Aug. 7 Open Thread: For Midterm Voters, Any Democrat Will Do

Many liberals are too accustomed to the malfeasance of the Democratic Party to appreciate that midterm voters don’t care whether Democrats are neo-liberals or progressives. Viewed in horse-race terms, all signs point to a wave that will swamp Republicans in the House. Remember the lesson of the current Congress: A party’s internal conflicts are easy paper over when it’s out of power. It’s when they gain power that those conflicts break into the open.

The wave is building because Trump’s endless string of vicious policies and outright fuckups are starting to penetrate the real-world lives of people who live in the Fox News Cone of Silence in a way travel bans and immigration crackdowns don’t. For example, he can brag about his tariffs all he wants, it’s not going to convince people like those who are losing their jobs at a South Carolina TV manufacturer that’s closing because of the steel and aluminum tariffs. Along with widespread opposition to the Helsinki Humiliation and the border kidnapping crisis, Trump’s polling numbers among his weaker supporters are heading south at the wrong time.

The belated move by Big Tech to take away Alex Jones’ soapboxes might backfire, this writer argues, because now he has a true complaint about censorship. Thanks for the warning, Debbie Downer, but I prefer The Onion’s take: “Alex Jones Returns To Humble Roots Of Screaming Conspiracy Theories Through Megaphone At People In Park.”

Other than asshole outbursts by the judge — more evidence of why life terms for federal judges must go — the Paul Manafort trial seems about as exciting as spitting on your arm and watching it dry. The reporters sentenced to cover it tried to make a big deal out of Rick Gates’ testimony admitting he broke laws at Manafort’s behest — and that he also stole from Manafort by padding his expense accounts.

David Graham of The Atlantic is one of the few pundits who seems to realize the game-changing nature of Trump’s Sunday admission about the infamous Trump Tower meeting. Sure, his core doesn’t care, but his argument has gone from “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue” to “I shot at someone on Fifth Avenue, but I missed, so no harm done.”

Finally, here’s the end result of the University of Delaware admitting more out-of-state students than Delawareans: It finally achieved the incredible honor of being named the nation’s No. 1 party school. Maybe in-state students are better off funneled into DelTech instead.