Going Red by Ed Morrissey

book jacket with united states map with 7 states with flagsGoing Red: The Two Million Voters who will Elect the Next President — and how CONSERVATIVES can win them  by Ed Morrissey (2016)

This book just came out in April, and it is SOOOO WROOONG in what is happening in Republican strategy such as it is having been demolished by The Donald!

First, Donald Trump only has 2 references in the index and the text is absolutely not reflective of reality since he is the only Republican left standing. I suppose the author wrote it awhile ago, and it took time to print and so on, but really? Two mentions? Ah read on and it is clear the book must have been written before New Hampshire, based on the quotes below from speakers from there. The mentions of Trump include one of his apparently random interviews the author conducted in the seven states deemed crucial.

(p. 186-187) He quotes a democratic firefighter, Kevin Healey, describing what some ladies said at a HAIR SALON:

They were talking about politics. . . . “There wasn’t one woman, not one, in that whole room that was going to vote for Hillary Clinton. I didn’t ask why, I didn’t say anything. I just LET them talk. And they said, We don’t want to be the only woman [sic] that votes for Hillary Clinton because she’s a woman. If we don’t believe in what she’s saying, then we’re not going to vote for her.”

So who did they prefer at this point, several months before the primaries? “I LET the conversation go, and they said, one of them, well who are you voting for? They said ‘I really like . . . .Donald Trump.‘”

The author continues his impractical and business as usual suggestions for campaign strategy.

This underscores the real opportunity Republicans have to push for independents in 2016. [ha ha ha ha] In this cycle, the DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT matters LESS than the GOP’s own candidate — matters less than his or her ability to CONNECT with these voters. This will require a campaign that understands that DEMOGRAPHICS and not DESTINY, one that fights for votes rather than assuming that the current of history may have locked a set of voters away from them.

WTF is all that babbling supposed to mean? Any of the original 17 Republicans would be the same difference? Demographics like what? Age? Party? Gender? Well they got a really good demographic, good old racist boys and gals that want to roll back the clock to where they were impervious to sharing a piece of the pie, or I should say, a few of the crumbs from their tiny sliver of pie that the rich give them to keep them from wanting to share with the less fortunate, i.e. they pays their taxes and they don’t want to be feeding someone too lazy to get a job. Even if there are no jobs, or if they are sick, or whatever. Instead of taking up arms against the corporations and billionaires, the rich are keeping the just above poverty types from attacking them by diverting the attention to people living in abject poverty. Those damn Welfare Queens in particular.

He continues with a few remarks on younger people voting.

Young voters made up a major part of the Obama coalition in 2008 and 2012. According to the exit polls for New Hampshire in 2008, Obama won the state’s eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds by a 61/37 margin — although he actually won all age demographics here [New Hampshire]  on his way to a 54/45 win over John McCain. Still, young voters accounted for 18% of the vote and provided the widest margin by far of all the demos.

I’m not really clear what he really believes the Republicans can do about getting the youth vote with their backwards intolerant and hateful rhetoric. He states that Republican candidates “need to show up and engage with students and graduates who are in the early stages of their professional lives.” Seriously? “engage” with students? How about picking up some of the student loan debt or letting them renegotiate the interest rates? How about offering more government loans? How about creating more jobs?

Okay. I am am bored witless and have gone from amused to disgusted so I am going to keep this short. His lame and  casual, useless and meaningless words and recommendations he makes using stupid comments from “just plain folks” like THEIR IGNORANCE IS EQUAL TO OTHER PEOPLE’S research. He picks the oddest details to emphasize, like the democratic fireman, who does not give his opinion but simply is used to convey the anti-Hillary and pro-Trump message.

Here’s another example that makes me want to gag (p. 188-189):
How, then, can Republicans compete for those votes? In large part, they need to show up and engage with students and graduates who are in the early stages of their professional lives. Mike Conley, whose only presidential votes have gone to Obama, attended a SCOTT WALKER campaign event and CAME AWAY IMPRESSED with the Wisconsin governor. [ha ha ha ha – so after that, I am supposed to take anything this guy says seriously?] Conley, whose six-foot-five height can cause some to feel intimidated in his presence, was impressed with WALKER’S POISE.

