Trump campaign: Democrats could overreach on reaction to new Supreme Court justice
Democrats are going to be furious with any Supreme Court appointment before the election, so why not make sure they are super furious?
That is what Trump insiders are thinking as the wrangling over a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg hits fever pitch. Democrats are openly mulling the idea of abandoning the Senate filibuster, packing the court with liberals to ensure conservatives stay out of power for decades, and even launching fresh impeachment proceedings.
With all the names favored by President Trump coming with conservative and originalist credentials, it means Republicans foresee an election lift from the debate over abortion, healthcare, and other issues. That goes without saying.
“Supreme Court nominees were a huge issue for voters in 2016, and they will be again in 2020,” said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign.
But with the stakes so high, the more conservative the figure — the more anti-abortion, the more celebrated by the base — the more the choice will not only excite Republican voters but infuriate Democrats, nudging them toward a more extreme response.
It is why Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic mother of seven who is popular with conservative Christians and anti-abortion activists, was the front-runner rather than Barbara Lagoa, whose smooth, bipartisan confirmation for the 11th Circuit was judged a sign of weakness among some White House confidants.
In response, Democrats are openly discussing expanding the Supreme Court to dilute its conservative makeup if Trump gets to add his justice, much to the glee of Republican strategists.
“They’ve gone from saying Trump is the one abusing long-established norms to now being the ones who want to blow it all up,” said a source familiar with White House thinking. — by Rob Crilly
Senate: Lindsey Graham has a fight on his hands
It’s South Carolina, the ruby-red Southern state that loves President Trump. And Lindsey Graham has a problem.
The Republican senator is running for reelection against, as it turns out, one of the most well-funded Democratic challengers in the 2020 field, and that Democrat’s money is having an impact. Recent public opinion polls show President Trump in a comfortable position against Democratic nominee Joe Biden — as expected. But Graham is in a tussle.
Jaime Harrison, a former chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, has raised tens of millions of dollars for his campaign, with liberal activists across the country contributing in the hope of sparking an upset for Graham, Trump’s good friend and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Harrison, who has worked in Washington, D.C., as a lobbyist but is a South Carolina native, believes his underdog bid can succeed on the strength of a war chest capable of fielding the kind of aggressive campaign that no Democrat has ever had the resources to finance, combined with Graham fatigue and disaffected Republican voters who live in Greater Charleston.
But the race is still Graham’s to lose, especially after the death of iconic liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Harrison cannot win without the crossover votes of South Carolinians who plan to support Trump. That’s a tall order, especially considering the fact that the Senate debate to confirm a Supreme Court justice should be enough to remind voters tempted to give Harrison a try exactly why Republican control of the Senate matters. As Judiciary Committee chairman, Graham is sure to make sure they don’t forget. — by David M. Drucker
Biden campaign: What’s with all the lids?
Joe Biden is showing signs of repeating the same campaign error that Hillary Clinton made in 2016. In nine out of the first 24 days of September, Biden’s campaign called a “lid,” press lingo for there being no more expected public appearances or movements to track, before noon.
While the former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee may still participate in remote news interviews and fundraisers when he is not giving a public speech or traveling, his lack of movement, even in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, has raised eyebrows among political observers.
His campaign even called a lid for the day at 9:34 a.m. on the Saturday following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, surprising some people who thought that he might take an opportunity to join those mourning Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court that day in a gesture that could please Democrats. He had addressed her passing in a brief statement the night she died and delivered a lengthier speech about her passing and the open seat the next day.
Some analysts thought that Clinton’s noticeably fewer campaign stops than Donald Trump in 2016 were a reason for her loss. Trump made 106 campaign appearances to Clinton’s 71 in the last 10 weeks of that campaign, according to FiveThirtyEight.
With less than six weeks to Election Day, Trump is again well on track to surpass the Democratic nominee in the number of campaign stops, despite the criticism he’s received for the lack of social distancing and consistent mask-wearing by those at his rallies.
Biden’s lack of aggressive campaigning, including his campaign’s decision not to send campaign organizers door to door, is stoking worries that even though he has a polling lead, Biden could be on track to repeat Clinton’s shocking loss. — by Emily Larsen
House: Open seat pits ‘new’ Texas against ‘old’
House Democrats think their Texas Turnaround begins in places such as the 22nd Congressional District, which takes in a series of leafy Houston suburbs.
Republican Rep. Pete Olson is retiring from the House after 12 years. The race to succeed him reflects changing demographics and voter attitudes in Texas that give Democrats hopes of breaking the longtime GOP political hammerlock on the Lone Star State.
The Democratic nominee, Sri Preston Kulkarni, represents the sort of professional-class resident increasingly common in the 22nd Distrct, which was once a bastion of oil wealth. Kulkarni earned a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and was a foreign service officer in the State Department for 14 years. Assignments took Kulkarni, 41, to Israel, Jamaica, Iraq, Russia, and Taiwan.
His Republican rival, Troy Nehls, has a more traditional background for a Texas politician. The Liberty University graduate, 52, is sheriff of Fort Bend County. Nehls enlisted in the Army Reserve at age 20, seeing tours of duty in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Iraq — and earning two Bronze Stars along the way. Back home, Nehls joined the police department in Richmond, Texas, and earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston-Downtown.
The district is ancestrally Republican, with previously represented by libertarian icon Ron Paul, as well as Tom DeLay, who led House Republicans with an iron fist in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2012, voters there backed Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama 62%-37%. But in 2016, President Trump beat Hillary Clinton by a narrower margin, 52%-44%.
This is Kulkarni’s second try for the seat. He ran against Olson in 2018 and lost with 46.5% of the vote, in the district’s closest race since Olson was first elected. — by David Mark
