Trump remains America’s dominant politican

It’s good that Trump lost, but there’s actually no reason to celebrate. Trumpism has not gone away, and is unlikely to do so.

Imagine a good friend that you trust returned from a long visit to Switzerland and told you that the fate of that country rested in next month’s election. A month later you read that the scary candidate lost a close election. How would you react?

Here’s how I’d react. I’d think, “Wow, I had always thought that Switzerland was a country that had its act together, where it didn’t much matter who was elected to lead the country. Now I wonder if Switzerland is in danger of becoming another Hungary.”

Here’s another analogy. I’m not exactly “relieved” if a sniper shoots a bullet through my bedroom window and narrowly misses me. I’m more nervous than ever.

Trump remains America’s most powerful politician, by far. He has both GOP politicians and GOP voters at his beck and call. If he takes a position on an issue, the rest of the party (except Mitt) will fall in line. Biden doesn’t have that power. The 2024 nomination is Trump’s if he wants it. If “Jeb!” wants it, Jeb must first get Trump’s approval. Good luck with that! Heck, he could probably deliver the nomination to Ivanka if he wished to.

Polls show that 81% of GOP voters want the next nominee to be like Trump, not like a typical politician. That person might actually be competent, and thus much more dangerous than Trump. Imagine an American version of Viktor Orbán, or Modi, or Erdogan.

When I was young, the Republicans and Democrats were actually pretty similar, except the GOP was more conservative and the Dems were more liberal. Going forward, we will have one basically evil party that is led by a right wing demagogic authoritarian populist politician, and one fairly normal center-left social democratic party.

And that’s the best case. If the racist “woke” people take over the Dems, then we’ll have two evil parties.

I’ve given up on American politics for the rest of my life. I see no hope for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, there’s much more to life than politics, and none of this affects me personally. Life will go on as normal, and America will remain the greatest economy in the world for quite some time, at least decades to come. There’ll be plenty more Japanese classic films and NBA games to watch, more trips like my month in New Zealand earlier this year. More books to read. Life goes on.

PS. During the 1990s, the little man in the picture below was a private citizen, with no official position. He was also the most influential person in the entire world:

Totally off topic: Someone in Vermont died of Covid yesterday—first time in more than 3 months.


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48 Responses to “Trump remains America’s dominant politican”

  1. Gravatar of Cove77 Cove77
    8. November 2020 at 17:21

    The Republican Party doesn’t have to capitulate….Jeb. Romney, finally W……4 yrs is an eternity in politics. Ben Sasse 2024 !

  2. Gravatar of Cove77 Cove77
    8. November 2020 at 17:41

    He’s probably gonna spend some time in court too

    https://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN27N0SS

    https://au.finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/melania-trump-counting-minutes-divorce-election-loss-aides-claim-041846538.html

  3. Gravatar of Ray Lopez Ray Lopez
    8. November 2020 at 17:59

    I expected to see Godwin’s Law confirmed in Sumner’s post, but no. Sumner: “Going forward, we will have one basically evil party that is led by a right wing demagogic authoritarian populist politician, and one fairly normal center-left social democratic party….And that’s the best case. If the racist “woke” people take over the Dems, then we’ll have two evil parties.” – during WWII in Greece, you had a choice between the Metaxas Fascist/Royalist party and the Communists. Whose side would Sumner be on? I bet with the little man with the mustache, just like in the photo to Deng.

  4. Gravatar of Carl Carl
    8. November 2020 at 18:19

    You wrote a post a while ago that i thought was good in which you pointed out that Trump and Sanders had hijacked the parties. Neither of them had any political power before pulling off that feat and it didn’t take either of them very long. What makes you think that something so easily accomplished will be so difficult to undo?

  5. Gravatar of Keenan Keenan
    8. November 2020 at 18:36

    Scott, have you ever read Chateaubriand’s memoirs? Was inspired after reading Paul Austers “Book of Illusions”

  6. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    8. November 2020 at 18:53

    Cove77, Napoleon made a comeback from prison.

    Carl, I can’t be sure, but that’s my current view. Even though Trump has lost, his fans will stick with him. If so, then GOP politicians will be reluctant to cross him.

    Keenan, No, but I’ve heard he has a lot of brilliant aphorisms. Is that true?

