Trump and the GOP are sneaking a Trojan horse into the 2020 dialogue

[DonViejo]

By Aaron Blake
July 19 at 6:00 AM

One of the byproducts of President Trump’s norm-busting presidency is that things that used to be regarded as beyond the pale are suddenly normalized. With the envelope being pushed so far and the larger provocations dominating the news, lesser ones slip by largely unnoticed.

Such is the case with Trump’s “go back” rhetoric and the “send her back” chants it spawned. While our focus has been trained on whether it’s okay to hint that political opponents should leave the country, Trump and his fellow Republicans have sneaked a Trojan horse of a talking point into the 2020 debate.

That talking point: that their Democratic opponents are anti-American.

One of the first members to criticize the “send her back” chants about Somali American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) Wednesday night in North Carolina was Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.). But even while he tweeted that the chants were “painful to our friends in the minority communities,” he qualified it by saying that Omar’s “history, words & actions reveal her great disdain for both America & Israel.”

Link to tweet

Calling for the deportation of lawful American citizens who have committed no crimes? That’s bad. Saying they hate this country? That’s apparently okay — even in the same breath. The Walker tweet, better than anything, shows just how concerted the GOP effort is to insert this once-eschewed attack line into the 2020 debate.

Trump laid the groundwork in his tweets Sunday that launched the current controversy, labeling the four nonwhite Democratic freshman congresswomen “anti-Semitic” and “anti-America.” By Monday morning, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) suggested Trump should “aim higher” and not attack people personally, but he also said these members “hate our own country” and are “anti-America.” (Nothing personal about that, apparently.)

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/19/trump-gop-are-sneaking-trojan-horse-into-dialogue

[Wounded Bear]

1. Hardly a new strategy from the Repubs...

they love to claim the mantle of "patriot" and deny that to others.

[rampartc]

2. nothing new here

they accuse us of being flag burning commies every election.

[HipChick]

4. and yet Rethugs have been clearly canoodling with Russia in plain sight..

[rampartc]

8. "only nixon can go to china

only trump can do a lot of things.

their propaganda, their unlimited money, and their willingness to accuse dems of communism, pedophilia, whatever, make them dangerous opponents.

[KatyMan]

3. Why in the world

Should I/we give more of a shit about Israel than any other random country? Why are our political leaders judged by their stance on this country?

[ProudLib72]

14. Because they are our western allies in the middle east

But under Bibi, they are specifically our RW corrupt allies in the middle east. They wouldn't be this hot to trot with Israel under someone like Rabin.

[Zambero]

5. I believe it will backfire this time around

The "dog whistling" employed during the 2016 campaign is now at full siren volume with no subtlety whatsoever. Trump intends to solidify his base and will have no "problem" in doing so, but there will be very few new recruits in the process. The brand of false equivalence and demagoguery that caused his poll numbers to plummet in the wake of Charlottesville will not be serving him well. I foresee that a lot of non-Kool Aid drinking independent voters who were willing to give him a shot in 2016 will NOT be supporting him next time around, in addition to millions of new voters who despise him, along with those who might have been on sidelines because they were dissatisfied with their choice of candidates. I harbor no illusions about underestimating Trump, but failing to expand his base will be his undoing, PROVIDED those who abhor his tactics get out and vote for the Democratic candidate. And yes,there will be outside interference on the part of foreign adversaries (courtesy of Mitch and Trump whose unpardonable sins of omission are akin to welcoming it with open arms). The good news is that we can anticipate it and be prepared for it this time around, in addition to re-doubling efforts in the upper Midwest states won by Trump by narrow margins.

[ScratchCat]

6. I don't know how old Aaron Blake is

But the GOP has been running on "Democrats hate America" for decades. Its old and tired and everyone but the far, far right rolls their eyes. If this is all the GOP has at this point - and it certainly appears that it is - then don't expect it to get them anywhere nationally.

[Cicada]

7. Trump complains about every aspect of America, far worse than Omar's complaints

He says all 3 branches of government are crooked. He says his payments to elected officials caused them to do exactly what he wanted. He says they all take bribes. Judges ignore law sobthe judiciary is corrupt. The executive branch has a treasonous deep state trying to frame him. Education is horrible, public schools all fail, universities brainwash. American scientists liebto get grants. Our biggest tech companies censor the right so they are corrupt. The free press fabricates sources to publish stories they know are fake. Crime is out if control. He said the murder rate in the US is at a 47 year high. He claims there are 25/million invaders roaming to rape women, hook us on drugs. Since Trump clearly hates America why doesn’t he go back home to Nazi Germany?

[tulipsandroses]

9. Exactly! He recently did an interview claiming American cities were filthy and dirty!!!

And he was saying homeless people were one of the reasons this was happening. He offered no solutions. Something as president he could do something about. He just complained about cities being dirty and filthy - Didn't say how as president I am going to change things.Nope - it was a rant about dirty filthy American cities. The hypocrisy here is just too much.

I'm tired of hearing that Dems need to reach Trump voters. These people don't want to be reached. Trump is giving them what they want. To be able to be as nasty and disgusting as they want with no repercussions. They would rather cut off their noses to spite their faces. Trump gets to make money, the religious right gets their judges, the corps get their tax cuts and roll backs. The trumpettes get to air their grievances and say what they want. Thats all they want.

[Cicada]

12. The NYT has gotten many thousands telling their go back stories

I just read some of the 14000 responses they have gotten, asking for experiences of their readers. The examples are heart breaking. Almost all were descriptions of them as children, feeling frightened at a school, in a store. An ethnic Chinese boy in his driveway feeling eggs pelting his back, as people in a car yelled at him to go back to China. I really think this may be the nail in the coffin of the Republican Party. Their “have you no decency sir” moment.

Trump has hurt me. I had hoped we were over this.My great Uncle John Patterson defeated George Wallace in a democratic primary for governor causing Wallace to vow to never be “out niggered” again. My Uncle was in the KKK. But in the last 50 years I have seen changes in my parents. My mother cried when at Fort Lewis a black family moved next to us. But my parents changed completely, maybe from working in the military with different kinds of people. They became devoted democrats who worked hard to help elect Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. An uncle and Aunt actually sent me a photo, proudly, of a cousin going to a prom with her black boyfriend. So I thought we were getting over this. Then Trump. It hurts me.

[leftstreet]

15. +1

[kimbutgar]

10. We can fight back and say America is the land of immigrants

The only people who can say go back to your old country are Native Americans. We can push back on the Trojan horse as a campaign slogan.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. rump is getting desperate in trying to prop up his support numbers as he sees his numbers ...

fall and fall...thus he is lashing out, moaning and bitching at everything. I ignore him and smile to myself in that he alone, brought it all on himself.

Karma does come to those who deserve it and rump has asked for it big time. Like all big losers, they whine and bitch when karma finally bites them in the a&&!

[ooky]

13. I think the real trojan horse they are sneaking in is the one that has the country

focused on his racism while practically ignoring his record of doing absolutely nothing. I think he likes the media talking about racism all the time instead of playing back all his lies; i.e, lowering health care and drug costs, strengthening Medicare and Social Security, creating infrastructure jobs and improvement, taxation, bringing down deficit spending and debt, bringing back jobs or preventing jobs from going off shore, eliminating trade deficits, helping veterans, ending nuclear threat of NK and Iran, building his stupid wall, and as far as immigration, he's just made it worse while committing atrocities in the process. Trump wallers in racism like a pig in mud, the pig enjoys it and his base stays energized from it. I believe he would like to use the racism to drown out all other discussions right up to election night.