ELECTION 2020 - Gladiator Style

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Jul 23, 2019 · Longtime columnist George Will recently left the Republican Party in protest of what he sees as its shifting values


George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American conservative political commentator. He writes regular columns for The Washington Post and provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC. In 1986, The Wall Street Journal called him "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America,"

In an interview with The New York Times Book Review podcast, longtime conservative commentator George Will offered a stirring and stark assessment of what Donald Trump's presidency will mean for our politics and our culture.

Here's the key bit:

"I believe that what this president has done to our culture, to our civic discourse ... you cannot unring these bells and you cannot unsay what he has said, and you cannot change that he has now in a very short time made it seem normal for schoolboy taunts and obvious lies to be spun out in a constant stream. I think this will do more lasting damage than Richard Nixon's surreptitious burglaries did."

That's George Will, folks. Not Rachel Maddow. And it's George Will saying that what Trump is doing, has done and will do to -- and with -- the presidency is more destructive than the actions of a president who was forced to resign in order to keep from being impeached.

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On Dec. 14, 2019, Christianity Today published an editorial whereby, then-editor in chief Mark Galli called for the immediate removal of Donald Trump as president of the United States. “Mr. Trump,” declared Mr. Galli, “is a near-perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.”

Mr. Galli then went on to declare that none of the president’s positive contributions outweigh the “moral and political danger” America now faces under his leadership.

He concluded: “We call for the many evangelicals who support the President to remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Trump influences your witness.”

 

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“SILENT MAJORITY!” Trump tweeted Tuesday, embracing a phrase popularized by President Richard Nixon decades ago, in claiming broad support for his actions. (AP)

 

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B7.Have you heard about the protests across the country, including the burning of a police precinct in Minneapolis, in reaction to a recent incident where a black man died when a police officer kneeled on his neck, or have you not heard about this?

	June 2020
Yes, have heard	97%
No, have not heard	3%
(n)	(759)

B7A.Given what happened, do you think the actions of the protestors were fully justified, partially justified, or not at all justified?

	June 2020
Fully justified	17%
Partially justified	37%
Not at all justified	38%
(VOL) Depends on which protests	4%
(VOL) Don’t know	1%
Not aware (from B7)	3%
(n)	(759)

B7B.Regardless of the actual actions taken, do you think the anger that led to these protests was fully justified, partially justified, or not at all justified?

	June 2020
Fully justified	57%
Partially justified	21%
Not at all justified	18%
(VOL) Depends on which protests	1%
(VOL) Don’t know	0%
Not aware (from B7)	3%
(n)	(759)

[B8-B10 & Q40-57 held for future release.]



The Monmouth University Poll

 

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Self-Reported

27% Republican

41% Independent

31% Democrat

Disapprove Trump

54%

Country is on Wrong track

74%

Right direction

21%

Most Republicans differ, with two-thirds saying the president tweets to try to unite Americans — though one-third of Republicans don't agree, and one-third of Republicans think the tweets are a distraction from other issues. (CBSnews.com)

 

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(Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush said on Tuesday the killing of George Floyd reflected a “shocking failure” concerning racism in the country, and urged that protesters be heard, in sharp contrast to fellow Republican Donald Trump’s get-tough approach.

Without mentioning the president by name, Bush suggested it was out of step with the country’s values to have driven protesters from Lafayette Square across from the White House on Monday just before Trump walked through for a photo opportunity.

“The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving,” Bush said in a statement. “Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.”

 

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Rich Lowry dismantles WaPo columnist Jennifer Rubin's claim that right-wing dismissal of Stacey Abrams is racist (foxnews.com)

 

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“The men who followed this flag 150 years ago knew what it meant. Treason against their country. The death of the United States. America defeated the men who followed that flag. Those with honor surrendered and cast it aside forever.

“So why does it keep showing up today at events supporting Donald Trump? And why does he call the folks who carry it ‘very fine people’? What does it say that they’re all in for Trump? What does it say that he won’t condemn the flag of hate, division and losers?”

https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/t...te-flags-trump-events/MgNDqyAZLTMekahlwy0IlN/

 

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Choosing Russia over USA?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are planning to press former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on his oversight of the Russia investigation in the first in a series of oversight hearings...