  7. Gravatar of BC BC
    8. November 2020 at 18:57

    Scott, I think you underestimate how much of GOP “loyalty” to Trump was due to his office. I guess we’ll find out now that he is a lame duck. As quickly as mainstream GOP went from denouncing Trump in the primaries to supporting him after he was elected, I think we will see them basically ignore/forget him now. The cliche, “If you want a friend in DC, get a dog,” comes to mind. Trump may rethink his position on not having a dog now that he is a lame duck.

    People like to note how GOP leaders have “fallen in line” behind Trump after denouncing him during the primaries. The reality is, at least in McConnell’s case, they have been playing him. They know Trump falls for flattery, so they flatter him publicly and get him to sign whatever tax bills and appoint whatever judges they want. When McConnell doesn’t want to do something, say pass a 2T stimulus bill, notice how it doesn’t get done even though Trump said that he was willing to spend even more than the 2T that the Dems wanted? We never got an infrastructure bill either, did we? Trump is like one of those 13-yr old emperors that occasionally ascend to the throne — totally clueless about what to do. McConnell has been the puppet master behind the scenes these last four years.

  8. Gravatar of Michael Sandifer Michael Sandifer
    8. November 2020 at 21:03

    I want to preface what I say here by acknowledging how wrong I was about this election cycle, including Trump’s prospects. A flawed polling fit my priors that said Trump had somewhat shrunk his base with his stupid, insane, and even deadly behavior. In fact, his base seemed to grow, though opposition grew a bit more, overall.

    That said, Trump faces many potentially humiliating legal challenges, including a potential divorce with his arm candy wife, potential financial ruin, and prison. He also is the subject of wide ridicule via “Stop the Count!” memes and many more memes could go viral in the near future about him ending up a lonely, broke, criminal loser. I think there’s the serious possibility his public image gets destroyed, though it’s by no means guaranteed. And that doesn’t even address his age in 4 years and how much 4 more years of senility might rack what little is left of his never impressive brain.

    But, it does seem fascism is with us for the foreseeable future, and there’s no apparent reason to think the Democrats will get any better at politics anytime soon, so we could be in for a rough ride.

  9. Gravatar of Michael Sandifer Michael Sandifer
    8. November 2020 at 21:09

    By the way, for those who haven’t seen it, here’s Carl Sagan about the US tending in such a dangerous direction in the 1990s:

    “I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and whats true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.

    The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), the lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.

  10. Gravatar of Benjamin Cole Benjamin Cole
    8. November 2020 at 23:24

    Life will go on as normal, and America will remain the greatest economy in the world for quite some time, at least decades to come.–Scott Sumner

    Not sure what is meant by this. Mainland China, by any sensible measure, has a larger economy than the US, and is pulling away.

    On a per capita basis there are many economies that eclipse the US (although international comparisons are ever iffy. I suspect the US population spends a lot of per capita PPP outlays that do not transfer into bona-fide higher living standards).

    Other economies, such as Thailand and Japan, do better on keeping domestic populations employed, which I am beginning to think is a key and vital feature.

    Add on: I never felt much sturm-und-drang regarding this election. American was doing rather well until C19 hit, both under Obama and then even better under Trump. Record low unemployment, OK economic growth, rising household incomes. Low inflation. Trump even avoided major foreign entanglements.

    John Cochrane has a lengthy list of Donk macroeconomic initiatives that spell lower growth, and additional concerns regarding freedom of expression under Donk thought police.

    I gather Cochrane is gloomy, although the GOP Senate may just stall everything.

  11. Gravatar of Tacticus Tacticus
    9. November 2020 at 02:55

    Chateaubriand is an interesting read for one interested in the first half of the 19th century, obviously a time of great change. He’s also quite witty and intelligent. However, he’s far too much of a Romantic for me to truly count him amongst the great authors – both maudlin and self-conceited. Still, I’ve greatly enjoyed dipping in from time-to-time and I plan on finishing them completely some day.

  12. Gravatar of sty.silver sty.silver
    9. November 2020 at 04:07

    For interest: https://predictionbook.com/predictions/201792. (To be clear, but I’m claiming this is proof of anything.)

    My main reason for doubting that Trump will run is that… it’s four years… that’s a long time… anything could happen then… and people do tend to be lazy. It he somehow made the decision six months from now, I would assign it higher probability.

    I’m also somewhat skeptical of the 80% number. Wouldn’t that indicate that the GOP is about to lose a ton of support in the next two years?

