These quotes from Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes need to be seen to be believed. From the Rep. Omar playbook. (via @J_Insider) jewishinsider.com/2021/02/ben-rh…
1) "You have this incredibly organized pro-Israel community that is very accustomed to having access in the White House, in Congress, at the State Department. It’s kind of taken as granted, as given, that that’s going to be the way things are done.” jewishinsider.com/2021/02/ben-rh…
2) "I got so sick of hearing, ‘Palestinians never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.’ But when did we give them one?” jewishinsider.com/2021/02/ben-rh…
3) "“Maybe the view is, ‘Jews have been screwed throughout history, by a corrupt cruel world. And so you know what, we just have to be corrupt and cruel ourselves. That’s the only way to survive in this world.’” jewishinsider.com/2021/02/ben-rh…
4) "The media interest is dramatically intensified. And that’s both a very aggressive, kind of pro-Likud media in the United States [and] it’s also just the mainstream media that delights in Israel controversies.” jewishinsider.com/2021/02/ben-rh…
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NEW Against the Grain: ""The Five Questions That Will Shape the 2022 Senate Map"
"The biggest unknown for the 2022 Senate landscape: Will mainstream Republicans win nominations in key races, or will Trumpians prevail?" njour.nl/s/712189?unloc…
1. NORTH CAROLINA: Will Lara Trump run?
"Holding Burr’s seat in North Carolina is shaping up to be a must-win if Republicans want to win back a Senate majority. They’ll need to avoid a civil war to accomplish that goal." njour.nl/s/712189?unloc…
2. ARIZONA: Can Republicans convince Doug Ducey to run for the Senate, even though he says he’s not interested?
"Without a brand-name contender like Ducey, Republicans risk nominating an extreme candidate unable to appeal to suburbanites" njour.nl/s/712189?unloc…
"Ossoff and Warnock prevailed in GA with the help of superior D turnout, especially among Black Georgians, which allowed them to overcome their disadvantage with voters who might have been decisive in Mr. Biden’s victory but voted Republican down-ballot" nytimes.com/2021/01/07/ups…
"nearly all of the Democratic gains since the November election can be attributed to the relatively stronger Democratic turnout."
"Early voting data suggest [black turnout] may rise two points higher than in the general election, to a level not seen in the state since Barack Obama’s re-election bid in 2012." nytimes.com/2021/01/07/ups…
1. Austin, TX (+34%) 2. Honolulu, HI (+34%) 3. Palm Springs, CA (+32.6%) 4. Phoenix, AZ (+31.7%) 5. San Antonio, TX (+29.85%) 6. Salt Lake City, UT (+29%)
“With Republicans tying themselves even more closely to Trump in the immediate aftermath of the election, it’s possible some of those cross-pressured GOP voters in November become reluctant Democratic supporters two months later.”
IMHO: Best way to view Trump support within the GOP is to anticipate we're going back in time from early-2017.
So by summer of 2021, expect him to have as much control as in the summer of 2016 when he won the nomination (yet faced resistance from high-profile Rs like Cruz). 1/2
When it becomes clear he doesn't have the competence and discipline to "lead" a party, the support continues to dissipate from there...
late-2021, he'll have the same degree of support when he was approaching the early 2016 primaries/caucuses...
by early 2022, when Rs can't afford to nominate extremists in key SEN/GOV races, you'll see the level of support back to where it was in late 2015, not long after he first came down the elevator.
that said, the country is a lot more culturally conservative than both Dems and GOP leaders appreciated! Dems created their own problems by going so far left on key cultural issues that they alienated S FL Hispanics, for instance.
my own contribution to the genre, months after Trump was first elected: njour.nl/s/652599?unloc…