Okay, so what is the point of his height here? That this guy is a manly man? That non-Walker candidates would shrink away from him in fear? That only a brave manly man like Walker would be able to not quake in fear when meeting a tall man? Sigh. His size is crucial to the anecdote but I am still not entirely clear what the meta meaning is that the author was trying to convey. And presumably wrote this before Walker collapsed like the worthless bag of wind he is. So “Mike” says:

“Being cognizant of being taller than everybody else, I try to be as calm and collected as possible,” Conley says about his approach to these events. “I went up to Scott [!!!!], and I said, “Sir, I’m Mike Conley. I just wanted to wish you the best of luck. And it was a pleasure to hear you speak today.’ Most people will just shake my hand and be like, oh yeah, thank you very much and walk away.” But Walker treated Conley DIFFERENTLY — he took a moment to CONNECT. “He pulled me closer and looked me in the eye. [How tall is Walker?] I was thrown back somewhat. Here’s a guy who is able to look up to me and not look uncomfortable. He stood there and shook my hand firmly, and said a few nice words, and then went on his way.”

What did that tell Conley about Walker? “I feel like a person that could do what Scott Walker did could handle things different [sic], as far as foreign policy.”

WTF does shaking a guy’s handshake — firmly, manly — have to do with foreign policy credentials????? Not the best basis of policy assessment, really.

Walker also impressed Conley with his ability to articulate positions and wants to see that in a presidential candidate. “That’s a person to me that shows they’ve done the research. They know what they’re are talking about.”

While appreciate that it is important for a candidate to be able to ARTICULATE policy positions, WALKER’S POLICY POSITIONS SUCK. He is a wretched horrible puppet of the Koch brothers. If he is capable of articulating anything, this non-graduating college boy relies on speech writers and policy wonks to tell him what to do and think. So this whole touchy feely “contact” things is just so much balderdash, I find it hard to believe the author gets paid for spouting such nonsense. So what types of things is the big young man “cognizant” of besides his height?

Most of all, Conley looks for a candidate who is oriented to the FUTURE rather than the past. Unlike some conservatives, he wants to see government invest in innovation, especially when it comes to eliminating environmental problems. At the same time, he wants a president who will focus on lowering the national debt. Conley remembers hearing the president talk about dealing with the national debt, but Obama argued that “in order to get out of debt, we had to spend more. And the debt doubled,” Conley recalls [incorrectly]. “That scared me. It needs to be fixed.”

I’m going to have to apologize to this guy if he is more intelligent that portrayed, but either he is stupid or has be misrepresented as stupid. NO FUCKING REPUBLICAN ON THIS EARTH BELIEVES IN CLIMATE CHANGE so certainly is not going to eliminate any environmental problems. In fact “Sir” Walker’s pals the Koch brothers are doing all they can to despoil the earth. And the national debt was driven into the trillions by (a) Reagan, (b) Bush the First, (c) Bush the Second. All REPUBLICANS!!!!! The Republicans shut down the government just because they could and cost us over multiple BILLIONS of dollars, that would have been a nice bit of coin to toss towards the debt. They are also willing to let the government default on the debt payments, causing all kinds of chaos and negative consequences. If this BIG MAN is “scared” of the national debt, then it is not the freaking Republicans he should look to since all they will do is give the RICH MORE TAX BREAKS and let them and corporations park their profits offshore to avoid business taxes. The fact that many of these big corporations pay nothing or GET A BILLION OR MORE IN REFUNDS just shows how corrupt the tax code is that there are so many legal loopholes for the rich that they never end up paying taxes on much if any wealth, and even then end up paying lower rates, like on “capital gains” income instead of good honest actual labor.

Speaking of Walker, on the Wisconsin chapter he discusses Walker and the recall victory [cheater] quite a bit. But completely misrepresents reality by saying a bunch of democrats and independents thought he shouldn’t have been recalled because he had not committed a crime, only made a policy decision to eliminate public employee unions. No citations to support this assertion are provided. And I fully believe that election fraud was the only way he got reelected.