  13. Gravatar of Cove77 Cove77
    9. November 2020 at 05:20

    81% will be 49% by Jan 20th….allowing for a 3.5% margin for error.

  14. Gravatar of Sean Sean
    9. November 2020 at 07:03

    I believe you are hammering the political environment. And as much as you say you don’t want to comment on it I believe you are largely correct. You make me feel ashamed for wanting to like trump. But I think you are fundamentally correct that he’s America’s leader even out of office. No one else can show up in the middle of no where on short notice and draw 100k people.

  15. Gravatar of Cove77 Cove77
    9. November 2020 at 07:27

    You mean 100,000 maskless people.
    If the bet is Trump vs the Field for 2024 nomination I’d take the Field

  16. Gravatar of Philo Philo
    9. November 2020 at 07:42

    “I’ve given up on American politics for the rest of my life.” I doubt it. I think you have simply lowered your political expectations. You are like a fan of a sports team, who used to hope, each game, that his team would win; grown pessimistic, he now just hopes that they will cover the (unfavorable) spread. You had been hoping, with respect to each political issue that arose, that American politics would deliver a good response, where “good” = “better than you expected.” Well, you can still hope for that, only with your (greatly?) lowered expectations as the new baseline.

    Political junkies seldom quit; we all look forward to your continued punditry.

  17. Gravatar of Todd Kreider Todd Kreider
    9. November 2020 at 08:32

    “Totally off topic: Someone in Vermont died of Covid yesterday—first time in more than 3 months.”

    No mention of Wyoming with just 114 Covid-19 deaths and no lockdown? Vermont, which locked fown, has had 58 Covid-19 deaths with similar overall population (8% larger) although Wyoming has two cities larger than Vermont’s one city Burlington/South Burlington with a population of 60,000 with the next largest at 17,000 whereas Wyoming has two cities of 60,000 and 55,000 with two more at 30,000 and one at 20,000.

    Wyoming has a 29% obesity rate compared to 24% for Vermont. When that and the fact that Wyoming has many more cities than Vermont, the death rate is about the same.

  18. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    9. November 2020 at 08:50

    BC, I agree that Trump is pretty inept on policy, but he still runs the GOP. No one can get anywhere without his blessing.

    Michael, That’s a great Carl Sagan quote–very prescient.

    Philo, Yes, I didn’t mean I’d never comment again, just that I’ve given up hope for our future. So at least I won’t be disappointed—in my mind Trump’s already won the 2024 election.

    Todd, OK, I’ll mention Wyoming. During that three month period where Vermont had 1 death, Wyoming had 86 deaths. Happy now?

    BTW, North Dakota has recently been having 10 to 20 deaths every single day.

  19. Gravatar of Todd Kreider Todd Kreider
    9. November 2020 at 09:03

    Obviously total deaths are important, Scott. Well, that is obvious to almost everyone.

  20. Gravatar of xu xu
    9. November 2020 at 09:25

    If you look at substance instead of rhetoric, its clear that Trump was a very effective President.

    1. Peace deals in Middle East
    2. Tariffs that reject globalism and support the American worker
    3. standing up to radical woke, BLM Marxists, nut jobs.
    4. Called out the UN for being what it is: cocktail parties and empty rhetoric.
    5. Renegotiated NAFTA which saved hundreds of thousands of American jobs. (even radical Biden admits this)
    6. Rejected political correctness and stood up for free speech (yes Alex Jones should be able to say whatever the hell he wants no matter how insane it is).
    7. Stood up to social medicine and removed the unconstitutional individual mandate. There is a reason why the wealthy Europeans go to Johns Hopkins while the poor proletariat stands in line for three months. Its called “BETTER CARE”.
    8. Refused to take a knee and show allegiance to the BLM mob.
    9. Increased ties with Australia, India, Japan and Taiwan.
    10. Spoke out against the Uighurs being exterminated
    11. Prison reform
    12. Ended the insane Iran deal.
    13. Pulled out of the Paris Agreement which was designed to destroy US businesses while allowing Chinese businesses to pollute as much as they wanted.
    14. Signed executive orders to rid Universities of “Marxist academics” who have obtained incredibly academic PhD’s in dummy fields like “gender studies”. Talk about losers. Gee whiz. lol.

    Of course, to know this you actually have to READ the actual policy instead of consuming 24 hours of CNN.

