Electoral Illogic, or, “Has it Happened Yet?!? How About NOW??”
[Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.]
With less than two months until the election, not only is Donald Trump flailing, so are some of his usual defenders (and reliable Democratic critics).
Witness these excerpts from Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan’s latest piece, “Trump, Loyalty and The Godfather” (my comments follow in italics):
Noonan: “I asked [my Trump-supporting friend] what kind of story would have to happen for her not to vote for him? “If something terrible happened and he put peoples’ lives in danger and he lied about it, I’d say, “I’m done.’
Kaplan: You mean, like mismanaging and lying about a pandemic that cost more than 190,000 U.S. lives in just over six months — more than ten times what Germany has suffered per capita??
Noonan: [A self-described Independent] will vote for Mr. Trump based on “the people with whom the candidate chooses to surround himself.” Trump appointees — he cited Steve Mnuchin, Mike Pompeo and Eugene Scalia — “have performed well.”
Kaplan: Did Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon, Ryan Zinke, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Barr, Matthew Whitaker and sundry others in Trump’s orbit the past four years also “perform well??”
Bonus question (two-parter): What job does Eugene Scalia hold in the Trump Administration, and for how long? Answer: “Secretary of Labor” and “less than one year.”
Noonan: “Americans want stability, not a cultural and economic revolution . . . they want the economy to come back. They don’t want looting in the streets; they feel they’ve already been looted, by history.”
Kaplan: 100% agree: people want stability, a good economy, and a stop to looting. So why re-elect an incumbent who has delivered instability, a wrecked economy, and looting??
I do think Noonan is absolutely right about one thing: “Nobody knows what’s going to happen [November 3]; after 2016 only dopes are confident.”