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It’s an absolute disgrace. And what’s more, is that the liberal media probably won’t cover this story. The media doesn’t care about the agenda or view that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ they just want to attack Trump, and these activists are doing. Hell, these news outlets are giving cover to rioters and their campaign of wanton destruction. It goes without saying, but David Dorn’s life mattered too, but as a retired cop who was black—it undercuts the narrative. The media is going to smother this story—which makes this horrific murder all the more abhorrent (via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)



POLITICS
Joe Biden Names His Enemies

In a speech today, the vice president portrayed this week’s events as a turning point for America—and as a binary choice in visions for its future.

(The Atlantic) No other major-party nominee in history has called the political forces whipped up by a sitting president of the United States enemies of America. But that’s what Joe Biden did today.

“My fellow Americans, we’re facing formidable enemies. They include not only the coronavirus and the terrible impacts to the lives and livelihoods, but also the selfishness and fear that have loomed over our national life for the last three years,” Biden said, speaking from inside Philadelphia’s city hall. “I choose those words advisedly: selfishness and fear.”

Biden has warned for almost three years, since Donald Trump equivocated about the Nazi marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, that Americans are in the middle of a battle for the nation’s soul. That’s been the theme of his presidential campaign too. In speaking with advisers after watching the protests across the country last night, Biden was shaken. This wasn’t a metaphor anymore. This was a battle with batons and tanks and Molotov cocktails and hammers, going on in the streets.

 

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CNBC+CR poll

 

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Trump’s Use Of Tear Gas To Break Up A Protest Undermined Three Core Values Of American Democracy

The criticism that President Trump has disregarded many of our country’s norms and democratic values is not new. We’ve written about it several times before — in particular, about how the violation of values is a bigger deal than the breaking of norms. But law enforcement officials using tear gas on protesters outside the White House to clear a path for Trump to visit a church nearby — for what seemed to amount to a photo-op of him holding a Bible — was arguably one of most significant moments of his breaking with such values during his presidency.

It was essentially a three-part violation. In being generally unsupportive of the protests against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, Trump is in tension with a core democratic value — America taking additional steps to ensure people are treated equally, no matter their race. Trump’s decision to break up the protest then subverted one of America’s core democratic values, the right to peacefully protest. Finally, by involving the National Guard and senior military officials in the action against the protesters, Trump also disregarded the democratic value that the military and police not be used for political purposes.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...ined-three-core-values-of-american-democracy/

 

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States of Play: Battleground Survey on COVID-19
CNBC/Change Research Poll in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin: May 29-31, 2020

Key Takeaways

• Biden is leading by 7 points nationally, and now leads across the 6-state battleground.
• 63% of battleground voters and 69% nationally remain seriously concerned about COVID-19 and just 37% nationally say things are getting better.
• Majorities now say it is safe to go to a public beach (57%), work at their workplace (57%), and go to a salon (52%), other activities like students going to school and taking public transportation remain unsafe.
• Only 29% nationally believe things are not reopening quickly enough, and 59% say that if there are increased hospitalizations, then we need to increase precautions rather than accept this as the cost of reopening and continue to relax restrictions.
• 75% of voters nationally and 71% in the battleground rate the economy negatively, but some national and personal economic metrics are starting to rebound as things reopen.

Biden is making gains nationally and in the battleground states

Joe Biden has a 7-point lead over Donald Trump nationally (48% Biden, 41% Trump). That is up from his 3-point lead two weeks ago and his greatest lead to date. Across the six battleground states Trump won in 2016, Biden now leads by 1 point (47% Biden, 46% Trump). This is a 3 point shift in the margin since our last wave and the first time Biden has led. Biden and Trump are at parity in Arizona (+1 Trump), North Carolina (+1 Biden), and Wisconsin (even), Biden leads in Florida (+3) and Michigan (+2), and Trump leads in Pennsylvania (+4).

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