This morning’s episode of The Daily, “Democratic Anger and Republican Revenge: Welcome to the Primaries,” illustrates yet again the absurdity of the way we choose candidates for high office.
The transcription is not yet available but, in a nutshell:
Republican primaries for key US Senate, US House, and even some state legislative races are being dominated by President Trump’s revenge tour against Republican politicians who have dared oppose him. It highlights a weekend report from one of the guests, Shane Goldmacher, “Trump’s Push for Electoral Retribution Heads to the Ballot Box,” which is more detailed that the podcast discussion.
But, basically, Republican-aligned groups are spending millions of dollars going after easily re-electable Republican incumbents, rather than saving their war chest to target Democrats in a crucial midterm election that will determine how much of Trump’s agenda can be passed in the remainder of his term. In particular, they’re going after Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who votes with Trump essentially all the time but voted to convict in the post-January 6 impeachment trial; Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who’s voted with Trump 91% of the time but opposed him on the release of the Epstein files and the Iran War; and several Indiana state legislators who voted against gerrymandering the state’s congressional districts.
This is all good news for Democrats and others who oppose Trump. But it’s just idiotic from a political strategy standpoint. The only thing Trump should be worried about is keeping his thin majorities in Congress.
Meanwhile, Democratic primary voters in Maine have nominated a Nazi* firebrand with no political experience rather than popular two-term Governor Janet Mills because she’s not sufficiently exciting. Since the party needs to run the table on the Senate races in November, and Republican Susan Collins is seemingly quite vulnerable, this seems wildly stupid. But Democrats are mad at Chuck Schumer, so they’re sticking it to him. Because reasons.
Choosing candidates based on the preferences of the angriest, most rabidly ideological voters makes no sense at all. And, of course, the fact that the House is gerrymandered such that 32 of 435 seats are considered competitive, and we are so polarized that 46 of 50 states have both of their Senators from the same party, means there’s seldom punishment at the ballot box for choosing the worst candidates. We’re just punished as a society.
*He had a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest for twenty years. He claims he was unaware. I don’t believe he could possibly be that stupid.
UPDATE: After seeing the tattoo in question, I withdraw my original conclusion. It’s more than plausible he thought this more akin to a Punisher skill than something linked to Adolf Hitler or the Third Reich. Despite some mildly racist social media posts, there’s no evidence that he’s a hardcore racist, much less a skinhead or Nazi.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Several commentators below have pointed to pretty damning evidence that he was well aware of what the symbol was and only had it covered when it became a problem politically.
