America loves a fighter
Polls we reported on Tuesday suggest that a large swath of maybe-Trump supporters are looking for an excuse to abandon him in 2024. A criminal conviction is what they’re waiting for:
An October Times/Siena poll indicates the conviction gut-punch for Trump would be stronger in swing states, leading to Biden victories in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania as well as Wisconsin where Biden is already favored. The shift would be “seismic,” with Biden winning by 10 rather than losing by four percentage points.
Democrats are their own worst enemies in this situation. Three years ago on the date the Electoral College met to officially elect Joe Biden president, I posted:
It is never a good bet to think Donald J. Trump won’t stoop that low or lower. But the question Democrats have to answer now both for others and for themselves is what they will do to defeat the New Confederacy that announced itself last week.
Democrats’ first instinct will be to put the Recent Unpleasantness behind them….
To refresh memories, mutliple post-election protests by thousands of Trump supporters resulted in violence. “The events went by several names, including the Million MAGA March, the March for Trump and Stop the Steal DC,” NPR reported in mid-November. More protests erupted weeks later:
By Saturday night, clashes between rallygoers and counterprotesters escalated into violence, with four people stabbed and 33 people arrested into Sunday morning. Nine people were transported to hospitals, according to Washington, D.C.’s Fire and EMS Department. Two of the nine were police officers with injuries that were not life-threatening.
That was just the warmup for Jan. 6.
President Joe Biden’s institutionalist instincts will tell him to let the state and federal court cases involving Trump play out. Hands off. Innocent until proven guilty, etc. Let the juries decide Trump’s fate and those of his accomplices. That’s fine for the incumbent. But Democratic Party operatives should not let it lie. Not now. But fair play is the party’s natural instinct.
Trump’s support is weakening. Now is no time to back off. Waiting for the courts to convict Trump months from now (if ever), or hoping states will ban him from their ballots is political malpractice. Democrats must press their advantage. Right now.
Remind voters at every turn that Trump faces 91 felony counts. His closest associates face charges. Let Republicans complain that, no, Joe Biden is the real fascist. Let Trump whine about how UNFAIR it all is. Donald Trump’s Christmas “MAY THEY ROT IN HELL” messages are insane. Voters — Trump voters — are seeing through him. They just don’t want to admit they’ve been had. Democrats must leverage their unease. Once you’ve cut your oponent over the eye, work the eye. Holding back and waiting for the referee to stop the match is a fool’s game.
How many Rocky movies did Stallone make? And they’re all the same movie. So why do people keep going? Because so many Americans themselves feel like underdogs. We want to root for the little guy with heart. Facing insurmountable odds. Risking it all. We want to feel the thrill up our spines and in the tops of our heads when Bill Conti’s trumpet fanfare introduces the training sequence. We want to hear that. Wait for it. Cheer for it. Pay for it. Over and over and over.
Americans want to pull for a fighter.