Thursday, June 15, 2017

A Dem Discovers Trumpism Lives On

We don't often link to an article in Vox, which consistently leans left. Today we have an exception, the link provided by RealClearPolicy. Jeff Stein writes:
The big lesson from Virginia's election: we're still underestimating Trumpism.
Obviously the "we're" refers to Vox's normal Democrat readership. His point, a GOP unknown running on Trump's platform almost beat former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie in the VA gubernatorial primary.

Stein makes much of the Confederate battle flags at some of Corey Stewart's rallies, which suggests he fails to understand how Virginia which hosted the capital of the Confederacy feels about their role in The War Between the States. Many Virginians would not like to see its role in that Lost Cause downplayed, its monuments destroyed.

Stein's main point, a real discovery for him but one you may see as old hat, is that Trump's platform is still motivational to a lot of voters, and can be adopted by downballot candidates to their benefit.

Later ... Molly Ball who writes politics for The Atlantic, reaches the same conclusion.