"The distinctions between them [Harris and Trump] on policy substance, however, are somewhat fuzzier. Aside from certain specifics -- such as building the border wall, conducting mass deportations and raising tariffs -- Mr. Trump has never detailed much of an agenda. (His supporters at Project 2025 have prepared a pointedly conservative plan for his second term, though Mr. Trump distanced himself from it after it became a political liability."
The Washington Post, Sunday, Sept. 2, 2024
If policy clarity and consistency were central:
-- Trump wouldn't be the GOP nominee.
-- Democrats would have demanded a convention to pick their nominee.
Republicans are complaining that Kamala Harris seems happy and confident, but vague about specific policy. Joy isn't policy, they complain. Be specific, they say.
What hypocrites.
This cartoon summarizes my point. This is Trump on abortion:
Trump is everywhere and nowhere on abortion, saying currently, that he will vote against the abortion rights initiative in Florida, but that he doesn't like the six-week ban, and that he supports states doing what they want, which includes definitions that ban IVF, but he wants the government to pay for IVF.
Trump says he opposes the ACA (Obamacare) but simultaneously supports a wonderful, new, cheap heath plan to replace the ACA. But he has no explanation for what it is other than it would be great. He says he supports Ukraine, but also Russia, and that if he were president the war would end immediately. Same with Israel and Hamas. Trust him. He wants lower taxes, greater spending, and no budget deficits. Easy.
 |
| Pence filing in New Hampshire. Small crowd. No enthusiasm. |
A real-life example of the importance of vibe over policy is the status of Mike Pence. Pence is exactly what nearly all Republicans say they want in policy. Pence was 100% supportive of Trump for three years and 11 months -- everything except the unconstitutional effort to overthrow the election. On policy, Pence is Trump, but without the riot at the Capitol, the nasty tweets, the flagrant lies, the criminal convictions, the New York business fraud judgment, the sexual assault in the dressing room judgement, the defamation judgments, the bankruptcies, the stealing from his foundation judgment, the NFTs and other swag, the scathing criticism from former cabinet officials and White House staff, the images of document boxes hidden in Mar-a-Lago bathrooms, the Access Hollywood tape, the images of Trump and Epstein together, the conspicuous adultery generally and with Stormy Daniels in particular, and the 34 felony convictions by a unanimous jury.
Moreover, Mike Pence appears to be a practicing, faithful Christian for real, not pretend.
What's not to like? Mike Pence is Trump policy except for one big thing: His policy is not to do something flagrantly unconstitutional. So Pence is perfect, right?
Not at all.
Pence is the opposite of Trump on everything that matters to a majority of GOP voters. Pence does not have Trump's style, manner, outrageous heck-with-the-law vibe. Pence would honor the separation of powers. Pence wouldn't publicly accuse Kamala Harris of being low-IQ and promiscuous. That is the elixir that makes Trump popular. Trump is exuberant in his partisan total war.
Democrats ask each other: How much worse can a person be than Trump?
The real answer is how much better can a person be than Trump? How much more of a swashbuckling hero? This vibe isn't a bug. It is a feature.
The election is almost entirely a referendum on Trump. Do we want Trump and his bigger-than-life personality? Almost half of Americans do. Or do we want relief from the intense light and blasting noise of Trump?
Harris' task is to communicate that she is a normal Democrat, nothing too extreme, the child of immigrants who values hard work and playing by the rules, and a member of the next generation of leaders. Her vibe is not being Trump.
It is like the good feeling one has after a headache goes away, which is enough all by itself to be welcome.
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5 comments:
Trump has a very specific agenda that he’s been carrying out since 2017: sowing doubt about our elections, undermining our democracy and breeding contempt for the rule of law. Helping Trump get elected was the cheapest, most effective sabotage Putin ever launched against the U.S. Its success has turned the GOP into Russia’s fifth column.
Imagine if this was the case 20 years ago? What percentage would be voting for Trump? Has America always been this way? I guess there was a fair amount of support for Hitler in the 30s, so maybe yes is the answer. I think it projects poorly on our survival as we advance technology. Let’s hope sanity wins this one.
The election will depend on the DEBATE. Nothing more. The last debate between Trump and Biden did not go well for Biden. So, voters decided that they liked Trump better. Even the Democratic Party agreed Biden was toast. So, they reacted rationally and convinced Joe to drop out, for the sake of the Party and the country. Joe complied. Then in stepped Harris. Things changed immediately. People started to look at both of them and liked what they saw in Harris. Her polls went up. Currently, they are about even. So, again, everything depends on the debate. If Harris tears him a new one, he is in trouble. If somehow he wins the debate, he will be president again. It's not the economy, it's the debate. Period.
Wouldn’t it be nice if it were simply a matter of Harris winning the election. If she does, Trump will claim victory anyway. He’ll spread lies about noncitizen voting, about mail voting not being secure, about voting machines being rigged. Republicans will try to slow down or stop state certification of the election. Hopefully, they will fail.
So, you think it was spontaneous that Biden dropped out?
A man who, three years ago, said he would only serve one term?
The GOPee was caught flat-footed by the Democrats rope-a-dope
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