BERNIE SANDERS
Bernie also gets two mentions. One on page 68, following something about student debt costing more than others are paying on a mortgage, This is the first Bernie mention:

This disillusionment feeds the PROGRESSIVE-POPULIST momentum on the Left, Miguel [Dilbert] says, and it frustrates him to see it. “Bernie Sanders is their knight in shining armor, saying you should be forgiven” you debt, Miguel says, and that makes it difficult to ARGUE FOR REALITY. “Because then there are people like me who literally are sweating every day, and I make a good living. But I EARN EVERY PENNY I MAKE. AND YOU WANT TO TAKE MORE OF MY PENNIES? BECAUSE WHY?”

Republicans need to tap this REALITY, Miguel advises, although he admits it’s no easy task, as he discovered when debating the FIFTEEN DOLLARS PER HOUR minimum wage with a friend. “He was like, ‘Man, that would be great.’ I was like, ‘That’s a horrible idea.’ He was like, ‘Why?’ And I just broke it down for him.” Miguel explained the INFLATIONARY IMPACT OF WAGES and how the change would result in little change in buying power, but in layman’s terms rather than in economic technical language. “I put it as simply as I can. I’m like, dude, that dollar burger isn’t going to cost a dollar anymore.”

ROTFL.

This author would have us believe that “Miguel”  — who opted not to go to college and works at manual labor in a “major shipping company” really grasps economics or perhaps I should say, the lies of economists. So he makes a good wage but he hates the concept of his friends who all went to college expect a “free” handout for their debt and deserve an $80,000 a year job just for getting a bachelor degree. Which is EXACTLY what the Republicans want people like Miguel to believe and feel. That keeps the class warfare alive for the advantage of the rich.

The other mention of Bernie came on page 138:

Bernie Sanders packed arenas around the country, but he and most of the other Democratic Party hopefuls are well above sixty years of age — and Sanders and Joe Biden (who considered a challenge to Clinton but later passed) are both over seventy, and have been part of the WASHINGTON ESTABLISHMENT FOR A LONG TIME.

HA HA HA HA HA HA. Donald Trump is 69 years old. And he will be 70 on June 14th this year!!!!!

If you couldn’t tell, this is a book by a conservative about a Republican strategy for the 2016 election, focusing on 7 states in particular.It is basically pablum and full of false implications about what “real people” think and believe. As if their willful ignorance and failure to research rather than listen to Faux news and right wing radio somehow makes their opinions meaningful.

Obviously, you could think the same about my opinions, and hey, many will I am sure. But I read a lot. I pay attention, and have lived through enough now from Vietnam and Watergate and and trickle-down, and lived in NY (before the Towers came down), and other places so I have seen and met a lot of people in all kinds of strata.

Anyway, read it for yourself and see how lame it is, and lack of any merit other than perpetuation of Republican propaganda.

My favorite line, featured on the dust jacket, says it all:

“After eight years of MISADVENTURES under the OBAMA administration, the door is open for Republicans to win these counties — and the presidency — again, make a DECISIVE MANDATE against PROGRESSIVISM for GENERATIONS TO COME.”

Killing Osama bin Laden was a bad thing? Health care for citizens to save millions of lives a year is a bad thing? Reducing the deficit is a “misadventure?”  

Having PROGRESS for generations to come would be a BAD THING???? Like Miguel’s argument that a $15 an hour minimum would be a bad thing? That allowing student debt forgiveness would take money out of people’s pockets and private contractors for unwinnable undeclared wars with $80,00 a pop missiles ISN’T costing us TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS? If someone resents another for getting their college debt paid off because they didn’t choose to go, then they should take advantage of a progression to government sponsored public education from k-20 instead of just k-12. But it would be nice if those people were just better people and, instead of resenting their friends’ good fortune, they might say: I am so glad for you that you will not be a slave to unreasonable debt plus interest that will prevent you from getting a car or a home or to start a family.

Until we can have people who direct their hatred towards the billionaires sucking the lifeblood of the workers in this country for their profits and without sharing the wealth they receive by the labor of the workers, we are doomed with a Trump presidency. Hopefully he won’t kill the world if he gets elected.

Bernie Sanders is our only hope!

 

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