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Monday, February 13, 2017

Riding The Wave Of Activism

The latest narrative from the mainstream media is that the Democrats are "riding the wave of activism" which requires resistance to President Trump (and everything he does.)  The storyline goes something like this:

1.  The election of Trump has led to a massive boost of involvement by the Democrat base which just happened spontaneously.

2.  All that new energy needs to be encouraged by the Democrat politicians so that it will still be present at the time of the 2018 elections.

3.  The result is that Democrats in Washington cannot cooperate or they will dampen the enthusiasm of the opposition wave and also bring the anger of that wave down upon those who cooperate.

It's an interesting theory, but it has a major problem.  There was no lack of enthusiasm in 2016 among those who are protesting.  Hillary Clinton got the support of all the activists who are now out complaining about things that Trump may do someday.  In other words, all those people already voted last time.  They will not bring a wave of new voters with them unless there is something to attract those new voters.  And here's the problem:  how many voters across America are actually being turned off to supporting Democrats because of this current behavior?  Do Americans for the most part like the idea of supporting mobs in black outfits with black masks who trash property and beat up innocent people caught at the wrong place at the wrong time?  That's a small group of the activists, but how many of the Democrat politicians have condemned the rioters?  At last count, the number was close to zero.  If we broaden it, the next question then becomes how many Americans like the idea of siding with illegal aliens who have committed felonies against the safety of ordinary Americans?  This is not the administration deporting innocent little children; it is only the government under Trump doing exactly what the government under Obama said it was doing.  And how many Americans are really upset at the idea that there will be a 90 day delay in admitting people from seven countries so that procedures to keep out terrorists can be strengthened in the interim?  Does the average person really worry more about the effect of the delay on possible travelers from Sudan than the safety of his or her family from a terrorist attack?

There is no doubt that some people will be influenced by the Hollywood and media people who express their usual far left line as if it were the only truth in the universe.  Most of those people won't vote in 2018 though. 

Maybe the Democrats are on to something really big.  Maybe their radical leftist supporters will suddenly swell in numbers for the first time ever.  More likely, though, by 2018, the real questions about which voters will care will be the condition of the economy, the safety of the country from enemies, and the expectations and plans for the future.  The current support by the Democrats for the ongoing attack on Trump will likely swing more voters to the GOP than the other way.  Time will tell, but the Democrats are betting their next decade on a very risky move.

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