    The only reason people don’t like Trump is because his rhetoric is brazen. Mitt Romney DOES NOT oppose Trumps policy. He opposes trumps rhetoric. And I would agree with that. Trump could have said “look, there are irregularities and we will pursue them in court”. He didn’t have to say “This is major fraud”. But anyone with a brain votes on policy not personality. Since Sumner has a low IQ, we can see why he votes for the latter. Unless of course, he just doesn’t care about the American worker suffering from left globalist policies.

  21. Gravatar of Mark Z Mark Z
    9. November 2020 at 11:34

    “No one can get anywhere without his blessing.”
    He’s the president. The president has always been the boss of the party since time immemorial. If Mitch McConnell cares what Trump thinks in a year, you’ll have a point, but right now, you don’t. You seem impressively committed to believing your worst case scenarios are inevitable. I wouldn’t try predict a specific outcome (which is definitely the more Bayesian reaction to the recent past), but I will predict the next GOP primary will be a noisy, overcrowded fracas much like the last one and the one before that. It’s certainly possible Trump will run and win again, but it’s about as likely that some other random we haven’t heard of yet will show up and steal the show, or one of the usual suspects. With pluality wins primaries it’s basically a crapshoot anyway. I would think your errant prediction of the last election might be a lesson against such bold prediction-making.

  22. Gravatar of copans copans
    9. November 2020 at 11:49

    I am reminded by this post that after singing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” the Munchkins find the even Wickeder Witch of the West in a very nasty temper.

  23. Gravatar of Bob OBrien Bob OBrien
    9. November 2020 at 13:07

    The key question going forward: Are we going to continue to be a country ruled by laws or will we become a country ruled by men.

    Trump, by his actions (not by his rhetoric) has shown he believes in rule by law. I also believe in rule by law and this is the main reason I voted for Trump.

    I believe Biden and the Dems will rule by men and this is very likely to turn out badly for our children.

  24. Gravatar of Skeptical Skeptical
    9. November 2020 at 13:44

    I’ll go with:

    – No, we’re not headed for fascism. His foreign policy was fundamentally isolationist and anti-military intervention. This is the reason neo-cons cannot stand his foreign policy.

    – No, Trump was never influential policy wise since he never cared about policy to begin with. Remember infrastructure? New health plan? The wall? Immigration reform? If there’s anything that bores Trump more than policy and governing I’ve yet to see it

    -Polls about future wants are even less reliable than polls about current wants

  25. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    9. November 2020 at 15:09

    Todd, Not if you are trying to evaluate their recent anti-Covid policies. That’s obvious to everyone.

    Xu, Many of your claims are so absurd as to be almost comical. Trump policies made the trade deficit much worse, he encouraged Xi to put a million Muslims into concentration camps, the budget deficit got much worse. Covid policy was almost insanely bad.

    Yeah, he spoke out against “cancel culture”, even as he encouraged companies to fire workers who took politically unpopular stands.

    Mark, Do you really believe that someone like Mitt or Jeb could get the nomination in 2024 if Trump were opposed to him? Sure, it’s possible that Trump will die, or become uninterested in politics, and I’ll be wrong. I’m giving you the most likely case.

    Bob, You said:

    “Trump, by his actions (not by his rhetoric) has shown he believes in rule by law.”

    Always good for some comic relief, eh Bob?

  26. Gravatar of Gene Frenkle Gene Frenkle
    9. November 2020 at 15:10

    I can’t think of two people that more accurately personify what Trump ran against in 2016 than Loeffler and Perdue. So manufacturing jobs peaked in 1979 and then manufacturing jobs plateaued under Clinton and then after China entered the WTO under W Bush we hemorrhaged manufacturing jobs as China boomed. So Loeffler (through the NYSE) personifies the Fortune 500 companies that shipped jobs to China from 2001-2009. And Perdue (through being CEO of Dollar General) personifies the wreckage left behind—the good jobs went away and Americans couldn’t even afford to shop at Walmart and were forced to buy off brand beef stew in a can to make ends meet. The GOP is a joke!

  27. Gravatar of Benjamin Cole Benjamin Cole
    9. November 2020 at 15:50

    Gene Frenkie: it may not be the plan but it is the result: Detroitify the heartland and Hong-Kongify the coasts. And bring the bananas!

  28. Gravatar of Todd Kreider Todd Kreider
    9. November 2020 at 16:08

    “Todd, Not if you are trying to evaluate their recent anti-Covid policies. That’s obvious to everyone.”

