Can You Get the Stink Off?

Every politician dreads the “stink” of being associated with something so terrible that it overrides all other considerations and makes them unelectable – or worse – unemployable after political life. There are many forms of “stink”: criminal wrongdoing, sexual misdeeds (mostly applies to Democrats), extremely unpopular votes, etc. But now a new form of political stink is emerging. The new curse: being associated with Donald Trump.

As Donald Trump weaves his corrupt, sordid, traitorous path through the American Presidency, he has left countless Administration staff corpses in his wake. A few (former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is the best example) have jumped ship in time to keep their reputations intact. But scores more have been dragged to their doom. And more will undoubtedly follow. Many of them have nowhere to go: they can no longer be elected to political office, and no self-respecting Law firm or University wants them. And there are only so many employment opportunities at Breitbart or Fox News. As this reality dawns on senior Administration officials, they will continue to jump ship in large numbers.

But now large numbers of elected GOP politicians are realizing that  their worst fears are coming true and that they too are negatively impacted. As Trump spouts his hatred and venom, every Republican is expected to loyally defend him. Many can no longer hide their own dismay and disgust. So they are bailing in myriad ways. Some are abandoning the GOP and becoming Democrats. We will see more of this from those in strong Democratic districts. As we saw in 2018, others are retiring rather than go through another hard campaign only to face the certainty of losing in 2020. As we get closer to 2020, both of these trends will accelerate. And who can blame them? They are sick of Trump, sick of the positions he puts them in, and sick of being seen as complicit in assisting the racist, misogynist, corrupt, obstructing narcissist that is the President of the United States.

By passing a help-the-rich tax plan and trying to kill the Affordable Care Act, the GOP has done a marvelous job of strengthening the image that they don’t care about the average American. On top of all that, the Republican-elected Supreme Court is set up to make Abortion illegal in many states, and will strip more rights from the LBGTQ community. All great ways to motivate voters to vote them out. As if they weren’t motivated enough.

And that’s the bottom line. The only way Republicans can get the Trump stink off is to quit the GOP or quit politics and drop out of sight. In any but the most severely Trump-loving locations, if you are a member of the GOP and you fight alongside Trump – you will stink so badly that voters will desert in droves. The 2020 election will be all about Trump, and the Republicans are on a ride to their doom. Think 2018 was a Blue Wave? Get ready for a Blue Tsunami – House, Senate, Presidency, numerous Governorships, and State Legislatures are all headed Democratic. It will be historic.