the Republican Party. That support is "hard," it is a "high floor," it is loyal. It has been impervious to diminution. Trump's Republican poll numbers have gone up as other candidates have dropped off, into the 40's but on Saturday anyway Trump's support as measured by ballots cast did not match his polls, he badly underperformed in all five states and remained at the 34% he had won before Saturday.
When matched against Hillary Clinton in the polls, Trump consistently loses, but loses close. And let it be said here as it is in more learned circles that general election polls this far out are almost meaningless. Almost. For what they're worth now Trump loses by an average of 45.4%-42%. But that 42% is of the entire electorate, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, it is not 42% of just the Republican Party, the smaller of the two major political parties in America. Ergo: Trump's ceiling is demonstrably not 30%-40% of Republicans if the general elections polls demonstrate anything, we don't know what Trump's ceiling is. In the last five general election polls his support ranges between 36% and 45% (the latter is the one poll number with which he bests Clinton).
We don't know what Trump's "hard" support is nationally as there have been no votes cast yet to specifically determine it and there won't be anything definitive until it's too late. It is my guess that Trump's hard support in a general election matchup with Hillary Clinton is lower, much lower, than even the lowest of his poll numbers, 36%, but if we are to visit the Bartlett/Harris apocalypse upon Trump and the Republican Party we must visit that apocalypse upon the people who support Trump.
It thus behooves us to determine if we can destroy those people and still have enough left over to like win the election. I, Benjamin Harris, do not know how to determine that. I trust brighter bulbs do.
I trust that brighter bulbs than this one can make that determination because of three things: 1. The Democrats are by all account going to give no quarter to Trump. There will be "daisy"-like ads, they are going to go nuclear on him. 2. Whatever Trump's hard support is nationally it lives in a nuclear-proof shelter. That is, it is unlikely that a collateral consequence of nuking Trump is going to be more voters for Clinton. Those not destroyed will still vote for Trump. 3. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRUMP'S HARD SUPPORTERS MUST BE POLITICALLY DESTROYED, NEUTRALIZED, OVERWHELMED.
Look at these images. They were all taken at Trump rallies. Trump people, supporters, are abusing protesters. THIS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY ITSELF. Hillary Clinton must make no effort (as if it would be successful, lol) to win these proto-Nazis. She must destroy them and if necessary lose the election. These Trump people should be arrested and prosecuted. This violent, racist element in Trump's support must be destroyed politically or cowed into not voting.
In my opinion, Clinton can best utilize these images in a political advertisement to shame possible Trump voters in excess of the hard "moron" vote into voting for her.
October 23, 2015, Miami, Florida.
Account by Time:
The shouting began just moments after Donald Trump took the stage Friday at his Miami golf resort. Three small groups of Latino protesters had snuck into the crowd of nearly 3,000 supporters on Oct. 23, and their chants of “Equality” and “Dignity” echoed through the hall one after another. Chaos quickly followed.
There was yelling, kicking and pushing. One Trump supporter used a campaign sign that read “The Silent Majority Stands With Trump,” to hit a protester on his back as he was being led away. A large bald man grabbed protester Ariel Rojas by the collar, toppling him to the floor, before kicking him.
October 24, 2015, Richmond, Virginia.
Trump people confront immigration activists, the man in blue shirt and the woman in dark sweatshirt particularly.
The man in the cowboy hat punches a Black protester as he's being led out of a Trump rally. This man, John McGraw, said afterward, "The next time we might have to kill him!" McGraw was arrested. Trump has said he will pay his legal expenses.
March 11, 2016, Chicago, Illinois.
As Lee Atwater did to Michael Dukakis with Willie Horton, the Democrats should make John McGraw or any of the others below, Trump's "running-mate."
..........................................................................................................................
It is the morning after and...there does not seem to be a lot of bad fallout for Trump Lovers and Trump/Republican Loathers from Saturday's results. Trump clearly has still a direct path to the nomination and by far the most direct path.
So I began again to look ahead to the general election and what might be done to bring about the result that both I and former Reagan aide Bruce Bartlett most desire: the destruction of Donald Trump's candidacy and of the Republican Party.
I had an epiphany during my China work: everybody blamed Mao for the Cultural Revolution and that blame was well-placed. It was his idea. Did Mao have the support of the Chinese people, though? That was the question that led to the epiphany. It can be difficult to answer that question in a totalitarian system but I did. And others did too. And the answer was yes, Mao Zedong had the support of the Chinese people for the Cultural Revolution catastrophe. Ergo, the Chinese people deserved blame too. They were Mao's "morning suns," carrying out his pogroms and murders.
