Some Rapid Response Shouldn't Be Rapid

 
 
It’s not surprising how MAGOPs have responded to Tuesday night’s shellacking in all the major election races.  They ignored reality, said all is well and attacked Zohran Mamdani.
 
Two quotes stand out as being core to the MAGOP reaction.
 
My favorite quote was from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.  He referred to Mr. Mamdani as “the new leader of the Democratic Party.”
 
Zohran Mamdani is not even the new leader of Democrats in New York state.  To be accurate, he’s not even the leader of Democrats in New York City yet.  But yes, he will be eventually.  But as I wrote yesterday, “mayor of New York” is not a stepping stone to national politics.  In the entire history of the city, no mayor of New York City has ever gone from the job to any national office.  Ever.  In 250 years!!  No former NYC mayor has become the U.S. president, never become a U.S. senator, and not ever become a U.S. congressman.  But Ken Paxton wants everyone to think that Zohran Mamdani is the national leader of Democrats.  As I wrote, as well, New Yorkers eat their mayor for lunch.  The day after he takes office, half the city will have something to yell that they hate about him.  (I mentioned this to a friend from New York.  He laughed and said, “Not just half, probably three-quarters.”  I explained that I’d said only the day after – and my friend again laughed, and then agreed.  “Okay, yes, the day after.”
 
And most of the MAGOP attacks on Mamdani were about him being “a communist.”  Which, of course, isn’t true.  But it is scaaaaaarry sounding.  I sent replies to as many as possible to please explain the difference between a communist and socialist, because there is one.  And I can be as close to 100% certain as possible that none of them knows what that difference is.  Further, I pointed out that he isn’t even a socialist – but a Democratic Socialist, like Bernie Sanders.  And that is not a socialist, because words matter.  Even pesky adjectives.  It’s like the difference between your doctor telling you that you have an illness and a terminal illness.  Or the difference between a psychologist saying Trump is a narcissist and a malignant narcissist.  One is a description of personal ego, the other is a medical condition of someone who will burn down your house with himself in it if he doesn’t get his way.  A Democratic Socialist is basically someone who believes in democracy and the democratic process, but fully supports the extensive use social programs and safety nets – like Social Security, Medicare, SNAP, the ACA, childcare tax credits and such.
 
The other great quote came from MAGOP Sen. Markwayne Mullins of Oklahoma. He was on CNN, and said --
 
"Well I say, first of all, I don't know if we really lost. I mean that sincerely..."
 
To her credit, CNN host Kasie Hunt responded, “I find that improbable.”
 
Improbable is, of course, only the starting point.  Yet this was a common theme among a great many MAGOP officials on social media.  Denying that the shellacking was really much of even a loss.  It’s largely what Speaker Mike Johnson said, dismissing the results as largely been in Blue states.  Except they aren’t – New Jersey and Virginia may tilt a little Blue, but they are Purple.  New Jersey hasn’t had a governor elected from the same party three terms in a row for many decades – until yesterday.  Virginia currently has a Republican governor.  And the House of Delegates was split 51-49 for Democrats.  That’s Purple.  Until yesterday, when Democrats flipped 13 seats!  But still, Markwayne Mullins was more blunt about it than anyone.
 
And his comment was pure MAGOP. Following the lead of a delusional leader. Don't admit defeat. Say you didn't lose. Say it was rigged. Say it was stolen. Say anything to avoid reality and outrage the base and create distrust in elections.  That’s one of the core tenets of fascism.
 
It was a horrific night for MAGOPs, and a great one for Democrats.  All around.  Huge.  That said, I don’t draw too much importance from this one limited group of elections – however, I also don’t ignore that there is much meaning to it.  Most of all, it reinforces Trump’s 37% approval – and 25% approval among Hispanics.  And shows that “motivated” voters cannot be ignored and the advantage of that falls heavily on Democrats.  Nor that without Trump on the ballot, the full MAGOP base (who don’t pay attention to or care about politics, but love Trump) won’t be voting.
 
And, of course, most importantly, it’s still a year from the Mid-Terms – but while it’s likely to get even worse for the country, it will also worsen significantly for Trump and MAGOPs.  It also means they will put more election intimidation actions into operation.  But the opposition knows that, is preparing, and the voter support will grow.  As Trump’s dementia and actions worsen.