Thread by @PoliEcon

I’m old enough to remember when Senators attempted, at least in public, to avoid breaking their word. The #SCOTUS confirmation process is broken. #ACB is the jurisprudential inverse of #RBG. But a singular focus on the #SCOTUSnominee is a trap for Dems. twitter.com/i/events/13082…

2. Yes, Dems are angry and engaged, supposedly donating >$161 million through @actblue since #RBG’s passing on Rosh Hashanah.

3. But Dems attacks on #ACB’s faith galvanize the Christian Right and signal contempt for their spiritual identities and aspirations. No word from @WINRED on their donors.

4. The Dem base alone can’t win 270 electoral college votes, let alone a Senate majority. The election will be decided by a tiny number of independents and disillusioned partisans in a handful of states who might be persuaded to become #bidenrepublicans.

5. If Dems spend the next six weeks talking about the #SCOTUSConfirmation and Mitch McConnell, @realDonaldTrump will be reelected and the Senate will continue under GOP control. It is another #culturewar trap.

6. Preoccupation with #SCOTUS organizes voters onto either side of the culture war, forcing tribal ideological choices. Potential “Biden Republicans” may well be spooked by the prospect of “liberal judges,” a phrase designed to evoke lawlessness, degeneracy, and disorder.

7. Dems need to focus on the president’s failure to control #COVID19 and the subsequent economic collapse rather than the culture war and our deepest tribal identities. If the issue is conservative judges versus liberal judges, then swing voters may stick with the Republicans.

8. Americans who define themselves as “pro-life” or as socially conservative might consider voting for @JoeBiden if the issue at stake is the botched pandemic response. Less than one-third of independents approve of @realDonaldTrump’s response to the #coronavirus #pandemic.

9. The #SCOTUSnomination IS important but fixating upon it is a trap for Dems. @LindseyGrahamSC will rush the hearings and @senatemajldr has the votes. Violent protests will also play into Trump’s divisive narrative, scaring former “Reagan Democrats” into voting GOP.

@threadreaderapp please unroll