Today there are primaries in five states — Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Washington, and Missouri. I wrote about the Missouri primary yesterday. Here is Steve Benen’s preview at MSNBC. Several state contests are being viewed as epic clashes between the crazies and the normies in the Republian party.
I’m especially interested in the abortion referendum in Kansas. Apparently the Kansas constitution has been interpreted in a court ruling to protect a right to abortion, and a yes vote on the referendum would overturn that protection and allow the legislature to ban abortion. I’m hearing the “yes” vote advocates are better organized and funded, so abortion may be banned even though 60 percent of Kansans don’t want a ban.
I am hoping “no” prevails, because if Kansas goes there would be a huge solid block of states that have banned abortion. Some women would have to travel halfway across the country to terminate a pregnancy.
I’ll be back tonight to watch returns. Feel free to leave comments about anything.
Update: NBC News is calling the Kansas referendum for “no.” This means abortion will remain legal in Kansas. Even better, so far the “no” votes are the votes are not close. A huge number of voters came out and voted “no.”
Update: The Missouri Senate nominees are Eric Schmitt and Trudy Busch Valentine. I don’t think Busch Valentine has much of a chance. I hope I am wrong.
Trump endorsement of ‘Eric' in Missouri triggers confusion (msn.com)
He just doesn't quit. He has an unmatched ability to suck the life out of anybody. He even turned the departed Ivana into a tax avoidance scheme. Sorta like Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. You're worth more dead than alive, Ivana.
Trump's pick in MO was Greitens. He's losing. So Trump "also" endorses the leading candidate so Trump can claim he always picks winners. That Trump will "get away with it" misses the point. Trump's people see Trump cheating and they approve of it.
Some people do cheat. Trump didn't invent duplicity. But he's obvious and shameless about his cheating as if avarice was a virtue. And a lot 35 to 40% agree, as long as Trump is against the people they hate.
The dynamic was created by Rush Limbaugh more than any other single person. HATE becomes the objective – a significant portion of Americans need a shot of fact-free vitriol against anything and anyone who values the "common" good over private greed.
Trump is a fat, greedy, stupid bufoon – the embodiment of what they worship.
Trump, devoid of any concept or semblance of morality, views his cheating as "smart." He communicates to his followers that winning by any means necessary, including cheating, is what a "winner" does. And that any one who wouldn't cheat to win is a "loser" who deserves not to win. Lying about losing the election then, in a bid to overturn it is part and parcel of what a "winner" does, and in Trump's addled mind it is his “right.”
Trump's delusion is calculated.
Any calculations of delusion on Trump's part take place on the molecular level. It's not like he stimulates his brain to devise his criminal schemes, it's just a natural occurrence resulting from years of emotional deprivation from both his parents. They say that stress can change the body's chemistry if applied in a period of long duration. A child learns what they live?
That same dynamic could account for Trump's innate criminality and his moral void.
Liked that " HATE becomes the objective …" line Doug, though there is no need to shout we hope. Hate sells it seems, and money is still most probably the root of all things evil. Here it seems to be for sure. Rush profited handsomely on its sale and found quite the market for his hate speech. I am not sure his 'ditto head' mono-think propaganda might have been more damaging, however. It begs for authoritarian leadership and an unthinking, obedient body politic. This really stuck home to me when I caught a bit of his show on the day of one of Obama's state of the union speeches. Rush repeatedly told his audiences not to listen to the speech as he would listen for them. Then they should tune in the day after, and he would tell them all they needed to know about what Obama said. No need to use one's own judgement when you can get filtered mono-think propaganda from a political shock jock and hate merchant. You then need to internalize what Rush says and repeat it as your own insight. Never mind that all the ditto heads are doing the same thing. We non-ditto-heads all know ditto-heads are nothing more than echo chambers for a fascist type of propaganda machine. Unfortunately, it makes for lazy-brained people with poor judgement who cannot govern. Vote for them with only the utmost of discretion. Assume incompetence unless proven otherwise when they are R. affiliated.
Florida's new ‘Don't Tread On Me' license plate stirs controversy (msn.com)
Keep an eye on DeSantis. He's taking the Trump playbook and running with it.
Kansas votes no to constitutional amendment on abortion. The pro Roe supporters won by about a three to two ratio. What a victory.
Wonder what would happen if similar measures were on the ballots of all 50 states in November…
To some extent they will be IMO, and that is good news. The lines were long in urban parts of Kansas. People waited for hours in the incredible heat to vote. If this issue wins big in Kansas it will win big in November in almost every state.
Indeed, and this doesn't bode well for republican expectations in November. I read turnout in Kansas was 50%, much higher than is typical for a primary type race.
My theory has been that republicans will go too far with their extremism and experience a backlash as a result. While it works wonders on their rabid base, it has the opposite effect on the majority of voters. And the GOP can't seem to get enough of the extreme. Just read that in TX and other states they're implementing or planning to implement legislation that will allow rape victims to be sued by people unrelated to the rapist or the victim, if they don't have the rapist baby and/or to allow the rapist to have parental rights if the baby is born. And forcing women suffering from ectopic pregnancies to wait in excruciating pain and risking death before they can have treatment. Republicans seem to be trying to outdo each other in how bizarre and cruel they can be to women now that Roe has been undone. It is the kind of thing that any rational person would know, that this is not something a majority of voters would support. But republicans in general, and not just the Trumpers, are not rational.
What happened in KS yesterday is an indication of that backlash. They aren't "pivoting towards the center" to capture the sane, non "Q" vote simply because its no longer in their DNA.
Republicans are starting to worry, with good reason, that having caught the car, they're about to get run over by it.
"Republicans are starting to worry, with good reason, that having caught the car, they're about to get run over by it."
I am soooooooo stealing that line.
I read texts went out saying something to the effect that if you want to protect a womens health, vote yes. Obviously sent to confuse voters. Glad to see it didn't work.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/kansas-misleading-texts-vote-abortion-constitution
Following. The true issues fall at the educational level of our k-12 students. Fix it there and we'll ease our way out of this polarization of politics.
Pat – Driveway Sealing Portland