    What “recent anti-Covid policies” in either state? There have been no significant ones.

    One more obvious point is that Vermont had half of its Covid deaths by the first week of April whereas Wyoming had its first death on April 13 and its second April 20, which isn’t surprising since Vermont is on the East Coast.

  29. Gravatar of Gene Frenkle Gene Frenkle
    9. November 2020 at 17:37

    Ben Cole, the more I read about Perdue the worse it gets—it looks like he was hired by Dollar General specifically because he spent much of his career developing supply chains in China and that was the expertise Dollar General was interested in. An American that sees depressed regions and people on welfare as a “market to be exploited” and not a “problem to be fixed” has no business being in the Senate. So the Americans that have been risking their health keeping my family fed these last 9 months should not have to shop at dollar stores to make ends meet—that is disgraceful!

  30. Gravatar of Christian List Christian List
    9. November 2020 at 18:04

    Hard to say who will be more right at the end, BC/Mark or Scott, both sides have their points. Of course I hope that BC/Mark are right but, as Scott said, Trump’s bond to his base is indeed quite extraordinary. Probably both sides agree that it can get really, really ugly.

    Personally I don’t like sore losers, I don’t see how it could strengthen Trump overall if he cries like a little baby until December/January now, but you never know how his base is ticking, so we must just wait and see. Maybe they like his ridiculous struggle? So far he didn’t even stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and try to shoot somebody.

    If one believes certain sources, there was a certain ritual in Celtic culture: When the harvest was really bad or when your clan lost a really important battle, they made human sacrifices, but not just any human sacrifice, the druids demanded the head of the king himself. In other words: It is time to “kill” the king, time for a new king.

    Even the most gutless GOP politicians should now slowly come out of their hiding, I see a small path for the BC/Mark option. As soons as Trump’s power as President is completely gone he will lose more and more reputation and standing. He is just a lame duck now who may soon be in prison.

    Isn’t this foreseeable and wouldn’t this development be typical for the US? Himmelhoch jauchzend, zu Tode betrübt. From the very top to the very bottom. Trump might end up like OJ Simpson: Every year is worse for Trump, and at the very end one even feels pity.

    I bet Melania is getting divorced soon, that’s next big thing, any bet. Then all those trials, both developments go hand in hand, the fortune dwindles, and then Melania is gone as soon as Trump’s money bin is not holding enough cash for her expensive tastes anymore. Let’s hope for him that he has made a good prenuptial agreement.

    One must add one thing, however, to be fair: Several media outlets, pundits, and also quite some commentators here, have predicted riots in the street, in case the Trump will lose, fatalities, unrest, civil war, you name it. So where is it, we are still waiting.

    Other commentators like me have always said that this will not happen, for various quite obvious reasons: They are conservative, they are old, they are lazy, they don’t like street fights and they won’t commit murders in the middle of Fifth Avenue. They would watch Trump doing it, but they won’t get their hands dirty themselves, not even for Trump. This is the Heartland, they won’t even find the way to Washington.

  31. Gravatar of Jg Jg
    9. November 2020 at 18:46

    Scott is much smarter than I will ever be. Scott is also very
    Confused. He rejects a kind of majoritarianism called nationalism, but he prefers a majority take all national vote system for our president , and a majority ethical system – utilitarianism. Scott is very confused.

  32. Gravatar of Bob OBrien Bob OBrien
    9. November 2020 at 21:47

    “Trump, by his actions (not by his rhetoric) has shown he believes in rule by law.”

    “Always good for some comic relief, eh Bob?”

    Scott, TDS has infected your mind and made you blind? Trump puts judges on the courts who are “judges” not legislators. When judges overrule him he accepts it until he can win a legal appeal.

    Compare this to the Dems who want to pack the court with liberal people who will ignore the constitution.

  33. Gravatar of Bob OBrien Bob OBrien
    9. November 2020 at 23:05

    Comment on Twitter by Dan Crenshaw:

    “Biden supporters, faced with a loss, geared up for riots. Businesses boarded up in fear.

    Trump supporters, faced with a loss, geared up to fight in court.”

    Another example of Trump supporters believing in “Rule by Law”

  34. Gravatar of Benjamin Cole Benjamin Cole
    10. November 2020 at 00:31

    Gene Frenkie:

    Lately I have pondered that globalist-macroeconomists are like physical scientists who correctly note the effects of gravity.

