Delaware Liberal

Saturday Open Thread [5.28.2016]

Delaware Dem

This is for Jason, from Jonathan Chait, to calm some Trump fears:

Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States would pose an unprecedented threat to the health of American democracy and possibly world stability. There is, however, an upside: Trump’s campaign is an absolute garbage fire. By all accounts it is the most organizationally and strategically inept campaign for a successful major-party nominee in recorded history. Ashley Parker and Maggie Haberman round up many of the details, but the basic story that emerges from their reports and others is that Trump has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. […]

To the extent that running a competent campaign matters, it will hurt Trump very badly. Yes, he won the Republican primary by relying on a massive imbalance of media coverage and exploiting a divided, extremely large field that failed to coalesce against him. Yes, he tapped into deep strains of anger in the conservative base that fellow Republicans ignored. But he’s not a political savant, and he hasn’t abolished the rules of politics. He’s a reality-television performer who tapped into a deep vein of cultural resentment that appeals to a decided minority of the electorate. Fortunately, many of the same qualities that would make Trump epically dangerous in the presidency — his impulsive ignorance, blustering arrogance, and contempt for data — also make him unlikely to obtain it.

Emphasis mine.

Dahlia Lithwick has some advice for liberals on how to improve the discourse.

I’m not a psychologist and can’t speak to the outrage. But I think a lot about how we speak to one another, and I worry that my progressive friends and I are falling victim to some habits and ideas that have made it virtually impossible for the left and right to even engage—much less debate—serious issues anymore in this country. I see them in myself in alarming new ways when I find myself digging in on Bernie vs. Hillary. I wonder if now is the time to talk about it out loud.

I encourage you to go read her list of the 4 things we need to stop doing.

Donald Trump said he will not participate in a debate with Bernie Sanders, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “Based on the fact that the Democratic nominating process is totally rigged and Crooked Hillary Clinton and Deborah Wasserman Schultz will not allow Bernie Sanders to win, and now that I am the presumptive Republican nominee, it seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher.”

He added: “As I want to debate Bernie Sanders – and it would be an easy payday – I will wait to debate the first place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton, or whoever it may be.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that our system will prevent any “big mistakes” if Donald Trump becomes president, TPM reports.

Said McConnell: “Well, one thing I’m pretty calm about is that this is nowhere near the most divisive period in American history. But what protects us in this country against big mistakes being made is the structure, the Constitution, the institutions.”

He added: “No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don’t get to do anything you want to.”

Well, given that all Republicans have rolled over for Trump, I don’t have much faith that McConnell will stop him.

“A constant stream of changes and scuffles are roiling Donald Trump’s campaign team, including the abrupt dismissal this week of his national political director,” the New York Times reports.

“A sense of paranoia is growing among his campaign staff members, including some who have told associates they believe that their Trump Tower offices may be bugged.”

“And there is confusion among his donors, who want to give money to a ‘super PAC’ supporting Mr. Trump, but have received conflicting signals from top aides about which one to support.”

Markos:

Hillary Clinton has won the nomination (and yes, she has) on the strength of strong support among Democrats, Latinos, older women and African Americans. Bernie Sanders’ base is independents, young voters (including significant numbers of young people of color) and white men. Those are the facts and they are incontrovertible.

Bernie Sanders, knowing he has no chance to win on the strength of democracy and votes, is now arguing that superdelegates should reward his loss by undemocratically handing him the nomination. He didn’t earn the victory at the polls, thus he should be coronated by fiat. He wants the establishment he attacks to grant him victory anyway.

If this were to happen, our party’s voters of color and the woman they back would be nullified in favor of the white male candidate predominantly supported by white men. This doesn’t mean that those pushing for this outcome, or Bernie Sanders himself, are racist. But it does betray a breathtaking amount of white privilege—a willful refusal to see that the policies they are advocating, for the benefit of themselves, would once again disenfranchise communities of color. They’d get the outcome they wanted, so what’s wrong with that?

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