Bigotry is losing big
Donald Trump has figured out, or been convinced, that Americans don’t want a bigot in high public office. Petulant Pat McCrory hasn’t learned that lesson yet in his reelection race.
Trump’s “pivot” (actually more of a lurch) on race and immigration was an act of desperation. His new campaign team obviously told him he couldn’t win unless he radically changed course.
Some polls show that one in five Republicans don’t want to vote for Trump. Why? Many of them believe he’s a bigot.
For good reason. He is a bigot. He’s bigoted against African-Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, women, POWs, people who are disabled, people who aren’t rich – pretty much everybody who isn’t named Trump or married to a Trump.
I know Republicans who are troubled about Trump. They are small-government, low-tax, pro-free enterprise, strong national defense Republicans. Reagan Republicans. I don’t agree with them a lot. But they’re not bigots.
A similar dynamic is hurting McCrory on House Bill 2. His mistake is equating transgender people – and gays – with criminals and sexual predators.
That’s why his TV ad backfired. Featuring a sexual-abuse victim made McCrory look like he’s calling all gays predators.
That’s bigotry.
That’s why he’s losing moderate-to-conservative voters in the suburbs, especially women, who elected him in 2012.
Then add in the economic damage and lost jobs from HB2. It’s a formula for failure.
Now, there is still – obviously – a big bigot vote out there. It’s Trump’s base. It won him the nomination.
So there may be some validity to the theory that there’s a “hidden” vote for Trump, one that doesn’t show up in the polls. Those voters know it’s not acceptable to be a bigot, so they don’t admit they will vote for one. But they will.
Still, Trump seems to realize now that there aren’t enough of those voters to put him in the White House. Thus his painfully uncomfortable visit to an African-American church and “softening” (or was it?) on immigration.
McCrory hasn’t realized his risk yet. Or, he knows it and is too afraid of the bigots to pivot.
Bigotry is losing big
Donald Trump has figured out, or been convinced, that Americans don’t want a bigot in high public office. Petulant Pat McCrory hasn’t learned that lesson yet in his reelection race.
Trump’s “pivot” (actually more of a lurch) on race and immigration was an act of desperation. His new campaign team obviously told him he couldn’t win unless he radically changed course.
Some polls show that one in five Republicans don’t want to vote for Trump. Why? Many of them believe he’s a bigot.
For good reason. He is a bigot. He’s bigoted against African-Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, women, POWs, people who are disabled, people who aren’t rich – pretty much everybody who isn’t named Trump or married to a Trump.
I know Republicans who are troubled about Trump. They are small-government, low-tax, pro-free enterprise, strong national defense Republicans. Reagan Republicans. I don’t agree with them a lot. But they’re not bigots.
A similar dynamic is hurting McCrory on House Bill 2. His mistake is equating transgender people – and gays – with criminals and sexual predators.
That’s why his TV ad backfired. Featuring a sexual-abuse victim made McCrory look like he’s calling all gays predators.
That’s bigotry.
That’s why he’s losing moderate-to-conservative voters in the suburbs, especially women, who elected him in 2012.
Then add in the economic damage and lost jobs from HB2. It’s a formula for failure.
Now, there is still – obviously – a big bigot vote out there. It’s Trump’s base. It won him the nomination.
So there may be some validity to the theory that there’s a “hidden” vote for Trump, one that doesn’t show up in the polls. Those voters know it’s not acceptable to be a bigot, so they don’t admit they will vote for one. But they will.
Still, Trump seems to realize now that there aren’t enough of those voters to put him in the White House. Thus his painfully uncomfortable visit to an African-American church and “softening” (or was it?) on immigration.
McCrory hasn’t realized his risk yet. Or, he knows it and is too afraid of the bigots to pivot.