In a democracy it is tautological to say a leader has the support of the people. And so I did. Donald Trump has the support of about 35% of the Republican Party. That support is "hard," it is a "high floor," it is loyal. It has been impervious to diminution. Trump's Republican poll numbers have gone up as other candidates have dropped off, into the 40's but on Saturday anyway Trump's support as measured by ballots cast did not match his polls, he badly underperformed in all five states and remained at the 34% he had won before Saturday.
When matched against Hillary Clinton in the polls, Trump consistently loses, but loses close. And let it be said here as it is in more learned circles that general election polls this far out are almost meaningless. Almost. For what they're worth now Trump loses by an average of 45.4%-42%. But that 42% is of the entire electorate, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, it is not 42% of just the Republican Party, the smaller of the two major political parties in America. Ergo: Trump's ceiling is demonstrably not 30%-40% of Republicans if the general elections polls demonstrate anything, we don't know what Trump's ceiling is. In the last five general election polls his support ranges between 36% and 45% (the latter is the one poll number with which he bests Clinton).
We don't know what Trump's "hard" support is nationally as there have been no votes cast yet to specifically determine it and there won't be anything definitive until it's too late. It is my guess that Trump's hard support in a general election matchup with Hillary Clinton is lower, much lower, than even the lowest of his poll numbers, 36%, but if we are to visit the Bartlett/Harris apocalypse upon Trump and the Republican Party we must visit that apocalypse upon the people who support Trump.
It thus behooves us to determine if we can destroy those people and still have enough left over to like win the election. I, Benjamin Harris, do not know how to determine that. I trust brighter bulbs do.
I trust that brighter bulbs than this one can make that determination because of three things: 1. The Democrats are by all account going to give no quarter to Trump. There will be "daisy"-like ads, they are going to go nuclear on him. 2. Whatever Trump's hard support is nationally it lives in a nuclear-proof shelter. That is, it is unlikely that a collateral consequence of nuking Trump is going to be more voters for Clinton. Those not destroyed will still vote for Trump. 3. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRUMP'S HARD SUPPORTERS MUST BE POLITICALLY DESTROYED, NEUTRALIZED, OVERWHELMED.
Look at these images. They were all taken at Trump rallies. Trump people, supporters, are abusing protesters. THIS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY ITSELF. Hillary Clinton must make no effort (as if it would be successful, lol) to win these proto-Nazis. She must destroy them and if necessary lose the election. These Trump people should be arrested and prosecuted. This violent, racist element in Trump's support must be destroyed politically or cowed into not voting.
In my opinion, Clinton can best utilize these images in a political advertisement to shame possible Trump voters in excess of the hard "moron" vote into voting for her.
October 23, 2015, Miami, Florida.
Account by Time:
The shouting began just moments after Donald Trump took the stage Friday at his Miami golf resort. Three small groups of Latino protesters had snuck into the crowd of nearly 3,000 supporters on Oct. 23, and their chants of “Equality” and “Dignity” echoed through the hall one after another. Chaos quickly followed.
There was yelling, kicking and pushing. One Trump supporter used a campaign sign that read “The Silent Majority Stands With Trump,” to hit a protester on his back as he was being led away. A large bald man grabbed protester Ariel Rojas by the collar, toppling him to the floor, before kicking him.
October 24, 2015, Richmond, Virginia.
Trump people confront immigration activists, the man in blue shirt and the woman in dark sweatshirt particularly.
The man in blue spits in the protester's face.
November 21, 2015, Birmingham, Alabama.
The woman whose arm is extended is about to kick a protester who is on the ground in front of and obscured by the Black security officer.
Leg extended, kick.
December 3, 2015, New York City.
A Trump security man takes a sign from a protester.
The protester runs after the goon to get the sign back and the goon decks him with a punch.
December 11, 2015, New York City.
Per Associated Press, two Muslim woman protesting at a Trump function are forcibly ejected.
December 14, 2015, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Per Slate Trump supporters yell "Sieg Heil!" and "Light the mother-fucker on fire!" as a Black protester is removed from a Trump rally.
March 1, 2016, Louisville, Kentucky.
This Black woman protesting at a Trump event is pushed and shoved by three different White men as she is led out of a Trump rally. Others shout verbal abuse at her.
The man in the fedora is the first.
The man in the red cap, here yelling, at her is the second.
The man in the veteran's cap is the third. Here, about to push.
And here, arms outthrust, push.
March 9, 2016, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The man in the cowboy hat punches a Black protester as he's being led out of a Trump rally. This man, John McGraw, said afterward, "The next time we might have to kill him!" McGraw was arrested. Trump has said he will pay his legal expenses.
Led away.
Suckerpunch.
March 11, 2016, Chicago, Illinois.
A Trump rally has to be called off because of fears of violence after protesters infiltrated. Trump inaccurately blamed the campaign of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders for organizing the protest, calling Sanders a "communist" and threatening to have Trump supporters infiltrate Sanders rallies.
