Trump is reportedly making a list of the Republicans who are now distancing themselves from him.
He's "contemplating retribution."

Hi, @realDonaldTrump: It looks like you can add @JohnCornyn to your "naughty" list.
See the link in the next tweet.
thedailybeast.com/trumps-taking-…
1/
Cornyn compares his relationship with Trump to a bad marriage. (He specifically compares himself to the woman🙄)

He also claims that he privately opposed Trump.

Yeah. Riiiight.

@JohnCornyn actively shielded Trump, including voting to acquit.
star-telegram.com/news/politics-…

2/
It reminds me of this passage from @stuartpstevens's book, It Was All A Lie⤵️

The passage rings true for me. It's one reason I never believed the "GOP elected officials are conspiring to cheat and throw the election to Trump even if he loses the election" theory.

3/
I agree that Trump is not using these rallies strategically as a way to win the election. And while the gratification he gets from applause and cheers is part of it, I think that these rallies are how he retains "power" after he leaves office.

4/
cnn.com/2020/10/18/pol…
Trump has a devoted following.

His base is a minority of US voters, but a majority of GOP voters.

His base isn't big enough to hand him an electoral victory in 2020, but if he maintains control over his base, he has power over the GOP.

5/
Yale political scientist @Jacob_S_Hacker and Berkeley political scientist Paul Pierson in Let Them Eat Tweets explain how the GOP got itself into this bind.

Basically, the GOP elected officials outsourced voter mobilization to organizations like the NRA and FOX. . .

6/
At first, the Fox-GOP partnership was a boon to GOP candidates. FOX turned out voters.

Eventually, FOX exerted control over GOP officials. Elected officials were forced to cater to Fox’s demands, which forced GOP officials to adopt more extreme policies.

7/
Trump plans to outfox Fox.

By keeping control of his "base" he controls a majority of GOP voters, which gives him control over the GOP, which is why Trump can make a "naughty" list and plan his retribution.

He does rallies. Keeps his base pumped. And later weaponizes them.

8/
Trump isn't a strategic thinker or problem solver, but he knows how to manipulate people and maintain power over them. He's an expert liar because he lives in his own reality.

Later, when the law catches up to him, he'll play the victim and keep a grip on his base.

9/
I don't see evidence of this. Manafort, Stone, Bannon, etc, are treated as heroes by the Trump Cultists—as long as they remain loyal to Trump.

I believe if Trump starts "losing" he'll lose his grip on the cult, but prosecution will make him a victim.


10/
This thread is a blog post here: terikanefield-blog.com/contemplating-…

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More from @Teri_Kanefield

19 Oct
The GOP doesn't try to win elections by presenting plans that help to their constituents. They can't. Their plans hurt their constituents.

So they lie and stoke outrage.

Radcliffe knows he's lying, and so do most of the GOP base. They cheer the lies because the lies destroy.
Here's my Slate article from 2 years ago about why the Trump-GOP-Fox viewers believe (actually, pretend to believe) all the lies.

Hannah Arendt also explain why right wing leaders lie shamelessly. I'll put the Arendt quotation in the next tweet.

slate.com/news-and-polit…
When Hitler’s followers learned he lied, “instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.” Arendt
Read 5 tweets
16 Oct
Perhaps, instead of destroying democracy, Trump will save democracy by waking everyone up and ushering in a new era of civic activism and engagement.

Obama said it best: The antidote to the forces trying to destroy democracy is more democracy.
Perhaps it took Trump to show @maxboot the corrosion of conservatism in America, and for @stuartpstevens to understand that it was all a lie.

I've never seen voter turnout like we're seeing right now.

If you missed it, see:

Have YOU voted yet?
We can never stop. Democracy means government by the people.

Example: The long term solution to the problem with how elections are conducted in Georgia is to elect people who are competent and care about well-run elections.

Local elections matter.
Read 4 tweets
16 Oct
Maryland GOP Governor Larry Hogan is not showing courage, leadership, or love of democracy in throwing away a vote.

The kind of courage required by conservatives when confronted with an extremist is described by Levitsky & Ziblatt (How Democracies Die)
washingtonpost.com/politics/larry…
Correct. (I forgot to tag @GovLarryHogan in the first tweet.)

Hogan's gesture is not only a cowardly and weak (and pointless), he is also perpetuating a false narrative.

And the exact problem with the modern Republican Party is that they demonize Democrats instead of advancing an agenda that might gain popular support.

Read 11 tweets
15 Oct
It's hard to tell the difference between a secretary of state who is incompetent to manage elections and one who maliciously undermines elections.

2020 voters are saying: We will overcome every barrier you put in our way.

Voter suppression was a problem in California in the 1980s and 1990s. Then California turned blue and elected Democrats to office, and now it's easy to vote here.

Coincidence?

Read 5 tweets
14 Oct
🔹Biden's lead has expanded to more than 10 points in the polling aggregate.
🔹COVID cases are spiking.
🔹The New York Times has released information about Trump money laundering and tax fraud.

The Trump team has a plan . . . another disinformation campaign 🙄🤦‍♂️
It's all they know how to do.
It can be effective the first time.

Putin launched the same kind of disinformation campaign against Ukraine in 2014 that he launched against the US in 2016.

Ukrainians rolled their eyes.
Americans fell for it. . .
Ukrainians knew what they were dealing with. Americans didn't.

The Mueller Report and the impeachment hearing educated Americans about these tactics.

Now we know.

Trump doesn't know how to govern, or plan, or solve problems. But he's really good at disinformation campaigns.
Read 7 tweets
13 Oct
Trump has no interest in actually governing. He never had any interest in governing. He just wants an audience so he can play a "winner" on TV. He thought, like any starring role, playing a World Leader would be a great way to get rich.
I suspect his "fans" (the ones who go to rallies) want to be entertained. Politics is boring. They don't understand it or have the patience for it.

Trump tells them they're the elite, and would be at the top of the hierarchy if the 'others' weren't taking what belongs to them.
The explanation is that Trump is incapable of doing anything other than what he is doing. He can't plan. He can't govern. He can't alter his behavior. He can't care whether people die of COVID.

He does the Trump act.
Read 13 tweets

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