    Yes, gravity will eventually pull everything back down to earth (set aside satellites, for sake of argument).

    But there are fragile natural biological processes that nevertheless defy gravity for hundreds, even thousands of years. Trees, for example, grow higher higher and higher. Trees are fragile, must be watered, have nutrients, have sunlight, they die in fires or from pests and disease. But they persist through the ages.

    Yes, someday the trees come back down, but it can take thousands of years.

    But man lives for decades, has an earning career of even less. Sacrificing a few generations of Americans on the altar of “free trade” and “open borders” may look good in a couple of thousand years. Or maybe not.

    It does not look good in a time frame that makes sense to workers in America now.

    The multinationals, the Dollar stores, the WalMarts, Apples, Disneys, NBA, BlackRocks, Teslas, etc. are totally compromised. And powerful, and running policy.

    I would not want to be a publisher in Hong Kong right now.

  35. Gravatar of Benjamin Cole Benjamin Cole
    10. November 2020 at 03:22

    “Among the considerations the incoming Democratic president will have to weigh are likely calls from progressives for more extensive change at the Fed, given that the party’s platform included reforms to make the Fed more attentive to issues like racial wealth inequality, and whether Powell is the right figure to pursue that.”—Reuters Nov. 10

    Stay tuned. And be careful what you wish for.

  36. Gravatar of Michael Sandifer Michael Sandifer
    10. November 2020 at 07:05

    I should have mentioned the Sagan quote is from chapter two of his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.

  37. Gravatar of Michael Rulle Michael Rulle
    10. November 2020 at 07:19

    Biden quote below

    I swear I cannot understand how you think this outcome is better than Trump’s winning. But what else is new.

    did you know that for the last 6 months the 30 day average of USA deaths thru yesterday was 27.5k (35k,20K,30k,30k,25k,25k). There is no correlation for periods when positives were down. While Pfizer is saying they want to begin delivery by month end, Biden wants to wait till next year.

    Who cares. me. but I need to stop like you have—for real.

    “The head of the CDC warned this fall that for the foreseeable future, a mask remains a more potent weapon against the virus than the vaccine,” Biden wrote in a statement. “Today’s news does not change this urgent reality. Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, contact tracing, hand washing, and other measures to keep themselves safe well into next year.”

  38. Gravatar of Michael Rulle Michael Rulle
    10. November 2020 at 07:21

    Further he is repeating what they laughed at Pence for saying. How will he make sure this happens? Executive order of course.

  39. Gravatar of J Mann J Mann
    10. November 2020 at 08:29

    The big question for Republicans going forward are going to be:

    1) In the primaries, can the Trump voters get you knocked out to a more populist challenger?

    2) In the general, will the Trump voters turn out at all?

    If it turns out that a substantial proportion of GOP voters will either (a) primary moderate republicans out or (b) not show up to vote in the general if there’s not a Trump style candidate on the top of the ticket, then we’re in trouble.

    For now, the Dems can turn out their base without going to a Bernie/AOC style candidate, at least to vote against Trump, but I tend to join Scott in his pessimism. Being a jerk on Twitter and blowing up norms of comity has been shown to *work*, and I expect both parties to slide in that direction, with occasional steps towards comity followed two steps towards total war.

  40. Gravatar of harry harry
    10. November 2020 at 09:39

    So Sumner just wrote that there is no such thing as Fraud. It couldn’t possibly exist. Everyone who mentioned any allegations was “laughable” and “stupid”.

    Since that brilliant remark:

    1. Wisconsin finds another 19000 votes that “glitched”, giving what appears to be a narrow lead for Trump.

    2. Michigan Election official records three vehicles (out of state) that delivered “ballots” through a back entrance at 4am. He wrote an affidavit, spoke to the FBI, and DOJ now investigating.

    3. 32615 votes in less than one hour were changed from Trump to Biden through Dominion software illegally. A poll watcher says she saw machines connected to the internet (they shouldn’t be) between 4am and 6am. That gives Donald Trump a narrow lead in PA.

    It’s amazing that these software glitches all go one way isn’t it?

    We need less partisan quackery in academia, and more evidence based research. Let’s hope the rest of these allegations are investigated so future Americans can have full confidence in their elections.

  41. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    10. November 2020 at 10:12

    Todd, Your willful refusal to accept reality is kind of breathtaking. Still think the rise in cases won’t lead to more deaths?

