RNC Night One
Republicans gathered for the first-ever midterm convention in Dallas last night, featuring an address by President Trump that clocked in in just under two hours in length and featured the President offering a $5,000 payment to every adult in the country if the GOP held on the majorities in the House and Senate this November.
Never mind that that sounds like buying votes; semantically, such a thing would never happen unless Republicans held their majorities, and even then, given this Congress’ lack of action on virtually anything, there’s no assurance you’ll get a check. In the past, the President also promised a dividend to citizens following imposition of tariffs, but court rulings limited the available money for that.
I was asked yesterday why the event was being held, and the answer to me is quite simple: to fire up Trump’s base ahead of the election in less than two months. Not to fire up the GOP base, or to attract independent voters…but to fire up the Trump base.
It’s not a new phenomenon for the President in office to do well when he is on the ballot, but for his party to suffer when he is not. Barack Obama was personally popular enough to be elected twice, but his appeal did not carry over during midterm elections, or to a designated successor as he was leaving office.
This is a showcase for Trump to talk to his base, the people who don’t mind sitting through a two-hour speech on television, and urge them personally to take action and vote. While individual candidates on the ballot may be putting a bit of distance between themselves and the President, given gas prices and the Iran conflict, Trump is telling you to act like he is on the ballot.
Frankly, they’ll need both strategies to win, because the voting population is so fragmented. As usual these days, independents will determine the outcome. The party that attracts more of them while holding on to the partisan base will win, race-by-race.
There will be time for candidates to get those independents. This is not that time; this is Trump time, for those voters who are considering sitting this one out. And the sequel airs tonight.
