Delaware Liberal

Wednesday Open Thread [8.31.2016]

Delaware Dem

PENNSYLVANIA–PRESIDENT–Monmouth–Clinton 48, Trump 40
PENNSYLVANIA–SENATOR–Monmouth–McGinty 45, Toomey 41

“Donald Trump is considering jetting to Mexico City on Wednesday for a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, just hours before he delivers a high-stakes speech in Arizona to clarify his views on immigration policy,” the Washington Post reports.

“Peña Nieto invited both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to visit Mexico last Friday… Trump, sensing an opportunity, decided over the weekend to accept the invitation and push for a visit this week, according to the people familiar with the discussions.”

This will either go really really well for Trump, or it will be an unmitigated disaster, with Pena Neito scolding him and Trump not taking it well and responding in kind.

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said that Donald Trump was “raised up” by God to win in the general election, The Hill reports. Said Bachmann: “This is one thing I know from the Book of Daniel: the bottom line of the Book of Daniel is this: it teaches us that the most high God lifts up who He will and takes down who he will.”

“I actually supported Ted Cruz. I thought he was fabulous but I also see that at the end of the day God raised up, I believe Donald Trump who was going to be the nominee in this election. I don’t think God sits things out. He’s a sovereign God. Donald Trump became our nominee. I think it’s very likely that in the day that we live in, that Donald Trump is the only individual who could win in a General Election of the seventeen who ran. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know but I do know that the Bible is true and that Daniel teaches the most high God which is one of God’s names is the one who lifts up who he will and takes down who He will…”

I also believe that God picked Trump… so Hillary could win.

Josh Marshall didn’t think Trump could be this stupid, regarding making the trip to Mexico:

This is such an outlandish idea it is not easy to make sense of it or predict its outcome. But a few key points are worth bearing in mind.

It’s a general rule of politics not to enter into unpredictable situations or cede control of an event or happening to someone who wants to hurt you. President Nieto definitely does not want Donald Trump to become President. He probably assumes he won’t become president, simply by reading the polls. President Nieto is himself quite unpopular at the moment. But no one is more unpopular than Donald Trump. Trump is reviled. Toadying to Trump would be extremely bad politics; standing up to him, good politics.

Put those factors together and Peña Nieto has massive and overlapping reasons to want to embarrass Trump. At a minimum since he’s probably not eager to create a true international incident, he has zero interest in appearing in any way accommodating or helpful. The calculus might be different if Trump seemed likely to be the next US President. Mexico is a minor power with the world colossus on its doorstep. But a Trump presidency seems unlikely. Far likelier, Peña Nieto will need to build a relationship with Hillary Clinton. These factors combined make for an inherently dangerous political situation for Donald Trump, especially since the atmospherics of this meeting will be the backdrop for Trump’s evening speech which is itself an incredibly important moment and one in which he has set for himself what is likely an impossible challenge.

“As the presidential election marathon breaks into a final sprint, the Trump campaign faces a jaw-dropping gap in the ground game: Hillary Clinton currently has more than three times the number of campaign offices in critical states than does Donald Trump,” according to PBS Newshour.

“The contrast is a test for the conventional campaign model and points to the candidates’ stark differences in methods. Clinton is cleaving to the data-driven, on-the-ground machine that won two elections for Barack Obama. Trump, on the other hand, insists he does not need traditional campaign tactics to win the election, pointing to his overwhelming nomination victory achieved with a relatively small team and little spending.”

“Nevertheless, the ground game is poised to be critical in 2016. Undecided voters are becoming scarce, and targeted turnout may be the deciding factor on Nov. 8. That usually requires field offices with phone banks, organized volunteers and a coordinated effort to knock on doors and get people to the polls.”

Rick Klein: “Donald Trump’s coattails get a dual test on Tuesday, with Trump-style candidates taking on incumbent Republican senators with national profiles in Arizona and Florida. Both John McCain and Marco Rubio have endorsed Trump’s candidacy, despite personal insults the candidate himself has hurled their way. Trump has returned the favors, at least publicly. But Trump’s broader message has resonated in the primaries in both races, and any closer-than-comfortable margins will be attributed to the down-ballot Trump effect. It’s a dynamic that may carry significant weight in November, even if McCain and Rubio cruise to their nominations as expected. Both men will face off with aggressive Democratic challengers in the fall. They will need the Trump base, whether they like those voters or not.”

“On the other side of the aisle, the Bern gets a test in the primary challenge against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Bernie Sanders made clear his distaste for the DNC chair, so much so that she was forced out of her job after her emails were hacked on the eve of the convention. Sanders helped raise money for her primary challenger, Tim Canova, in a Florida race that’s drawn liberal interest in the wake of the convention. All three big-name incumbents are expected to move on, though not without some bruises.”

McCain and Rubio both won, as did Patrick Murphy and DWS.

“House Speaker Paul Ryan’s re-election to his leadership post in January is fast turning into a potential showdown between establishment Republicans and conservatives looking to weaken the speaker and win changes to House rules,” the Huffington Post reports.

“Conservatives don’t have enough votes to oust Ryan (R-WI). But they say their coup movement shows his hold on the speakership is far more tenuous than he realizes. Denying Ryan re-election on the first ballot would undermine his political future and cast him as a conservative pariah, they say, and may give conservatives leverage to enact rules changes that would help them push their agenda for years.”

If the GOP loses the House, does Ryan even want to stay on, or does he try to run for Governor or Senator in Wisconsin, bolstering himself for a 2024 presidential run?

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