    Jg, You said:

    “He rejects a kind of majoritarianism called nationalism”

    I don’t think you know what nationalism is.

    Michael, Good to see Biden encouraging mask wearing.

    Harry, You said:

    “So Sumner just wrote that there is no such thing as Fraud.”

    Thanks for saving me the time that would have been wasted reading your entire comment. When the first sentence is a lie, I stop reading.

  42. Gravatar of jayne jayne
    10. November 2020 at 10:36

    Sumner isn’t stupid. He’s just a pawn in the fascist agenda. He benefits from the “great reset” while the rest of America suffers. And since he only cares about himself, he goes along with the deliberate propaganda.

    Trump now winning in Wisconsin after certification pulls up more “glitches”. Looks like he will win in PA too. If he pulls it out, and that is a big IF, because the whole world is trying to fight him, then it is game set match for the globalist agenda. WEF is finished. And they know it. Hence, the 24/7 push back. They might even try to incite a civil war should Trump win. The propaganda machine will say that its ‘illegitimate” due to a partisan supreme court. Which of course isn’t true. But if enough people believe it, they can cause enough violence to weaken the dollar and bring down the economy. That is the primary goal!

  43. Gravatar of John Acord John Acord
    10. November 2020 at 11:15

    To the loons whopopulate this blog, I remind you the fat lady has not yet sung and Trump is likely to emerge re-elected. Perhaps, you should spend some time discussinmg what Trump will do to his legion of enemies once he has secure another 4 years and no election to be concerned about.

  44. Gravatar of janice janice
    10. November 2020 at 11:41

    Zachary Larson in Michigan signs affidavit in which he states witnessing MASSIVE voter fraud in Detroit.

    Kevin McCullough of bingethinker finds more glitches that took votes from Trump and gave them to Biden.

    As of now (found during certification process):

    23000 in Wisconsin
    47000+ Pennsylvania
    1902 in Georgia

    Judicial Watch finds 109% turnout, with 600K extra voters on the Michigan rolls.

    400K ballots unverified in Nevada according to former Nevada Attorney General. Over 9000 people from out of state found voting for Joe Biden.

    Project Veritas has signed affidavits, and recorded videos, of USPS workers admitting fraud in Pennsylvania and Michigan.

    Google whistle blower states that the “election team” of google engineers gave free credit for liberal advertisements, but not conservative advertisements. That is a violation of equal protection clause.

    Project Veritas records Christopher Jacks (far left Antifa member) stating violence is acceptable against what he describes as the “1%”, and that “cheating, lying and stealing during election” is the best approach to making sure “Joe Biden wins”

    Sidney Powell, arguably the nations most successful appeals attorney, has evidence that 10,000 dead people didn’t just vote in Michigan, BUT REGISTERED TO VOTE 😀 😀 😀

    Shano Trejo, a journalist in Detroit, records election officials telling people to put Trumps mail in ballots in a container where they would be “destroyed” before election night.

    94 signed affidavits from conservative poll watchers stating they were NOT allowed to witness vote counting. Not only is that a violation of a state law, but a violation of federal law too.

    Of course, CNN socialist Blogger Scott Sumner refuses to mention those allegations. Amazing how all of the above amounts to “zero evidence” as stated by the MSM propaganda machine.

    After all, that might change the narrative 🙂

  45. Gravatar of JohnR JohnR
    10. November 2020 at 16:12

    Janice,

    You might be the dumbest people I’ve ever read. None of what you said makes sense. Send 1 link to back up any of those allegations. The fact that you are gullible enough to fall for that crap says how stupid you are.

  46. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. November 2020 at 09:48

    They’re out there!

  47. Gravatar of Big Al Big Al
    11. November 2020 at 15:02

    Todd,

    Since Scot didn’t actually spell it out for you, I’ll do the yeoman’s work. The key reason there isn’t a larger delta between total deaths in Wyoming and Vermont is because the deaths (and infections) in Vermont mostly happened very early during the pandemic, while the opposite happened for Wyoming. Our ability to properly treat Covid patients have improved dramatically in the past 6-8 months.

    Bottom line, you are either ignorant or disingenuous. Either way, you are not to be taken seriously.

  48. Gravatar of ssumner ssumner
    11. November 2020 at 17:18

    Big Al, He’s disingenuous.

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