(Cartoon image is by Adam Zyglis in The Buffalo News.)Is the 2018 election a referendum on Donald Trump, or is it to be decided on local issues (or some message devised by Democrats)? The cable news media, and the talking heads they interview, would have you believe the latter. They want voters to believe the Democrats can't win unless they find a party leader and a unified message, or that some kind of local issues will decide which party controls the next Congress. I have one word for that view --
BULLSHIT!
There is no Republican Party anymore. It has been replaced by the party of Trump. No Republican running for re-election has spoken out against Trump and his odious policies. They are afraid of his deplorable, and having in effect, kissed his ring -- falling in line with and supporting anything he wants to do. And they have abandoned longstanding Republican beliefs to do so.
Republicans used to be the party wanting small deficits (or no deficits). But they have happily helped Trump ballon the federal deficit, sending the national debt to record highs. They have traditionally supported free trade, but have allowed Trump to impose tariffs and start a trade war with some of our best allies. They have watched him cage children and separate them from their parents, abandoning their "family values". They have been silent as he flaunts morality. They have ignored his enriching himself by being president. In short, there is nothing Trump could do that congressional Republicans would oppose.
And the voters know this. They know if they vote for a Republican running for the House or Senate, they are voting for Donald Trump (and a continuation of his disgraceful policies and actions). And they know if they vote for a Democrat, they are voting against Donald Trump (and his odious policies and actions).
Political pundits (and the tiny number of moderate Republicans still existing) may not know that -- but the voters certainly do. Democrats don't need a unifying message. They already have one -- opposition to Donald Trump!
Don't be fooled. This mid-term election, more than ever before, is a referendum on the person living in the White House. American voters will be giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on Donald Trump, and that's bad news for Republicans.
